SITE TOOLS
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Toni Braxton
The Heat
By Carla Robinson
Toni Braxton wants sex, but she’s jaded on the commitment tip. On The Heat,
her third album, the songs oscillate between aggressive booty calls and finger wagging at
men, better known as the doggish sex. The debut single, “He Wasn’t Man Enough
for Me,” lets loose a one-two punch that sets the album’s thematic tone. A
nouveaux-R&B piece on which she lets a sister know she’s getting Toni’s
sloppy seconds, not the other way around, it’s the best of what the record has to
offer.
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Maybe what Toni’s really fallen out of love with is
the music industry. It may not be intentional, but the songs do tell a story of someone
who’s grown up and grown wary, someone who’s discovered that rose-colored
glasses only filter out the truth. It’s no secret that the business has knocked Toni
down. On The Heat, she shows that she has risen. There was a time when she would never
breathe again, but these days, she’s “still breathing/this old heart of mine is
still beating” (“I’m Still Breathing”).
She’s also ready to demand what she wants; dropping sexual hints like anvils. The
resulting songs merge with varying degrees of success. Standouts include “The Art of
Love,” which feels like a liberated version of Donna Summer’s “I Feel
Love,” and the Braxton penned “Speaking in Tongues” which takes double
entendre to deliciously scandalous new heights. Yes, these are baby-making songs, but, on
The Heat, you won’t find any wedding anthems to go with them. M
August 2000
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