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Blacker The Berry, Sweeter The Love Song: Our Favorite Black Love Songs
Note: All photos are from the Florida Memory Project.
The collaboration of our dreams is about to drop: Valentine’s Day and Black History Month. To make the most of both celebrations, we put together our favorite Black love songs. We’re defending our choices below, and then you can decide for yourself by listening to our Spotify playlist with them (and others!).
Victoria’s top three (in no particular order):
“Through The Fire” by Chaka Khan: This was my first dance at my wedding. While I absolutely do not subscribe to the idea of struggle love, healthy relationships can be hard work! I feel like the lyrics embody the process of working through past heartbreak and allowing yourself to love and be loved again. Love isn’t just a feeling, it’s a commitment, and this song literally is vowing to do whatever it takes for just “a chance” to be with your person. The lyrics hit me like a ton of bricks one night and I was crying in the clerb. 10/10, no notes.
“Masterpiece (Mona Lisa)” by Jazmine Sullivan: Because self-love is the best love! And not just a fluffy or conceited self-love, but Jazmine speaks to all the things we often face, from picking apart our physical appearance, to dealing with imposter syndrome and not feeling good enough. The affirmation that “every part of me is beautiful” is one that’s often hard to fully believe and embrace, but increasingly important in the age of perfectly curated social media content. Playing this song on days when you’re not feeling your best is sure to boost your mood.
“If This World Were Mine” by Luther Vandross & Cheryl Lynn: The 80s and 90s truly had the love song formula down to a science. Ballads were king and this song is no exception. I think it captures the euphoric side of romantic love perfectly; the song literally says “if this world were mine, I would place at your feet/all that I own, you been so good to me.” The way Luther and Cheryl trade verses and ad-libs throughout the song, you can picture a couple slow-dancing in a courtyard under a full moon. All the feels.
Sky’s favorite (and some honorable mentions):
“I Like It” by DeBarge: Whether you remember your mom blasting Keyshia Cole as a part of her Sunday morning cleaning ritual like mine did, or belting Toni Braxton in the car with your home girls, there is no denial that R&B, Motown, funk, and other genres of music dominated by Black musicians has shaped and added color to our experiences around love. There are plenty of songs that bring me back to moments of teen crushes, initial heartbreaks, and the moment I finally found my person. However, the song that I constantly come back to, regardless of whatever journey I’ve been on, is “I Like It” by DeBarge. If you know, you know!
DeBarge transports us to the moment where everything about the person we love (or deeply like) gives us butterflies. The first twenty seconds of the song starts off with a mix of keyboards, drums, trumpets, and then we get the first lyric: “I’ve been thinking about you…for quite a while.” What comes after this is four minutes of the lead singer professing his desire and interest. The lyrics are not complicated. In fact, they are repetitive. What draws me to this song though, outside of the beautiful ensemble of background singers and the melody of instruments, is the passion I hear as the band describes how everyday actions are inspiring and attractive to them. As the song comes to an end, you can hear the singer’s ad-libs reach a higher and higher range, which only adds to the feeling that he is truly enamored by this mysterious woman. In the years I’ve played this song, I have yet to come across a person who doesn’t have joy or some memory come across their face. Despite being released in the 80s, “I Like It” continues to serve as a blueprint to compliment a love interest without shame, without mess, and without fear. It pushes us to be bold in our declaration of love.
Honorable Mentions: “Let’s Stay Together” by Al Green, “Let’s Get Married” by Jagged Edge, “I’d Rather Be with You” by Bootsy Collins, and “If You Love Me” by Brownstone.
Jessica’s pick (and some honorable mentions):
“Orange Moon” by Erykah Badu: For all of my earthy, astrology, yearning lover gorls out there, “Orange Moon” is for you. This song first came across my Spotify when I first started going on dates with my current partner, and I immediately thought of us upon first listen. Everything about this song is perfect: the instruments, the vocals, the build, the lyrics!!!!!!!!!!!! Erykah Badu encapsulates the feeling of having the true warmth and understanding of a partner, and the groundedness that comes from y’all reflecting off of each other. It’s less about opposites attracting and more about the beauty of balancing each other out, feeling firm to stand in your own light along with theirs. Perfect for a date night in your home with incense, warm lighting, and dancing barefoot in the kitchen…put it on and tell me just “how good it is.”
Honorable mentions: “Lately” by KIRBY ft. BJ the Chicago Kid, which perfectly captures the deepened yearning and uncertainty that comes when you realize that someone you kind of like might be someone you really, really like and what a future together could look like (the bridge of this song is also just *chef’s kiss*). “The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face” by Roberta Flack is, reluctantly, a song that I heard for the first time on Glee, but articulates the feeling of really *seeing* the person that you love as they are.
Lark’s number one and honorable mentions:
“Never Too Much” by Luther Vandross: There are so many Black love songs in my daily listening rotation but “Never Too Much” by Luther Vandross takes the cake. Aside from it being one of the best, most timeless pop bops of all time, the lyrics personify the kind of joyful, all-encompassing love we all deserve. Throughout the song, Luther talks about being so lovesick, missing his love so much that he contemplates quitting his job to spend more time with them (if he wanted to he would!!), and how a thousand kisses and a million days in their arms is never too much.
“There’s not a minute, hour, day or night that I don’t love you” – put that in my vows. This song never fails to put me in a good mood.
Honorable mentions:
“The Best” by Tina Turner, not only is this song essentially responsible for Turner’s later-in-career comeback to the U.S., but those iconic, opening beats set the tone for the beautiful love song to follow.
“L-O-V-E” by Nat King Cole, there’s not much more to be said about a short, simple, and sweet love song that still holds a place in our hearts 60 years after it debuted, but I will never skip this song when it comes on shuffle.
