Forever My Lady & The Timelessness of Jodeci

Don’t Talk, just listen. — DeVante Swing of Jodeci

Those are the first words the listener is greeted with on the flawless Forever My Lady intro, “Stay.” Those first moments are crucial to the momentum heading into the rest of their album. There have been plenty of cases where an intro has fallen flat, causing an entire project to derail as a result. However, on “Stay”, there isn’t a better way to introduce North Carolina’s own Jodeci, commanding the attention of the audience with four simple words. Everything that follows lead to the perfect R&B album.

For some reason, 2020 has been the year of Jodeci for me. According to Apple Music, I’ve played 15 hours of the iconic R&B group’s music. The kicker is, despite Diary of a Mad Band and The Show, The After-Party, The Hotel both being excellent listens, I haven’t really played those two like I have with Forever My Lady. I’ve played it almost 100 times a little over half way through the year. There are few albums that have soundtracked late nights and karaoke sessions as well as Forever My Lady. It’s a jaw-dropping display of stunning balladry and uptempo New Jack Swing tracks that spotlight the NC natives’ ability to allure men and women alike.