There is a short list of artists that can boast having music mogul Quincy Jones as a mentor. Tevin Campbell is on that list. It was Q who brought little Tevin to the attention of the music masses back in 1989 at the tender age of 13. After huge chart success with his debut album (1991's T.E.V.I.N., which yielded a whopping eight singles!), Campbell's second studio release, 1993's I'm Ready, found the 16-year old crooner with the soaring tenor at his absolute apex.
The lead single, the Babyface-produced "Can We Talk", was arguably the collection's gem, staying atop the Billboard R&B charts for three weeks and reaching #9 on the Billboard Hot 100. Not only did the song garner a well-deserved Grammy nomination, it also garnered much-deserved respect from teenagers everywhere who now had a fool-proof pick-up line.
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Sure, over the years Tevin's talent ceiling has come crashing down around him, mostly due to horrible decision-making and what could be chalked up to the price of peaking early, but thankfully we have songs like this that still spark nostalgia. Get us to talking. Good times.
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