The Future

by Alex HendersonNew jack swing, a hard-edged, high-tech blend of funk, R&B, and rap/hip-hop, has been milked for all it's worth and run into the ground by Guy's numerous imitators in the late '80s and early- to mid-'90s. But in the hands of its highly influential originators, Guy, it sounds fresh and inspired. Though not as strong as the debut album of 1988, The Future is one of the more appealing -- and certainly more authentic -- examples of "new jack swing." Lead by the ubiquitous producer/songwriter Teddy Riley, the trio brings a definite urgency to grinding, forceful funk like "Teddy's Jam 2" and "Her," and to such slow jams as "Do Me Right" and "Tease Me Tonight" (both of which recall the Gap Band à la "Outstanding"). Especially riveting is the all-rap number "Total Control," a brutally honest commentary on exploitation in the music business. It's important to absorb Guy's music and realize that it is proof, against the understandable complaints about the glut of faceless "new jack swing" artists saturating the market, that it wasn't always cheap and formulaic.