Song of the week: U.N.V. - Straight From My Heart
As the song of the week continues, we're continuing our love affair with the R&B guy groups. After last week's attempt at kicking up the grooves with Solo, this week we decided to slow things down and go the more traditional route. In that regard, we have to promote the men of U.N.V. or Universal Nubian Voices.
I have a bit of bias towards U.N.V., as member J. Poww did an interview with us at the Haven back in 2009. Similar to Solo, the group was back together and put out a new album at the time which rekindled some of the classic 90s R&B Sounds in the late 2000s.
But for this week, we're going with one of the group's biggest hits, U.N.V's classic 90s jam "Straight From My Heart." The song features all the trademarks of 90s R&B guy group ballads. The song has great harmonies, rising emotions, and a tale of love.
One thing that I really appreciate about this song is the melancholy delivery of it. The harmony on the chorus is soft and controlled. While the verses have some rise to them, the chorus helps pull the song back down. It's also infectious and easy to sing along to.
Watching the video, the story it tells seems to embrace the feeling of melancholy that is laced into all the lyrics. This isn't a traditional love song, but one where it feels like you might be too late. Watch the video and see what I mean.