Butta Love – Next | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#16) and R&B (#4); 1997
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
Aspiring artists can always use a little help, and for Next it came in the form of Kay Gee of Naughty By Nature (Hip Hop Hurray, O.P.P.), who asked them to give him a demo tape.
It was 1995, three years after Lo-Key’s Prof T. and Lance Alexander caught a performance by brothers, Raphael “Tweety” and Terry “T-Low” Brown, and Robert “R.L.” Huggar.
They cut some tracks on the St. Paul/ Minneapolis trio, then the group – known as Straight4ward – went on to gigging at local clubs. So, when Kay Gee caught them at the Mall of America, looking for acts for his Divine Mill label, the boys called Next were experienced and ready.
Rated Next hit the street in September of 1997, yielding the breakout single Butta Love. Love and its follow-up, singles, Too Close and I Still Love You, drove Rated Next into multi-platinum sales.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Lance Alexander
Lyrics Written by:
- Lance Alexander
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).