Romeo & Juliet – Sylk-E. Fine Featuring Chill | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#6) & R&B (#5); 1998
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
Credit Eazy-E with saving Sylk-E. Fine from the rap underground of her rough South Central L.A. neighborhood. Eazy-E, a founding member of NWA with Dr. Dre and Ice Cube, used his connections to help her place some songs with Too Short and 2 Pac.
When Eazy-E passed away, Michael Concepcion, one of Sylk-E’s mentors, urged her to stay with her music, and signed her to his Grand Jury Productions. Concepcion got Sylk-E. into the studio, telling her to just write some songs, then used her demo recording to secure a deal with RCA.
Sylk-E.’s street experience fueled a creative flood, as she wrote and recorded Raw Sylk in under two weeks. Raw Sylk was an impressive debut as was the single, Romeo & Juliet, which peaked in the Pop and R&B Top 10. It features a sample of You Don’t Have To Cry (#2 R&B, 1986) by Rene & Angelina.
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:
- Gerald Baillergeau
- Victor Merritt
Lyrics Written by:
- Sylk-E
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).