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]
Show U What Love Is
Keith Sweat Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I wanna take you places you've never been before
Wanna show you what love is
I just wanna give you something you never had before
Come and let me show you what love is
I just wanna take you places you've never been before
Let me show you what love is
Come on
People think I'm crazy, I don't give a damn
I just want you, lady, just share my world
I won't hurt you, no plans to desert you
I wanna take you out, tell you what love's all about
Wanna give you something more, baby, baby
I've got all that you've been searching for
Baby, would you follow me, yeah, yeah
Baby, just follow me and I'll show you, show you
I just wanna give you something you never had before
Come and let me show you what love is
I just wanna take you places you've never been before
Let me show you what love is
Hold on to what you have inside
Don't let lose your feelings that you didn't try
Everything I have to offer, believe me that's more
What you're searching for
Wanna give you something more, baby, baby
I've got all that you've been searching for
Baby, would you follow me
Baby, just follow me and I'll show you, show you
I just wanna give you something you never had before
Come and let me show you what love is
I just wanna take you places you've never been before
Let me show you what love is
People think I'm crazy, yeah, yeah, I just want you, that's all
I wanna take you places you've never been before
Let me show you what love is, come on
I just wanna give you something you never had before
Come and let me show you what love is
I just wanna take you places you've never been before
Let me show you what love is
I just wanna give you something you never had before
Come and let me show you what love is
I just wanna take you places you've never
The lyrics to Keith Sweat’s song “Show U What Love Is” expresses the artist’s desire to show love to the woman in his life. He acknowledges that some may view his love as crazy, but all he wants is her. He wants to take her to new and exciting places and show her what true love is. He wants to give her something she's never had before and to hold onto the feelings she has inside. Sweat reassures her that he won't hurt her or desert her and wants to let her know what love is all about.
Throughout the song, Keith Sweat uses repetition to emphasize the importance of his message. In particular, the phrase “Let me show you what love is” is used several times in the song to reinforce his message. The artist also makes use of descriptive language to paint a picture of what he wants to give to his lover. His message is clear: he wants to show her what love is and give her everything she’s been searching for.
In conclusion, “Show U What Love Is” by Keith Sweat is a soulful song about the artist’s desire to show love to his significant other. The lyrics express his willingness to take her to places she’s never been before and give her something she's never had before. This desire is manifested in his commitment to her and the promise of showing her what true love is.
Interesting Facts:
Line by Line Meaning
People think I'm crazy, I just want you, that's all
Despite what others may think, all I desire is to be with you.
I wanna take you places you've never been before
I want to introduce you to new experiences and share them with you.
Wanna show you what love is
I want to demonstrate to you what true love feels like.
I just wanna give you something you never had before
I want to provide you with something you have never experienced before.
Come and let me show you what love is
Allow me to demonstrate to you the qualities and feelings of love.
I won't hurt you, no plans to desert you
I have no intention of causing you pain or abandoning you.
Let me show you what love's all about
I want to guide you in understanding the true meaning and essence of love.
Wanna give you something more, baby, baby
I want to offer something greater than what you currently have.
I've got all that you've been searching for
I possess the qualities that you have been seeking in a partner.
Baby, would you follow me, yeah, yeah
Will you trust and join me on this journey?
Hold on to what you have inside
Hold onto your emotions and don't suppress them.
Don't let lose your feelings that you didn't try
Don't let go of your emotions without giving them a chance by trying to pursue them.
Everything I have to offer, believe me that's more
Trust that what I have to offer is beyond what you have experienced before.
What you're searching for
The qualities and experiences that you have been seeking in a partner.
Come on
Encouragement to join the singer on this journey of love.
Contributed by Makayla G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.