Yacht Rock: Episode 7

Back in the mid-90s, when I was not paying attention to rap in any way, I heard a song that I later realized was Warren G's "Regulate." But I noticed something that I'm pretty sure 90% of Death Row's target audience did not: the song sampled Michael McDonald's 1982 supermarket favorite "I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)." I remember thinking, "Wait a second, are they really sampling Michael McDonald's 'I Keep Forgettin'?" Yes. Yes, they were.



And so we come to Yacht Rock Episode 7, which leaps ten years into the future, long past Yacht Rock's heyday. Initially, in 1982, when McDonald plays "I Keep Forgettin' " (featuring, of course, three members of Toto) to Loggins, the now hard-rocking songwriter is unimpressed. McDonald challenges him to a bet:

"God damn it Loggins, the smooth grooves of this song alone will make it to at least #2."

Although "I Keep Forgettin'" was a big hit, it nevertheless only managed to peak at #4. McDonald is undettered:

"I don't know how, and I don't know when, but my song will bounce back."

And Dr. Dre was right of course; Warren G was destined to be mellow, not aggressive. "Little brutha, you don't get it. You don't gotta be all gangsta to make it in the rap game. You gotta find a style that fits. And you're not hard. You're...smooth."