While many people are only interested in the people who sing the songs, we at YouKnowIGotSoul have a great amount of respect for writers and producers who may not get the shine that they deserve for creating a song. With these lists, we hope everyone gets an opportunity to find out more about some of the people who go unnoticed to the public and whose names are only found in the album credits.
To kick off this feature, we will list our ten favorite songs written by the late Stephen Ellis Garrett aka Static Major. One of the original members of the R&B group Playa, he’s a man behind so many hits through the years, and deserves the shine. As a rule of thumb, we will not be listing an artist more than twice on the list to make it more diverse. However, we have included an extensive honorable mention section to shine light on many of the other great songs.
Also, this doesnt even include many of the amazing solo songs he wrote for himself. There are some epic ones there too.
Click Here to check out all of our Top 10 Lists. Click any of the song titles to hear that song. Click Here to read an interview we did with Static’s wife on the future of his legacy.
JoJo – City Lights
This track off JoJo’s debut album showcased Static’s versatility. Though Static was great at writing sensual songs, he also had the ability to put together a great track for JoJo who was 13 at the time.
Pleasure P – Fire Lovin’
People may not realize this, but Pleasure P’s debut album is actually the last time Static’s name has been in the writing credits for a project that was officially released. This smooth joint had the witty lyrics from Static that we all grew to love.
Playa – Incense Burning
Before Bruno Mars came up with “The Lazy Song”, there was this song. This song appeared on the Exit Wounds soundtrack which primarily consisted of Hip-Hop songs. However, this R&B track fit right in there with the rest of that soundtrack.
Nicole Wray – Eyes Better Not Wander
One of three Static songs that appeared on Nicole Wray’s debut album. This track ended up being a single off that album, but failed to make an impact of the charts. It is definitely a song people slept on because it still sounds great to this day.
Aaliyah – It’s Whatever
You can essentially put any song from the “Aaliyah” album on this list, but we’re going to go with “It’s Whatever”. Even though it doesn’t immediately grab your ear like some of the other songs, it’s a song that I find myself listening to over and over because of how smooth and soothing it is.
Nicole Wray – Raise Your Frown
Another Nicole Wray song ends up making the track. This one just has a really nice vibe to it. Check out Static on the hook with those harmonies.
Ginuwine – Same Ol’ G
Sonically the song sounded great, but what was even more impressive about this song is the lyrical content behind it. We would hear it from rappers, but for an R&B singer to explain to everyone that they’re still the “Same Ol’ G” was truly something special.
Playa – Gravy Train
This was never officially released, but if there is one song that will fully represent Static’s music, it would be this one. It was R&B, but it had a street twist on it.
Aaliyah – Are You That Somebody?
It’s been over 20 years since this song was released and there still hasn’t been anything like it. The memorable baby crying sample combined with Static’s witty lyrics and Aaliyah’s sweet vocals makes this one of those songs that will be here for a long time.
Ginuwine – So Anxious
You could probably replace this with “Pony”, but we’re going to go with “So Anxious” because it is undoubtedly one of our favorite songs. This song, along with “Pony”, were both songs that were very risky choices as singles because of how different they were. Slow jams were common back in the day, but this song had such an unusual drum pattern that confused people because they thought the song was too slow. Soon enough though, the song grew on everyone and led to another hit written by Static.
Honorable Mention:
-Ginuwine – Pony
-Aaliyah – Try Again
-Aaliyah – Loose Rap
-Aaliyah – More Than a Woman
-Aaliyah – Rock the Boat
-Timbaland & Magoo – Joy (featuring Playa & Ginuwine)
-Playa – Cheers 2 U
-Ginuwine – Final Warning (featuring Aaliyah)
-Destiny’s Child (Timbaland Remix)
-Timbaland & Magoo – I Am Music (featuring Aaliyah & Static)
-Solange – Get Together
-Truth Hurts – Addictive
-Aaliyah – Don’t Know What to Tell Ya
-Brandy – Come As You Are
Photo Credit: Stacey Wade
It must have been hard to write only 10, there’s so many good one’s.
THE BEST STATIC WRITTEN SONG IS “PARIS – HARD IN THE PAINT” !!!!! …………..I CAN’T BELIEVE U GUYS LEFT THAT OUT OF THE TOP 2 LET ALONE THE TOP 10. & U SAY U GOT SOOOOOOOOOOOOUL, HMM !!!!!……………..YELLOW CAKE……4life, Bwoiiiiiiiiiii.
Pretty solid list overall. The only major differences I probably would have had were “Loose Rap” on there somewhere, and probably “Gravy Train” not on the list. A little surprised “Soul Back” didn’t make it, you know, the Mary J. Blige demo ;-)
Love that u put “city lights” on the list. Not many know about that joint
Much Luv YAll SMIM all day ERR DAY …..life . The originals
^that’s right! SMIM all daaaaaaay. loved it, miss it!
I’m sorry, “It’s Whatever” is my favorite song off the Aaliyah song. I remember playing this especially after she passed. This song kinda represented the essence of Aaliyah the person, “just like a breeze, in the middle of a summers eve, when you come through you comfort me”