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]
Can We Make Love
Keith Sweat Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh oh... Talk to me.
Come into my bedroom.
Come on.
Come on.
Come into my bedroom.
Yeah,
The time we spent lovin' each other;
How much it meant?
You'd said we'd never,
Never intend to fall apart,
But you left me,
You really broke my heart.
I tried to play you,
But you played me first.
It was so foolish, oh, how it hurt.
I think about you, each and every day.
Oh baby, hear these words I say:
[Chorus]
Can we make love for old time sake?
I remember, girl, the love we used to make.
You were mine before you were his.
Bring it on, bring it on, bring it on.
As I sit and wipe my eyes,
I begin to question why.
Ask myself what went wrong;
Why we didn't last for long?
You blame me and I blame you,
There was nothin' left to do.
If we woulda thought it out
We prolly coulda worked it out.
Now you don't belong to me,
I think about you constantly.
What am I supposed to do?
I musta been a damn fool
To let your lovin' slip away.
I think about you everyday.
I must have been crazy... to let you get away.
[Chorus]
He don't love you right,
I know he don't hold you tight.
Girl I know what you like,
Oh yeah...
Can we make love?
Can we make love?
Can we make love?
Come on, come on.
The song "Can We Make Love" by Keith Sweat is a classic R&B track with lyrics that express the artist's longing for a past love. The song begins with Keith inviting his former lover to come into his bedroom, a clear indication of his desire to reconnect with her. He then reminisces about the time they spent together and how much their love meant to him. He expresses his disappointment at their breakup and his regret at not being able to make it work.
The second verse sees Keith questioning why their relationship didn't last, and he acknowledges that they both played a role in the breakup. Despite this, he declares his love for her and asks her if they can make love for old time's sake. He acknowledges that she is now with someone else but suggests that she is not being treated well by her current partner.
The chorus is a plea to his former lover to reignite their past love and rekindle their physical connection. Throughout the song, Keith's vocals are soulful and emotive, conveying the intensity of his feelings for his former lover.
Line by Line Meaning
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah...
An exclamation of excitement and eagerness.
Oh oh... Talk to me.
The singer is requesting communication and openness from the listener.
Come into my bedroom.
The singer is requesting physical intimacy from the listener.
Come on.
An encouragement for the listener to comply with the artist's request.
Do you remember
The time we spent lovin' each other;
How much it meant?
The artist is reminiscing about the past with fondness.
You'd said we'd never,
Never intend to fall apart,
But you left me,
You really broke my heart.
The listener had promised commitment and loyalty, but ultimately betrayed the singer's trust.
I tried to play you,
But you played me first.
It was so foolish, oh, how it hurt.
The singer had attempted to manipulate or deceive the listener in response to feeling hurt from the betrayal, but realizes it was a bad idea.
I think about you, each and every day.
Oh baby, hear these words I say:
The artist is admitting to constantly thinking about the listener and expressing vulnerability in their feelings.
Can we make love for old time sake?
I remember, girl, the love we used to make.
You were mine before you were his.
Bring it on, bring it on, bring it on.
The artist is requesting physical intimacy with the listener, referencing their past together and highlighting how they have a deeper connection than the listener's current partner.
As I sit and wipe my eyes,
I begin to question why.
Ask myself what went wrong;
Why we didn't last for long?
The artist is reflecting on their past relationship and trying to understand where it went wrong and why it didn't last.
You blame me and I blame you,
There was nothin' left to do.
If we woulda thought it out
We prolly coulda worked it out.
The singer recognizes that both parties made mistakes and agrees that the relationship was beyond saving at the time, but acknowledges that with better communication things could have been different.
Now you don't belong to me,
I think about you constantly.
What am I supposed to do?
I musta been a damn fool
To let your lovin' slip away.
I think about you everyday.
I must have been crazy... to let you get away.
Despite the dissolution of the relationship, the artist cannot seem to move on and blames themselves for letting the listener go. They view the listener's love as valuable and regret letting it slip away.
He don't love you right,
I know he don't hold you tight.
Girl I know what you like,
Oh yeah...
The singer is attempting to convince the listener that their current partner is not treating them properly and that they still know how to please them.
Can we make love?
Can we make love?
Can we make love?
Come on, come on.
The singer is continuing their request for physical intimacy and urging the listener to comply.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BOBBY CRAWFORD, CURTIS JEFFERSON, KEITH SWEAT, KEITH D SWEAT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
LUZ DIVINA YEMAYA
My Favorite one rnb singer
Its the way he makes the music
Its about the Text songs
Its about the letter
Its everything good
I grew up with hes music.
Hes music was always rising me up from bad sad moments.
He music is the reason why I started to learning the english langues. I can not speak and writting very well but its enought to understand his music.
I love him so much
He is a part of my life.
Now I am a old woman I could say and hes music still rising me up from bad times and bad emtions God bles him. Thanks for sharing hes music.
I am sending greeting from cuba.
In cuban are alot of people who really love Keith music.
Thanks God Bless You
Ray Sylvia
Back.when he made this Album he must of been going through some deep depression and heart ache. Nobody rights this without feeling some kind of way. Whole CD was fire. Good stuff
Oakley King
Amen his music relates 2 some my personal experiences!?!
Tarekka Tyler
Keith Sweat is my favorite r&b singer, fan for life
Rona Tenedora
I love this. I love you Keith
Charles Cromer
Mine too my idol lol
Jolisa Lumpkin
Tarekka Tyler me too
Mfundo Mkhungo
This guy can sing, I love all his songs. The real slow jam
Michelle Johnson
Mfundo Mkhungo hr
Oakley King
This is absolutely by far my favorite singer of all time.I like a lot of singers but I love me some Keith Sweat.Over the years his music touched me in so many ways
Chocolate Chip
Keith Sweat, what a "wonderful man" and a good producer of "love making!"