Keith Sweat’s “I Want Her” was inescapable in 1988. New jack swing may have already been in development, but the blend of drum machine rawness and unadulterated funk coalesced on the first single from Sweat’s 1987 debut album Make It Last Forever. That was due in no small part to producer Teddy Riley, whose perfectionist’s touch would grace Sweat’s first three albums and many of the songs Sweat performs Friday evening in Las Vegas.
Their connections date back to Harlem as the aspiring musicians were entering the music business separately through early projects. Sweat worked in finance for Paine Webber and funded his own demos as Riley moved toward making his big splash with Guy. The new jack sound had been bubbling up through the production work of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, most notably on Janet Jackson’s “Nasty,” but had yet to be recognized as a style all its own.
Sweat’s confidence and self-assurance playing the lover man on quiet storm ballads balanced the rat-a-tat signature snare triplets of new jack, distinguishing Sweat’s persona from the hip-hop and pop hitmakers of the day. The title track from Make It Last Forever and “Don’t Stop Your Love” became hit singles, and a track that didn’t make the album, “Just Got Paid,” became a huge smash for Johnny Kemp.
The chart-toppers would continue through 1996 with singles such as “Nobody” and “Twisted,” and in 1997 he would join forces with Gerald Levert and Johnny Gill in supergroup LSG. Sweat’s latest setlists have included LSG’s “My Body” as well as “Let’s Chill” by Guy, and “Freak Me” and “Lose Control” by Silk.
Sweat discovered and produced that Atlanta act’s debut before resettling to that city and boosting its music scene. He’s a legend now, R&B royalty who made headlines in September for singing “Don’t Stop Your Love” at a Lil Wayne birthday party. For fans like the 40-year-old rapper, Sweat’s musical impact will indeed last forever.
Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, 8 p.m. Nov. 18, starting at $45 plus tax and fee. axs.com
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