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]
Tropical
Keith Sweat Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Open my eyes, dream girl
There lies a place for you and me, yeah, girl
To be together, baby, oh, girl
If you wanna be my friend
And we can live the story tale to the end
Come away with me now
Let's plan out a way
Baby, on a perfect getaway
Girl, let's go, let's go
Come on, come on, come on, on, on
To the island, girl
Yeah-eh
Oh, girl, today is the perfect day out, oh, oh, oh, oh
And you look like you're havin' fun, hey, baby
(Sunshine in the girl)
See, there's no need to be unhappy, oh, no, no, no
I'll keep you excited, we're in the island, girl
Whatever you make it, it's only, yeah, yeah
If you wanna be my friend
We can live the story tale to the end
Come away with me now
Come away, away
Let's plan out a way
Baby, on a perfect getaway
Let's go, let's go
Come on, come on, come on
To the island, girl, yeah
Would you be my tropical girl?
Yeah, beautiful, girl you always stayin' on me mind
I dig the way you shook your body, ooh, you superfine
If you think you got me gone, then you right by that, girl
I admit you got me crazy and I want you in my world
We can walk right on the [?], walk into our favorite song
Take a dip into the ocean, baby, it's been too long
Since I had this much good time with my tropical girl
You so wonderful, girl, be my tropical girl
Let's plan out a way
Baby, on a perfect getaway
Let's go
Come on, come on, come on
Be my tropical girl
Let's plan out a way
Baby, on a perfect getaway
Let's go, let's go
Come on, come on, come on
Be my tropical girl
Girl, be my tropical girl?
Be my tropical girl
Come on, come on
Be my tropical girl
Yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah
In Keith Sweat's song Tropical, he sings about a perfect getaway to a beautiful island where he can be with his dream girl. He expresses his desire for her to come away with him to a place where they can live out their story tale. He promises to keep her excited and make the experience all about her. He calls her beautiful and confesses to having her on his mind constantly. The lyrics suggest that he wants to build a relationship with her and is willing to do whatever it takes to make her his "tropical girl."
The song has a very tropical and summery feel with its upbeat tempo, catchy beat, and use of steel drums in the background. The lyrics themselves paint a vivid picture of two people falling for each other in a beautiful tropical setting. It's a song about love, adventure, and enjoying the moment. It is not just about the island getaway, but also about being happy, carefree, and enjoying each other's company.
Line by Line Meaning
Somewhere beyond
There is a place that exists beyond where we currently are.
Open my eyes, dream girl
Perception is key to reaching that place in reality, but you're the girl that's always on my mind.
There lies a place for you and me, yeah, girl
I believe this place is meant for us to be together, you and me.
To be together, baby, oh, girl
We both belong together and being together is exactly what we need.
If you wanna be my friend
If you want to start a connection between us that means more than just a typical friendship,
And we can live the story tale to the end
We can create a story that's filled with adventure, passion and happiness, and lasts forever.
Come away with me now
Let's leave everything behind and go to that place we dreamed of, away from everything and everyone that's been holding us back.
Let's plan out a way
Let's carefully think of a strategy to make this work, one step at a time.
Baby, on a perfect getaway
Together, let's make a perfect escape from the real world.
Girl, let's go, let's go
Come on, let's hit the road and get there fast.
Come on, come on, come on, on, on
I'm urging you to come with me and I'll take you there.
To the island, girl
I want to take you to a beautiful island where we can live free and be happy.
Oh, girl, today is the perfect day out, oh, oh, oh, oh
Today is the perfect day for us to get away and enjoy life together.
And you look like you're havin' fun, hey, baby
Seeing you happy makes me feel good, baby.
(Sunshine in the girl)
You bring light to my life and I love it.
See, there's no need to be unhappy, oh, no, no, no
There's no reason to be sad anymore, we can focus on just us and our happiness.
I'll keep you excited, we're in the island, girl
I promise to keep you entertained while we're on the island together.
Whatever you make it, it's only, yeah, yeah
Together, we can make this trip as special as we want it to be.
Would you be my tropical girl?
Can you be that special girl that keeps me and my dreams warm and alive?
Yeah, beautiful, girl you always stayin' on me mind
You're always on my mind because I think you're beautiful.
I dig the way you shook your body, ooh, you superfine
I love the way you move and carry yourself, you are amazing.
If you think you got me gone, then you right by that, girl
If you believe you've swept me off my feet, then you are right because you have.
I admit you got me crazy and I want you in my world
I confess that your beauty and charm have pulled me closer and I want you in my life.
We can walk right on the [?], walk into our favorite song
We can literally walk anywhere and dance to any song we like, because we have each other.
Take a dip into the ocean, baby, it's been too long
Let's have some fun and go for a swim in the ocean since it's been too long.
Since I had this much good time with my tropical girl
I haven't had this much fun and a good time with a girl like you, my tropical girl.
You so wonderful, girl, be my tropical girl
You are amazing and wonderful, please be my tropical girl.
Be my tropical girl?
Can you really be the one for me, as my tropical girl?
Come on, come on
Let's go.
Yeah, yeah
Absolutely.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: CARL JR. DAYS, KEITH D. SWEAT, WIRLIE L. MORRIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind