Keith Sweat was born in Harlem, New York City, to Juanita Thompson, a hairdresser, and Charles Sweat, a factory worker. After Charles Sweat's passing in 1973, Juanita raised their five kids by herself. He worked as a night stock boy at Macy's Department Store, and then a mail room clerk at Paine Webber, a brokerage firm. In just four years he worked his way up to a lucrative brokerage assistant job on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.[2] Sweat also worked as a supervisor for the New York Mercantile Exchange.[1]
Sweat started his musical career as a member of a Harlem band called Jamilah in 1975.[3] With the help of Jamilah, Sweat was able to hone his craft as a lead singer by performing regionally throughout the tri-State area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. The group was started by bassist Larry Peoples, guitarist Michael Samuels, and drummer Walter Bradley.[citation needed]
After leaving the group in 1984 to begin a solo career, he sang at nightclubs throughout New York City and landed a chance to record for the independent label, Stadium Records. Sweat recorded only two tunes for Stadium, "Lucky Seven", and "My Mind Is Made Up", which was their third and fourth ever release, but on Stadium's first release, he is credited as co-writer and co-producer of "You Are the One for Me", the last recording ever made by the group GQ. One of GQ's original members is his uncle, Keith "Sabu" Crier.
Later in 1987, Keith Sweat was discovered by Vincent Davis and offered a recording contract with his label, Vintertainment Records, which was founded in 1983 on the foundations of early Hip-Hop and otherwise best known for releasing Joeski Love's "Pee Wee's Dance" in 1985. Vintertainment was distributed by Elektra Records from 1985 until it ceased operations in 1990. On November 24, 1987, Sweat released his debut solo studio album Make It Last Forever, which sold three million copies. The biggest hit from this album was the song that inaugurated the new jack swing era "I Want Her"[5] (No. 1 R&B & No. 5 Pop), which was nominated for the 1989 Soul Train Best R&B/Urban Contemporary Song of the Year award, while the title track from the album hit No. 2 on the R&B charts. Sweat reached the charts again with his second album I'll Give All My Love to You (1990) which hit No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart. He released his third album, Keep It Comin' in 1991, which debuted in the Top 20 of the album chart. He produced soul singer Omar Chandler.
In 1992, Sweat discovered the group Silk, and helped craft their debut album, Lose Control, which hit No. 7 on the Billboard 200 album chart.[6]
The album's single "Freak Me" hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on May 1, 1993. In 1993, Sweat discovered the Atlanta-based female R&B group Kut Klose. Sweat also produced the group's debut album Surrender, which produced their biggest hit single "I Like", peaking to No. 8 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart.
Sweat released his fourth album Get Up on It in the summer of 1994, and his self-titled fifth album in 1996. Both albums reached the top ten on the Billboard 200. The single co/produced and written by Eric McCaine "Twisted" featuring R&B group Kut Klose hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and "Nobody" hit No. 3, which made them Sweat's biggest hits to date. "Just A Touch" was a cover of the 1979 song "Just a Touch of Love" by Slave. He produced R&B group Dru Hill in 1996.
In the fall of 1997, Sweat discovered the group Ol' Skool and helped with their self-titled debut. He was on their biggest single, "Am I Dreaming", which featured the R&B group Xscape. Sweat also formed the R&B supergroup LSG with Gerald Levert and Johnny Gill, and released their self-titled debut album Levert.Sweat.Gill in 1997.[7] That album featured "My Body", which became a hit single. The album was certified double platinum and reached No. 4 on the U.S. Billboard 200.
Sweat's sixth album, Still in the Game was released in 1998, hitting No. 6 on the Billboard 200, and No. 2 on the R&B/Hip Hop albums chart. It featured the singles "Come and Get With Me" (which featured Snoop Dogg) (No. 12 Hot 100) and "I'm Not Ready" (No. 16 Hot 100). Sweat's success on the charts started to diminish in 2000, when he released the album Didn't See Me Coming. None of the singles from the album reached the top forty.
On August 13, 2002, Keith Sweat released his eighth album, Rebirth. The single "One on One" reached No. 75 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 44 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart.His 2008 album Just Me included the single, "Love U Better (featuring Keyshia Cole)". Sweat is currently signed to Kedar Records and released his tenth studio album entitled Ridin' Solo on June 22, 2010. The lead single taken from the album is "Test Drive" and featured label-mate Joe. Since 2007, Sweat has been the host of a nationally syndicated radio program based upon the Quiet storm format. The Keith Sweat Hotel (known as The Quiet Storm with Keith Sweat on WBLS in New York City) is syndicated through Premiere Radio Networks.[8]
Sweat is also the host of a nationally syndicated radio show called The Sweat Hotel, which I s produced and distributed to urban adult contemporary and classic soul radio stations across the U.S. by Premiere Networks, a subsidiary of iHeartMedia, Inc.[9]
Be Your Santa Claus
Keith Sweat Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(I wanna be your Santa Claus)
Let me be your Santa Claus
(Be your Santa Claus, yeah, yeah, yeah)
You know I got to tell you, girl, you're somethin' special
By the way you make me feel you know I got to have you
Right here with me and I will never let you go
You stuck with me through the times I didn't have it
Now we have somethin' good, you could have the plastic
Baby, go and grab it, if you want it you can have it
I wanna be your Santa Claus
I wanna be your Santa Claus
(I wanna be your Santa Claus)
Let me be your Santa Claus
(Be your Santa Claus)
I wanna be the reason that you come home tonight
I wanna be your Santa Claus
(I wanna be your Santa Claus)
Let me be your Santa Claus
(Be your Santa Claus)
I wanna be the first gift you open tonight
(Yeah, yeah)
Now baby, take your time and wrap me slow
A tied up knot ain't no way to go
The fireplace is burning, the perfect type of lovin'
Girl, can I do somethin' for you?
