Whatchu Know About That?! 10 Songs I Shouldn’t Have Been Singing As A Kid

This is How It Works- TLC

(1995- 8 years old)

Touch me slow, watch it grow

Make it groove, in, out, in…

In the early ’90’s, my mom was into everything even mildly associated with Waiting to Exhale. The book, the movie and especially the soundtrack. It was the one component you could take with you and that’s exactly what my mom did. When we were riding in the car with her, 9 times out of 10, the soundtrack was playing. Which is how I discovered “This is How It Works.” I barely knew the words and would just sing the chorus and the “ah ah aaaah ah” part, not realizing what I was singing about. It wasn’t until my dad got in the car one day and had a fit about the lyrics. Once he flipped out and turned it off, I really started listening on my own, in the house. I was able to surmise it was about sex. And the older I got the more I understood. Very graphic.

Too Close- Next

(1998- 11 years old)

I wonder if she could tell I’m hard right now

Baby, when we’re grindin’, I get so excited

How I like it, I try but I can’t fight it

Oh, you’re dancin’ real close, ‘plus it’s real, real slow

You’re makin’ it hard for me

From the very first line of this song, you already know this song is about the raunch. In case you were distracted by the beat, this song is essentially about a man’s erection poking a girl while they’re dancing. But the way the music and the vocal is set up, you would think it’s just an innocent dance track. But if you know anything about the group Next, you know most of their music is on the edge.

I Get Around- Tupac

(1993- 6 years old)

You don’t know me, you just met me, you won’t let me

Growing up I didn’t know anything about East coast rappers, with the exception of Biggie. In our house, my dad only played Tupac. And though a majority of his songs were completely inappropriate for a child under 10, that’s what I knew. And the mid-tempoed groove with the “Computer Love” sample sounded like such a fun song, it lured me in. Something about the “bah bah” ad libs in the back gave the track a fun vibe. But what I didn’t realize, until I got much older was that Tupac was talking about his sexual conquests, even explaining to the women he meets that if they aren’t willing to have sex with him on the first night, he can’t be bothered. Great message for the kiddies. 

Love Scene – Joe

(1997- 10 years old)

Girl, I’m down to take a sip from your cup (No, no, no, no, no, no, no)

If you drink from my fountain of love (Ooh…ooh…oh…ho…)

’69 was a very good year (Do you remember, girl)

If you know what I mean, my dear (Ooh, baby)

’69 was a very good year (I could remember)

If you know what I mean, my dear (Let’s do it over and over again)

Of all the songs on this list, “Love Scene” is one of the tamest. It’s clearly about sex, but the lyrics are masked in a classy way. They’re masked right until you get to the end of the song. From there, Joe very explicitly starts talking about oral. I’ll always remember this song as being inappropriate for a 10 year old because Joe piqued my curiosity when he said “69 was a very good year, if you know what I mean my dear.” Well, at 10 I didn’t know what he meant. So I asked my dad. He said he didn’t know a little too quickly and I knew he was lying. So I asked my mom and she gave me the real.

http://www.youtube.com/v/gFE3r1iYdfc?hl=en_US&version=3

You’re The One- SWV

(1996- 9 Years old)

What your girl don’t know won’t hurt her

Anything to make this love go further…

Know nothing, Oh no

A while ago, we posted a story about the worst side chick anthems of all time and you already know “You’re the One” was at the top of the list. The women of SWV readily acknowledge that though homeboy is in a committed relationship, she’s still “willing to do anything to get in [his] pants.” Messy, messy! And at 9 I was just singing away not really comprehending what those scandalous women were talking about. Not exactly a role model moment for the group.

O.P.P.- Naughty by Nature

(1991- 4 years old)

The last P…well…that’s not that simple

As a game ‘n it seems I gotta start to explainin’

As for the ladies, OPP means something gifted

The first two letters are the same but the last is something different

It’s the longest, loveliest, lean- I call it the leanest

It’s another five letter word rhymin’ with cleanest and meanest

Naughty By Nature were some sneaky dudes. The confused a really raunchy song behind an almost kiddie, fun Hip Hop beat. At 4 and 5 years old, I swore I was down with O.P.P. Screaming, “yeah you know me.” Little did I know the song was about genitalia. Thing is, by the time I learned the true meaning of the song, I didn’t even care. I was already invested.

Shoop -Salt N Pepa

(1993- 6 years old)

Felt it in my hips so I dipped back to my bag of tricks

Then I flipped for a tip, make me wanna do tricks for him

Lick him like a lollipop should be licked

Came to my senses and I chilled for a bit

Don’t know how you do the voodoo that you do

So well it’s a spell, hell, makes me wanna shoop shoop shoop

“Shoop” may seem like a relatively innocent song when you compare it to the rest of Salt N Pepa’s repertoire. But even though it’s just about a woman seeing a man she finds attractive for the first time, the thoughts she has about this man are not so G rated. Luckily, at 6 they were rapping too fast for me to understand and I was just pretending to know the words.  

Pony- Ginuwine

(1996- 9 Years old)

Just once if I have the chance 

The things I would do to you

You and your body

Every single portion

Send chills up and down your spine

Juices flowing down your thigh

If you’re horny lets do it, ride it, my pony

My saddle’s waiting, come and jump on it

If you’re horny lets do it, ride it, my pony

My saddle’s waiting, come and jump on it

I was so distracted by Timbaland’s beat and Ginuwine’s fineness and dance moves that I didn’t really think about the message of the song.  Though I knew he was talking about sex, I didn’t comprehend the graphic nature of the song until…today actually. I never knew he said juices flowing down your thigh. Good gosh!

Tell Me – Dru Hill

(1996- 9 Years old)

Listen baby 

Anything is possible 

Anytime you want it girl let me know 

I won’t ask why just let it flow 

Do your thing baby, take control 

On my knees just say the word 

No request is gonna go unheard 

I’ll take my time when I’m loving you 

4play at one won’t end till two 

This is another mild one but again I include it on the list because apparently, parents were just really free back in the day. I wouldn’t have been thinking about how risque this song was had Dru Hill not appeared on Nickelodeon’s “All That” hopping around singing about 4play. Tres inappropriate.

Profyle – Nasty from Omarion on Vimeo.

Nasty- Profyle

(2000- 13 Years Old)

I like the way you put it on me, girl

(You like that?)

You make me wanna ride

(I make you wanna ride, baby)

The way we’re touching

It feels like we’re f**king

I wanna get up inside, yeah

And I can tell you’re hard

I know, ’cause I can feel it

Up and down my thighs

I know what you’re thinking

I include this song because, from the title, there was no getting around how…nasty this song is. You may not be familiar, considering Profyle is most known for their song “Liar,” but if you don’t know “Nasty” featuring Monifah, you’re missing out in a major way. The song, through super freaky, is hot fire. If you listen, you can’t help but to bounce.