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]
Put Your Lovin' Through the Test
Keith Sweat Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Go down on you, baby
Girl, why don't you let me
Go down on you, baby
Play it for me one time, Roger
Send me (Send me) I need some lovin' (Some good lovin') right, right now
Let me in, let me in, let me in
Let me make it good (Ooh...), let me show you how
Play it for me, Roger, one time
I want to put your lovin' through the test (Let's get it on, mmm)
I want to see how good, good it can get
(With my love, my love, girl, you can't go wrong, oh, no, baby)
I want to put your lovin' through the test (Come on, baby, baby, let's get it on)
I want to see how good, good it can get (Let me kick this verse)
Give me your love, baby, mmm
I need right now, right now, baby
Let me come in, baby (Come on in)
I want to drive, I want to drive you wild (Let me drive you wild, let me drive you wild)
Play it for me, Roger, one time
I want to put your lovin' through the test (I want to put your lovin', baby, through my test)
I want to see how good, good it can get (I want to see how good it can get, baby, oh, yeah, baby)
I want to put your lovin' through the test (I want to put your lovin', baby, through my, my, my test)
I want to see how good, good it can get (I want to see how good it's gonna get)
Babe, don't afraid (You don't have to be, no, you don't have to be)
You can have all of me, all of me tonight, baby
I will make it real good, baby
All you gotta do is lay, lay your body down
Come on, baby
All you gotta do, all you gotta do, all you gotta do
Is lay, lay, lay, lay, lay, lay, lay your body down, baby
Come on, come on, baby
I want to put your lovin' through the test (Tonight your love will be all mine)
(Tonight is gonna be our night)
I want to see how good (Oh, yeah, babe), good it can get (Tonight your love will be all mine)
(Your love is gonna be all mine tonight)
I want to put your lovin' (Oh, yeah, sugar) through the test (Tonight is gonna be our night)
I want to see how good (Come on, baby), good it can get (Tonight is gonna be our night)
(We'll be dippin', dabbin')
I want to put your lovin' (All night long) through the test (Tonight your love will be all mine, baby)
I want to see how good (Oh, yes, it will), good it can get (Tonight your love will be all mine)
The lyrics to Keith Sweat's "Put Your Lovin' Through the Test" are explicitly sexual, with the singer asking his partner to let him perform oral sex on her. The lyrics begin with Keith asking his partner to let him go down on her, and he repeats this throughout the song. He then asks for her love and says he wants to put it to the test to see how good it can get. He emphasizes that his love is what she cannot go wrong with, and he wants to drive her wild. Later in the lyrics, Keith tells his partner not to be afraid and that she can have all of him tonight.
The song is essentially a seductive plea from Keith Sweat to his lover, asking her to let him pleasure her and explore their sexual chemistry. The lyrics are straightforward and explicit, leaving little to the imagination, but still, the song is more about the suggestion of sex and pleasure. The repeated phrase "Let me go down on you, baby" is what makes the song so memorable.
Line by Line Meaning
Let me
Keith Sweat is asking for the permission to do something
Go down on you, baby
He wants to perform oral sex on his partner
Girl, why don't you let me
He is pleading with his partner to let him satisfy her
Play it for me one time, Roger
Keith Sweat is asking the music producer, Roger, to play music so he can sing
Send me (Send me) I need some lovin' (Some good lovin') right, right now
Keith wants physical intimacy with his partner immediately
Let me in, let me in, let me in
He wants to start a physical and emotional relationship with his partner
So let me come in (Would you let me come on in)
He needs a green signal from his partner for sexual intimacy
Let me make it good (Ooh...), let me show you how
Keith Sweat promises to satisfy his partner fully and demonstrate his sexual prowess
I want to put your lovin' through the test (Let's get it on, mmm)
He wants to test the depth and intensity of his partner's love through sexual intimacy
I want to see how good, good it can get (With my love, my love, girl, you can't go wrong, oh, no, baby)
He believes that the intensity of their love through sexual intimacy can't go wrong
Give me your love, baby, mmm
Keith Sweat wants affection from his partner
I need right now, right now, baby
He wants his partner's love and attention immediately
I want to drive, I want to drive you wild (Let me drive you wild, let me drive you wild)
He intends to satisfy his partner to the fullest and make her go wild
Babe, don't afraid (You don't have to be, no, you don't have to be)
He wants to reassure his partner that there's no need to be afraid
You can have all of me, all of me tonight, baby
He is telling his partner that he is hers wholly this night
I will make it real good, baby
He promises to pleasure his partner thoroughly
All you gotta do is lay, lay your body down
He is telling his partner to relax and enjoy sexual intimacy with him
I want to put your lovin' through the test (Tonight your love will be all mine)
This line reiterates his desire to test his partner's love tonight
(Tonight is gonna be our night)
He anticipates a momentous and unforgettable night with his partner
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: KEITH SWEAT, JERRY FLOWERS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind