Even though it’s not as big commercially as it used to be, R&B is still one of the greatest music genres there is. From the sounds, voices, and messages you hear from any great R&B song, it’s something that makes you feel in a way no other music genre can. While it has become a lost art over the last 20+ years, some of the biggest R&B songs were the ones used to successfully promote a movie. Many of these songs turned out to be a breakthrough hit for an artist, a hit that made them even bigger than they already were, and in some cases, went on to be bigger than the movie itself. Let’s not waste any more time as Konscious Kurt breaks down his 10 Favorite R&B Songs from Movies:
10. Rush Hour: How Deep Is Your Love – Dru Hill
Hitting theaters in the Fall of 1998, Rush Hour is considered one of the best buddy comedies of all time as it made mainstream stars out of Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan. For as big of a hit as the movie was, the soundtrack for it was also a big deal. Featuring the likes of Jay -Z, Ja Rule, Case, and Joe, the song from it that hit the hardest was Dru Hill’s “How Deep Is Your Love.” While a popular group before this, the song and its association with the movie really took them to a new level as it became their highest charting hit. As Sisqo’s performance on the song really shined the most, it would be a prelude to the memorable solo run he had less than two years later.
9. Fifty Shades of Grey: Earned It – The Weekend
2015’s Fifty Shades of Grey was one of the most highly anticipated movies of that year. While the movie wasn’t received well once it hit theaters, what was received well was the soundtrack that came with it. As it produced hits such as Ellie Goulding’s “Love Me Like You Do,” the song the movie is most synonymous with is The Weekend’s “Earned It.” Regardless of what anyone thinks of the movie, no one can argue that this song and Weekend’s performance capture the sexual vibe of the movie to a Tee. His first song to reach the top five on the Billboard charts, the success of “Earned It” was what helped The Weekend cross over into the megastar that he is today.
8. Higher Learning: Ask of You – Raphael Saadiq
Directed by the late John Singleton, 1995’s Higher Learning was one of the first movies of its time to touch on racial tensions at a college campus. From racial profiling, rape, and violence, there’s no issue that the movie doesn’t explore. For as intense as the movie is, the song “Ask of You” from its soundtrack is much more lighthearted. Performed by Raphael Saadiq, the song pulls off being sexual and romantic at the same time. While many know Saadiq for being a part of the group Tony Toni Tone, this song established his solo career as its success led to it breaking through the top 20 on the Billboard charts.
7. Soul Food: A Song For Mama – Boyz II Men
The 1997 classic Soul Food centers around a Chicago family torn apart after the family’s matriarch falls into a coma. In addition to the story and the performances, what also makes the movie so good is its Babyface produced soundtrack. While featuring many great songs from Dru Hill, Total, and OutKast, there’s none from it that ranks higher than Boyz II Men’s “A Song for Mama.” As the song plays during the movie’s opening and closing credits, it really captures the family vibe of the movie and the deep love anyone would have for their mother. Second to only Tupac’s “Dear Mama,” “A Song for Mama” is the most iconic song dedicated to mothers.
6. Waiting to Exhale: Not Gon’ Cry – Mary J. Blige
A movie about the struggles women go through stemming from heartbreak and betrayal, 1995’s Waiting to Exhale was a defining movie for black women in the ‘90s. As revered as the movie is, the soundtrack for it is also remembered fondly. Produced by Babyface and featuring three hit singles, the song that’s most synonymous with the movie is Mary J. Blige’s “Not Gon’ Cry.” As the song tells the story of the movie’s main character being left by her husband, that combined with the writing from Babyface and Mary’s performance make it a song that you feel from every last word. With this song coming out around the same time as her My Life album, it’s hard to argue against this period of time being Mary’s peak.
5. Romeo Must Die: Try Again – Aaliyah
The late Aaliyah made her acting debut alongside Jet Li in 2000’s Romeo Must Die. While she undoubtedly killed it in the movie with her performance, she shined even brighter on the movie’s theme song, “Try Again.” Produced by Timbaland and even featuring Jet Li in the music video, the song has an inspiring message about continuing to try even if you aren’t successful at first. The song was so successful that it became the first to ever top the Billboard charts based solely on radio airplay. Arguably her biggest hit, “Try Again” was another example of how great Aaliyah was and how much greater she could’ve been if she hadn’t died only a year and a half later.
4. Set It Off: Don’t Let Go (Love) – En Vogue
The first action movie to have four black women as the main characters, 1996’s Set It Off centers around four struggling women that resort to robbing banks to lift themselves out of financial trouble. An incredible movie that still holds up 30 years later, the soundtrack for Set It Off complemented it perfectly. While there were many great songs on there from Bone Thugs-N-Harmony to Brandy, En Vogue’s “Don’t Let Go (Love)” was in a league of its own. Despite it being one of the group’s last songs together before member Dawn Robinson left not long after, the song became their biggest hit internationally as it made it all the way to number two on the Billboard charts. With the powerful message from the song combined with the group’s top tier performance of it, it’s not hard to see why “Don’t Let Go” has gone on to be just as iconic as Set It Off is.
3. Batman Forever: Kiss from a Rose – Seal
Despite its box office success, 1995’s Batman Forever was the real start of the franchise moving in a more cartoony direction that most fans rejected. Although the movie itself is an acquired taste, the song “Kiss from a Rose” used to promote it was something that wasn’t. Performed by Seal, the song was smooth, mellow, and shined in ways that the movie couldn’t. Not only did it top the Billboard charts, but it also won multiple Grammys including Record of the Year and Song of the Year. While Seal had many great songs before and after this, “Kiss from a Rose” is still the one to this day that he’s most famous for (and rightfully so).
2. Boomerang: End of the Road – Boyz II Men
Featuring an ensemble cast with the likes of Eddie Murphy, Halle Berry, and Martin Lawrence, Boomerang tells the story of a ladies man that finally receives his karma. Although the movie was better received years after it was released in 1992, its soundtrack produced by Babyface received high praise instantly. Of all the songs on the soundtrack that slapped, the one that slapped the hardest was Boyz II Men’s “End of the Road.” One of the most iconic songs of that era that was played at countless graduations, it launched the Philadelphia group into a whole new stratosphere. Voted the number one single of 1992, the song set the record at the time for most consecutive weeks atop the Billboard charts at 13.
1. The Bodyguard: I Will Always Love You – Whitney Houston
Also released in 1992 and arguably the biggest song from a movie period, the late Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” was initially used to promote the movie The Bodyguard. Although The Bodyguard was also Houston’s acting debut where she co-starred alongside Kevin Costner, the movie quickly became an afterthought compared to the song. As big of an artist as she already was before this, this song made her even bigger. Breaking the record set by Boyz II Men’s “End of the Road” just a few months earlier, “I Will Always Love You” spent 14 straight weeks at the top of the Billboard charts. From winning countless Grammys to even being the best-selling single by a female artist of all time, the success of the song checked off just about every box imaginable.
Honorable Mentions:
• Soul Food: We’re Not Making Love No More – Dru Hill
• Rush Hour: Faded Pictures – Case, Joe
• The Best Man: The Best Man I Can Be – Ginuwine, Tyrese, R.L., Case
• Space Jam: For You I Will – Monica
• Waiting to Exhale: Exhale (Shoop Shoop) – Whitney Houston
