Jan Leyers had previous experience in the rock group Beri-Beri, while Paul had experience in the British-Belgian rock group Octopus and as a solo artist.
The group formed in 1986 after Jan and Paul met each other in Paul's hometown of Heist-op-den-Berg (Jan, for his part, is a native of Wilrijk). They debuted that year under the name the Soul Sisters with a single titled "You Get to Me." Later on, they also release the singles "Talk About It" and "Like a Mountain." They had a huge hit with "The Way To Your Heart", a Motown-sounding song which even made the lower reaches of the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States while also achieving success in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. In 1988, the group changed its name to SoulSister and their first official album, "It Takes Two," was released, with Paul on the keyboards and Jan on the guitar, with various men on back-up. EMI signs the deal and publishes the album.
In 1990, the two gentlemen underwent another change in name, this time to Leyers, Michiels, and SoulSister. Later that same year, they release Heat, which includes hit singles "Through Before We Started," "Sweet Dreamer," and "Well Well Well." Some of the songs on the album allowed Jan Leyers, who was admittedly more into rock music than soul, show off his skills on the electric guitar.
The group started a triple run in 1992. That year, they released the album Simple Rule, which included a hit title track, as well as "Broken" and "Ain't That Simple." The following year, in 1993, the group released a live album, Live Savings. In the meantime, Jan is asked to co-write "That's As Close as I Get To...", a song that is sung by American country singer Aaron Tippin.
In 1994, the group begins its final chapter with the album "Swinging Like Big Dogs." Popular tracks off of this album are "Wild Love Affair," "If This is Love," "Tell Me What it Takes," and "I Need Some Time." By this time, the group has gone back to being known simply as SoulSister.
In 1995, SoulSister split. Two years later, EMI releases a "Very Best Of" compilation album. Meanwhile, both men go their separate ways. Paul Michiels goes solo and performs the same soulful, Motown-sounding music that made SoulSister a success, while Jan Leyers joins with Filip Cauwelier and Joost Van den Broek to play hard rock music as the band My Velma (named after a character in the Raymond Chandler novel Farewell, My Lovely).
Jan and Paul teamed up again in 2000 to record individual songs for the Jan Verheyen movie Team Spirit. Jan performed a track titled "Only Your Love Will Do" while Paul recorded a piece titled "Shine Your Light on Me."
In 2007 the news was announced Soulsister will reunite for a special concert in 2008. They will play the Sports Palace in Antwerp on March 1. Exactly 20 years after the release of their first album, and 12 years after their split.
LifeTime
Soulsister Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
One for the treble, two for the bass" [x2]
"Say one for the treble, two for the bass" [x6]
"And I'm guaranteed, I'll steal ya 'ho
When I'm on the micraphone doin my show" [x4]
Well everytime I rock a rhyme that show Jamar is intellectual
Girls, STILL wanna get sexual
They try to pull me offstage, hopin
that we can engage, in some sexual escapades
Grabbin for the jewels of the fam
Actin like they never seen God rock a jam
in they lifetime, grabbin my lifeline
To flow fluid like Alaskan pipeline
Now brothers get jeal' when they see the God swell
Mad, cause we got your girl under a spell
Me and her had a talk, and yo she said she wouldn't tell
Now I got her on a train on her way to New Rochelle
Your girl wanna stroke but yo I didn't provoke
Now I got a leg behind a head and a yolk
("Now girl flex, time to have to sex")
And next time bring a friend for my man Sadat X
And Sincere, who's hittin honies from the rear
Goin strong, lastin long, cause he drinkin a stout beer
We don't fear if your man blood boil
Cause we know a place with some nice soft soil
So check the heartthrob, proceed to rob ya 'ho
By the way, we rocked the show
"One for the treble, two for the bass"
"Say one for the treble, two for the bass" [x3]
"And I'm guaranteed, I'll steal ya 'ho
When I'm on the micraphone doin my show" [x4]
[Sadat X]
A quick move at a jam, homegirl got her hand
in my pocket, yo' girl, the one you call squeeze
Dreamin bout the X and ruinin her sheets
I'm kinda cool black, aight?
I mean I'm straight on the girl tip, but when your girl
do a dip with her skirt on you know I puts a hurt on it daddy
So check it. you know the crew that wanna act like that?
Wanna play the front with the poom poom fat?
Talk about your man, yeah yeah he got a gat
But at the end of night, you in the ho-tel
And if you ain't alla of that, you play the mo-tel
Yo I ain't the one for it if you can't control your girl
Take her by the pants and put a lock on it
And if that shit don't work, then throw the glock on it
Mad stacks and numbers but I can't remember faces
Much less places, but I DAMN sure know the races
Strictly for weaker or a sweet soul sister
Be thankful that I didn't hit your girl I coulda DISSED her
But I lounged and maintained
But don't front cat, yo don'tcha slumber
I still know honey and I still got the number
So you be cool aight?