(For you)
You're always workin' hard, girl
And always on your job, yeah girl
Tonight is still your night
So let me treat you right
I wanna be your Santa Claus
(I wanna be your Santa Claus)
Let me be your Santa Claus
(Be your Santa Claus)
I wanna be the reason
(The reason)
That you come home tonight
(You're comin' home tonight, yeah, yeah, yeah, girl)
I wanna be your Santa Claus
(I wanna be your Santa Claus, I wanna be your Santa Claus)
Let me be your Santa Claus
(I wanna be your Santa Claus, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, girl)
I wanna be the first gift you open tonight
(You open tonight, yeah, girl, oh whoa)
Tell me what you want, girl
I got it, oh yeah, oh yeah, yeah
(Can I be your Santa?)
Can I be your Santa Claus?
Tell me what you want, girl
I got it, hey, hey, can I be your Santa?
(Can I be your Santa?)
Can I be? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
I wanna be your Santa Claus
(I wanna be your Santa Claus)
Let me be your Santa Claus
(Be your Santa Claus)
I wanna be the reason
(The reason)
That you come home tonight
(That you come home tonight, tonight, yeah)
I wanna be your Santa Claus
(I just gotta be, I wanna be your Santa Claus)
Let me be your Santa Claus
(I just gotta be, I wanna be your Santa Claus)
I wanna be the first gift you
(First gift)
Open tonight
(Oh, girl, yeah, yeah, yeah)
I wanna be, I wanna be your Santa Claus
(Yes, I do)
Girl, I gotta be, I gotta be your Santa Claus
(I gotta be, yeah, yeah)
I wanna be, I wanna be your Santa Claus
(Yeah, girl, oh, oh)
I wanna be
(I wanna be)
I wanna be your Santa Claus
(I wanna be, yeah)
Girl, I gotta be, I gotta be your Santa Claus
(Yeah, yeah)
I wanna be, I wanna be your Santa Claus
(Ooh, girl)
Tell me what you want, girl, I got it
Merry Christmas to all the ladies around the world
I wanna be your Santa Claus
The song "Be Your Santa Claus" by Keith Sweat is a romantic Christmas song about the singer's desire to be his lover's Santa Claus. The lyrics express the singer's deep love for his partner and his willingness to do anything to make her happy. The chorus repeats the phrase "I wanna be your Santa Claus" over and over again, emphasizing the singer's desire to be his lover's source of happiness during the holiday season.
In the first verse, the singer compliments his lover, saying that she is "somethin' special" and that he could never let her go. He acknowledges that she stuck with him when he was going through tough times and is now grateful that they have something good. In the second verse, he urges his lover to take her time and wrap him up slow, emphasizing the importance of savoring the moment and enjoying the love they share.
Overall, the song is a classic Keith Sweat love ballad with a Christmas theme. It showcases his trademark smooth R&B vocals and sentimental lyrics that are sure to put listeners in a romantic mood during the holiday season.
Line by Line Meaning
I wanna be your Santa Claus
The singer wants to be the person who brings joy and gifts to the listener, like Santa Claus
Let me be your Santa Claus
The singer is asking for permission to fulfill the role of Santa Claus in the listener's life
You know I got to tell you, girl, you're somethin' special
The singer thinks very highly of the listener and wants to express that she is important to him
By the way you make me feel you know I got to have you
The listener's actions and presence have a strong impact on the artist's emotions and he wants to be with her as a result
Right here with me and I will never let you go
The artist wants the listener to be with him and he will make sure to hold on to her and never let her go
So beautiful, I could never let you go
The singer finds the listener to be beautiful and therefore wants to keep her by his side
You stuck with me through the times I didn't have it
The listener has been supportive and loyal to the singer even when he was going through difficult times
Now we have somethin' good, you could have the plastic
The artist and the listener have something good between them and the artist is willing to let her have the superficial things, while valuing what they have together
Baby, go and grab it, if you want it you can have it
The artist is willing to give the listener what she wants and encourages her to take it if she desires it
I wanna be the reason that you come home tonight
The artist wants to be the reason why the listener feels motivated to come home to him
Now baby, take your time and wrap me slow
The singer is asking the listener to take her time with him and not rush, as he wants to savor the moment
A tied up knot ain't no way to go
The artist prefers slow and sensual movements to being tied up and rushed
The fireplace is burning, the perfect type of lovin'
The atmosphere between the listener and the singer is intimate and perfect
Girl, can I do somethin' for you?
The singer wants to please the listener and is willing to do something special for her
You're always workin' hard, girl
The listener is a hardworking individual, which the singer acknowledges and appreciates
And always on your job, yeah girl
The listener is very dedicated and active in her work and career
Tonight is still your night
The artist wants the listener to know that he values her and wants to make sure that she has a special night
So let me treat you right
The singer wants to take care of the listener and make sure that she is treated in the best way possible
I wanna be the first gift you open tonight
The singer wants to be the first thing that the listener sees and experiences tonight, like a gift
Tell me what you want, girl, I got it
The artist is eager to fulfill the listener's desires and is asking her what she wants
Can I be your Santa Claus?
The artist is asking to fulfill the role of Santa Claus in the listener's life and bring her gifts and joy
Merry Christmas to all the ladies around the world
The artist is wishing all women a happy Christmas
Contributed by Keira K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.