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]
Too hot
Keith Sweat Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
High school sweethearts,
love was so brand new
We took the vows of man and wife
Forever, for life
I remember how we made our way
A little patience, the time we pray
Can't imagine that this love is through
Feelin' the pain, girl when you lose
Oh it's too hot, too hot, lady
Gotta run for shelter
Gotta run for shade
It's too hot, too hot, lady
We gotta cool this anger
What a mess we made
So long ago you were my love
Oh my love
Flyin' high we never took the time
To stop and feel the need
Funny how those years go by
Changing you, changing me
I remember love's fever
In our hearts, girl and in our minds
[Chorus]
Feeling the pain
Oh it's too hot, too hot, lady
Gotta run for shelter
Gotta run for shade
It's too hot, too hot, lady
Gotta cool this anger
From this mess that we've made
It's too hot, too hot, lady
Gotta run for shelter
Gotta run for shade
The lyrics of Keith Sweat's song "Too Hot" narrate a story of a teenage love that blossomed into marriage but eventually fell apart. The first stanza talks about how the couple fell in love at the age of seventeen - a classic high school sweethearts trope. The wedding vows that they took ensured their love would last forever, but the second stanza indicates a passage of time which changed them as individuals. The chorus laments the end of this love affair, expressing that it's too hot to handle - perhaps the pain of the breakup is too intense to bear. The last stanza suggests that the couple never took the time to stop and connect with each other, leading to the "mess they made."
The "Too Hot" lyrics showcase themes of love, loss, and the passage of time. The song is essentially a ballad about how love was once strong and beautiful but eventually went sour. The chorus is the most popular part of the song and is widely recognized amongst R&B/Soul enthusiasts. The "run for shelter" and "run for shade" metaphors in the chorus represent the need to escape the pain of heartbreak. The lyrics also show how the couple never made any effort to salvage their relationship or reconnect, leading to regrets in their later years.
Line by Line Meaning
At seventeen we fell in love
We fell in love when we were teenagers
High school sweethearts, love was so brand new
We were each other's first love in high school and it was all new and exciting
We took the vows of man and wife, forever, for life
We made a commitment to love and cherish each other until death do us part
I remember how we made our way, a little patience, the time we pray
We took our time and had faith in each other as we navigated our relationship
Can't imagine that this love is through
I can't believe that our once strong love has come to an end
Feelin' the pain, girl when you lose
The pain of losing you, my love, is unbearable
Oh it's too hot, too hot, lady. Gotta run for shelter. Gotta run for shade.
This situation is too intense and we need to take a break from each other to cool down
We gotta cool this anger. What a mess we made.
We need to calm down and address the issues that caused our relationship to fall apart
So long ago you were my love. Oh my love.
It's been a long time since we fell in love and it's hard to believe it's over
Flyin' high, we never took the time to stop and feel the need
We were so caught up in the excitement of new love that we didn't take the time to truly understand each other's needs
Funny how those years go by, changing you, changing me
Over time, we both changed as individuals and that had an impact on our relationship
I remember love's fever in our hearts, girl and in our minds
We were both so passionate about each other and our love was all-consuming
Feeling the pain
The pain of losing each other is intense
Gotta cool this anger from this mess that we've made
We need to address our issues and try to fix our relationship
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Artis Ivey, Kenneth Blue
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind