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April 15, 1989 “Friends” by GRAMMY winner Jody Watley ft. Eric B and Rakim was released. A groundbreaking R&B/Rap/Pop/Dance collaboration. “Friends” made history as the first pairing to hit the Top 10 on multiple charts. It reached #3 R&B, #7 Dance, and most notably, #9 on the Billboard Hot 100. This monumental event paved the way for future genre-blending hit crossover hits. This monumental event in R&B/Rap collaboration history has largely gone overlooked decades after the fact.

Nowadays, Rap and R&B go hand in hand-in-hand. But this wasn’t always the case. Let’s go back to the late 80’s. At that time, rappers and R&B/Pop singers never collaborated. Check out the origins: Ten Songs That Kicked Off R&B Rap Collaborations.

Sources:

Dart Adams, (2018) OkayPlayer, “Ten Songs That Kicked Off R&B Rap Collaborations”

Mickey Hess, (2007) “Icons of Hip Hop: Sn Encyclopedia of The Movement, Music, Culture Vol. 1 (Jody Watley, Eric B. & Rakim “Friends” page 154, Greenwood Press

William Jelani (2007) To The Break Of Dawn: A Freestyle on The Hip-Hop Aesthetic; Jody Watley, Eric B & Rakim, “Friends” page 142, NYU Press

Stream this timeless Jody Watley ft Eric B. & Rakim classic; add to your playlists via streaming platforms of your choice.

Jody Watley born on January 30 in Chicago, Illinois is a GRAMMY-winning, multi-platinum singer/songwriter/producer and style icon whose impact spans decades. Named Best New Artist in 1988—only the third Black artist to receive the honor at the time—she’s one of Billboard’s Top 60 Female Artists of All Time.

With 6 Top 10 Hot 100 hits (including “Looking for a New Love” and “Friends” ft. Eric B. & Rakim), 7 No. 1 Dance singles, and genre-defying work across multiple decades from R&B, Pop, Dance, Electronica, Jazz, and more, Watley continues to break boundaries.

Her music legacy is active and evolving—most recently with her 2024 release “Everlasting” and remixes heating up dance floors now. From MTV to underground clubs, from the charts to her own label, she remains a trendsetter and trailblazer.

Jody Watley Grammy winning music style icon, singer/songwriter/music producer was celebrated in 2017 as “Crossover Music Icon” on the television broadcast presentation Black Music Honors. As March kicks off Women’s History Month let’s take a look back at an everlasting honor. The delightful tribute performances by R&B stars Vivian Green and Sevyn Streeter are now viewable on YouTube if you missed the original airing. Watch it Here: OmazingTV

Crossover Music Icon Honoree – Jody Watley Black Music Honors 2017

Crossover Music Icon Honoree Jody Watley with performers in tribute Sevyn Streeter and Vivian Green

Black Music Honors 2017: As quiet as it’s sometimes kept, Grammy award winning artist, songwriter, producer Jody Watley, one of Pop /R&B and Dance music’s most enduring pioneers has been at the forefront of some of the most groundbreaking trends and movements in modern pop culture – political statements, music and music video innovation, and the place where all those tracks meet. Check just a fragment of her résumé:

