You’re Definitely Sexing
Is Next’s “Too Close” The Least Subtle Song of All Time?
I realize that the first thing people are going to think when they see this is “Next? They’re not hip-hop.” But I created this Collection, and dammit, I want to talk about Next. Specifically, their 1997 hit, “Too Close.”
“Too Close” is quite possibly the least subtle song ever created. When writing the lyrics for this single, Next — which consisted of R.L. Huggar and the Brown brothers, Terry and Raphael — must have realized what they were doing. The process couldn’t have been any more complicated than “Hey, let’s produce a song about getting a boner while dancing with a woman.” A few examples:
Yeah, come on, dance for me baby, ha ha, yeah
Uh oh, you feel that? Alright
In other words, thanks for dancing with me and oh wow, there’s my boner.
Baby, when we’re grindin’, I get so excited
How I like it, I try but I can’t fight it
Oh, you’re dancin’ real close, ‘plus it’s real, real slow
You’re makin’ it hard for me
Well this is as overt as it gets. She is literally making it hard for him. As of now, I’m not sure if this was her intent.
Step back you’re dancing kinda close
I feel a little poke coming through
On you
It was not her intent.
Now girl I know you felt it
But boo, you know I can’t help it
You know what I wanna do
No doubt she has realized what he wants to do.
There might be more lyrically obvious songs out there, but “Too Close” has to be considered among the top 10. Maybe even top five. Right behind Joe Jackson’s “Stepping Out,” which is a song about leaving the house.