"And I'm guaranteed, I'll steal ya 'ho
When I'm on the micraphone doin my show" [x4]
"One for the treble, two for the bass"
"Say one for the treble, two for the bass" [x9]
The lyrics in Soulsister's song Lifetime are filled with iconography and vocabulary that are not only detailed but also inclusive with a broad array of themes. The first part of the lyrics is an entreaty to the audience to repeat the phrase "one for the treble, two for the bass," which is a classic hip-hop call-and-response trope. The song's actual discussion is about a rapper's life on the road, where he encounters women who come onto him aggressively. Jamar implies in his verse that his status as a rapper makes him attractive to women. Despite her boyfriend's objections, X meets up with a girl whom he met during a performance in a hotel room, and he hints that he is willing to cheat with anything. No matter your interpretation of the song, the lyrics touched on some of the harsh realities of sex, which is a topic that many songs tread around or avoid.
Line by Line Meaning
Say one for the treble, two for the bass
Let's get the rhythm going with a countdown - one for the treble, two for the bass
And I'm guaranteed, I'll steal ya 'ho
When I'm on the micraphone doin my show
Whenever I'm performing, I'm so good that I'll win over any woman in the crowd and take her home with me
Well everytime I rock a rhyme that show Jamar is intellectual
Girls, STILL wanna get sexual
They try to pull me offstage, hopin
that we can engage, in some sexual escapades
Grabbin for the jewels of the fam
Actin like they never seen God rock a jam
in they lifetime, grabbin my lifeline
To flow fluid like Alaskan pipeline
Now brothers get jeal' when they see the God swell
Mad, cause we got your girl under a spell
Me and her had a talk, and yo she said she wouldn't tell
Now I got her on a train on her way to New Rochelle
Your girl wanna stroke but yo I didn't provoke
Now I got a leg behind a head and a yolk
("Now girl flex, time to have to sex")
And next time bring a friend for my man Sadat X
And Sincere, who's hittin honies from the rear
Goin strong, lastin long, cause he drinkin a stout beer
We don't fear if your man blood boil
Cause we know a place with some nice soft soil
So check the heartthrob, proceed to rob ya 'ho
By the way, we rocked the show
Every time I perform and make intellectual rhymes, women want me even more. They try to get close to me, hoping for sexual favors. They try to touch my family jewels as if they've never seen someone as good as me perform. Women grab me and cling to me like they will never have another chance to meet me again. Now men are jealous because we have their women under our control. I even got one woman to come with me on a train to New Rochelle. I didn't provoke her to do anything against her wishes, but she is doing things with me that she doesn't do with anyone. Bring a friend the next time you come to my show. Sincere is also having success with women because he drinks stout beer. We don't fear men who might get angry with us because we know a secret place for sex. Come check us out and maybe we'll steal your woman while we're at it.
A quick move at a jam, homegirl got her hand
in my pocket, yo' girl, the one you call squeeze
Dreamin bout the X and ruinin her sheets
I'm kinda cool black, aight?
One time at a concert, a woman put her hand in my pocket, trying to get closer to me. She's probably the one you call your girlfriend. She's been dreaming about me and maybe I'm the reason she can't sleep at night. I'm pretty relaxed about it, you know.
So check it. you know the crew that wanna act like that?
Wanna play the front with the poom poom fat?
Talk about your man, yeah yeah he got a gat
But at the end of night, you in the ho-tel
And if you ain't alla of that, you play the mo-tel
Yo I ain't the one for it if you can't control your girl
Take her by the pants and put a lock on it
And if that shit don't work, then throw the glock on it
Mad stacks and numbers but I can't remember faces
Much less places, but I DAMN sure know the races
Strictly for weaker or a sweet soul sister
Be thankful that I didn't hit your girl I coulda DISSED her
But I lounged and maintained
But don't front cat, yo don'tcha slumber
I still know honey and I still got the number
So you be cool aight?
Listen up. You know those guys who try to act tough and impress women with their wealth and weapons? They talk about how they have guns but at the end of the night, they end up in a cheap motel. If you can't control your woman, then you need to lock her up or else I might have to use a gun on her. I have a lot of money and women, but I can't remember most of their faces or the places I've been. I'm only interested in a woman who is sweet and not too strong. Be glad that I didn't insult or disrespect your woman, even though I could have. I'm relaxed and cool about everything, but don't think I'm not aware of what's going on. I still know many women and their contact information, so be cool with me.
Writer(s): Paul Anna Michiels, Jan Anna Leyers Copyright: Siren Music Bvba
Contributed by Sydney G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.