The video for her classic 1987 song “Still a Thrill” (from her Grammy-winning eponymous debut album of that same year) dazzlingly incorporates waacking, the underground freestyle dance (think of it as an even more beat-driven cousin to voguing), and is the first time a major pop star used their artistic platform to showcase this particular means of body expression. But Ms. Watley had actually brought the dance to widespread American attention a few years earlier as a teenage dancer on the iconic TV show Soul Train. Now, waacking has fans and practitioners around the globe, many of whom use the music of Ms. Watley in their routines as a show of respect for an OG who has kept the flame burning.
Jody Watley was the first black woman and artist to release a million selling fitness video in 1989. An early adapter to what was to come with artists taking control of their potential extensions in business as “brands” with her vision forward “Dance To Fitness” set to her own Pop/R&B hits from her first 2 albums.
Jody Watley was one of few black female artists selected to crossover into groundbreaking celebrity ad campaigns for GAP and l.e. Eyeworks 1988 and 1989. Later she would be featured in an unprecedented 15 pages in the prestigious Fall Catalog for luxury retailer Saks 5th Avenue in 1996.
Her groundbreaking 1989 cut “Friends” carved the template for both R&B/hip-hop and pop/hip-hop fusions to come, as it was the first time a rapper (the legendary Rakim, of Eric B. & Rakim) wrote original verses for an R&B/pop song.
The video for “Friends” was a landmark of subversive/progressive representation that has still not yet been matched – or given its due as a taboo-shattering cultural artifact. Set in an underground New York dance club, and featuring performances by Ms. Watley and Eric B. & Rakim, the club’s denizens are made of up straight, gay, and transgender folk, of all races, body shapes and sartorial aesthetics. B-boys jostle alongside drag queens, Rakim rocks the mic, and Jody serves face and fierceness. It’s a warm utopian vibe. The gathering is organic, and lacks the opportunistic marketing tactic of gay-friendly advocacy that is now on trend for pop divas.
The catchphrase “Hasta La Vista Baby” for her mega debut single “Looking for a New Love” became a pop culture phenomenon along with her signature jumbo hoop earrings and eclectic swag separating her from other artists; a freestyle girl mixing high, low funky couture with high end and vintage.
- Long before making his mark as a film director, David Fincher (Se7en; Fight Club) cut his stylistic teeth on Ms. Watley’s sleek, hugely influential music video for the 1989 smash “Real Love,” perfecting a signature visual look that he would later impart to other pop divas.
- Unhappy with the constraints of being on a major label, she parted ways with her industry home and started her own label Avitone Recordings in 1995. Through it she has released four critically acclaimed CDs (Affection, 1995; The Saturday Night Experience, 1999; Midnight Lounge, 2001; The Makeover, 2006, Paradise, 2014) which have collectively spanned the genres electronica, ambient, R&B, and House. They’ve also reinforced her roots in and solidified her ties to the global dance underground, as everyone from 4Hero and King Britt to Masters at Work and Junior Vasquez jumped at the chance to work on these projects. She has also collaborated recently with Modern Funk Impresario Dam-Funk, and folk artist Peter Harper continuing to reflect an artist not confined to a stereotypical music boxes.
- A fashion-forward visionary from her Soul Train days, Ms. Watley never used a professional stylist but, as a solo artist with a singular vision and keen instincts, carved her own look by weaving vintage clothing and contemporary street fashions from her own closet with high-end pieces from fashion designers who hadn’t yet caught the public or industry eye (Jean-Paul Gautier; Rifat Ozbek.) Photographers from the legendary Francesco Scavullo to firebrand Steven Meisel lined up to work with her. For her iconoclastic and influential eye, she was honored with a feature in VOGUE Italia’s groundbreaking “Black Issue” in 2008.

• • Jody Watley in 2016 was ranked by Billboard Magazine as one of the Greatest Dance Artists of All Time on a list that includes Madonna, Beyonce, Rihanna and Katy Perry. – Ernest Hardy

Jody Watley is a GRAMMY award winning multi-platinum singer/songwriter/producer/entrepreneur. Some of her iconic Top 10 singles include “Looking For A New Love” “Don’t You Want Me” the groundbreaking “Friends” ft. Eric B & Rakim, and “Real Love”.

With a diverse music discography spanning R&B / Pop / Dance /Hip Hop / Electronic / Jazz / Adult Contemporary 80s, 90s, 00s, 10s, 20s Jody Watley is recognized as a style icon and one of the architects of 21st century Pop/R&B/Dance music. Jody Watley was 2017 recipient of the Black Music Honors ‘Crossover Music Icon’ Award for her early cultural influence and impact as a solo artist; other accolades include 2007 Billboard Dance Lifetime Achievement Award, along with nominations from the American Music Awards, MTV Awards, NAACP Awards and Soul Train Awards.

In 2018 Billboard Magazine included Jody Watley in the Top 60 Hot 100 Female Artists Of All Time and Top 25 Top Female Dance Artists Of All Time. A 2022 Inductee into the Women’s Songwriters Hall of Fame, Watley has also been recognized by performing rights organization BMI (Broadcast Music). “I’m really most proud to have songwriter and producer be a part of my resume and legacy as an artist.”

Learn more about Jody Watley: Biography and Discography