Theophilus London can't help the irony, what with his predilection for everything vintage wear and sampling Michael Jackson's “Jam” and an assortment of corny 80's new wave, but on I Want You he dials it down to impressive results.
I Want You is grown man's meditation. More than a mixtape, London samples with genuine homage incorporating Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and an assortment of soul brothers that help him speak the language of love to a special someone. Ha – and he covers Tweet's “Oops (Oh My).” Somehow, someway it works out.
Hosted by Va$htie, Brooklyn's number #1 fashionista, I Want You was inspired by Marvin Gaye's self-imposed exile and his controversial performance at the 1983 NBA All-Star game. The theme revolves around a traveling man seeking a life of love beyond lifestyle. Indeed the motif hits hardest on closer “Departure (Paris 96)” as Theophilus incorporates the popular refrain “back in the days when I was young / I'm not a kid anymore / but some days I sit and wish I was a kid again.”
Download I Want You here.
Theophilus London, “I Want You” (Marvin Gaye cover)
