Keith Sweat (born July 22, 1961) is an American singer, producer and songwriter. An early figure in the

new jack swing New jack swing, new jack, or swingbeat is a fusion genre of the rhythms and production techniques of hip hop and dance-pop, and the urban contemporary sound of R&B. Spearheaded by producers Teddy Riley, Bernard Belle, Jimmy Jam and Te ...

musical movement, he is known for his collection of hits including " I Want Her," " Make It Last Forever," " I'll Give All My Love to You," " Make You Sweat," " Get Up on It," " Twisted," "Nobody." He has released 13 solo albums (two as a part of the R&B supergroup LSG) and discovered the groups

Silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

and

Kut Klose Kut Klose is an American contemporary R&B trio that formed in Atlanta, Georgia. The three female singers that made up the group were Athena Cage, Lavonn Battle and Tabitha Duncan. They were originally discovered by singer Keith Sweat, who also s ...

. Sweat's sound reportedly was influenced by

Slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

front man

Steve Arrington Steven Ralph Arrington (born March 5, 1956) is an American singer, songwriter, drummer, record producer, engineer and minister, who grew up in Dayton, Ohio. Biography Arrington played in various local bands before joining and touring with The M ...

and go-go music.

Early life

Sweat was born in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to Juanita Thompson, a

hairdresser A hairdresser is a person whose occupation is to cut or style hair in order to change or maintain a person's image. This is achieved using a combination of hair coloring, haircutting, and hair texturing techniques. A hairdresser may also be re ...

, and Charles Crier, a factory worker. After Charles Crier's passing in 1973, Juanita raised their five kids by herself. As a youth, Sweat performed at the famous

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater (formerly the Hurtig & Seamon's New Theatre; also Apollo Theatre or 125th Street Apollo Theatre) is a multi-use Theater (structure), theater at 253 125th Street (Manhattan), West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of U ...

, which was near his home. Before releasing his solo album, Sweat worked as a night stock worker at

Macy's Macy's is an American department store chain founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. The first store was located in Manhattan on Sixth Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets, south of the present-day flagship store at Herald Square on West 34 ...

Department Store, and then a mail room clerk at

Paine Webber PaineWebber & Co. was an American investment bank and stock brokerage firm that was acquired by the Swiss bank UBS in 2000. The company was founded in 1880 in Boston, Massachusetts, by William A. Paine and Wallace G. Webber. Operating with two ...

, a

brokerage firm A broker is a person or entity that arranges transactions between a Purchasing, buyer and a sales, seller. This may be done for a commission (remuneration), commission when the deal is executed. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer b ...

. Additionally, he earned a degree in communications from

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

. “I think everyone should have an alternative plan. In my case, I went to the City College of New York and got my degree in communications. So I had a backup plan so that I didn’t lose out on a decent future,” Sweat once said. Within just four years, he worked his way up to a lucrative brokerage assistant job on the floor of the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...

. Sweat also worked as a supervisor for the

New York Mercantile Exchange The New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) is a commodity futures exchange owned and operated by CME Group of Chicago. NYMEX is located at One North End Avenue in Brookfield Place in the Battery Park City section of Manhattan, New York City. ...

Career

1975–1984: Career beginnings with Jamilah

Sweat started his musical career as a member of a Harlem band called Jamilah in 1975. With the help of Jamilah, Sweat was able to hone his craft as a lead singer by performing regionally throughout the Tri-state area of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, and

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. The group was started by bassist Larry Peoples, guitarist Michael Samuels, and drummer Walter Bradley. After leaving the group in 1984 to begin a solo career, Sweat sang at

nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...

s throughout New York City and landed a chance to record for the

independent label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represente ...

, Stadium Records. Sweat recorded only two tunes for Stadium, "Lucky Seven" and "My Mind Is Made Up," which was their third and fourth ever release, but on Stadium's first release, he is credited as co-writer and co-producer of "You Are the One for Me," the last recording ever made by the group GQ. One of GQ's original members is his uncle, Keith "Sabu" Crier.

1987–1989: ''Make It Last Forever'' and New Jack Swing

Later in 1987, Keith Sweat was discovered by Vincent Davis and offered a recording contract with his label, Vintertainment Records, which was founded in 1983 on the foundations of early

Hip-Hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

and otherwise best known for releasing Joeski Love's "Pee Wee's Dance" in 1985. Vintertainment was distributed by

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the ...

from 1985 until it ceased operations in 1990. While crafting his debut album, Sweat pursued fellow Harlem resident

Teddy Riley Edward Theodore Riley (born October 8, 1967) is an American record producer, singer, and songwriter credited with the creation of the R&B and hip-hop fusion genre, new jack swing. Musical artists who utilized Riley's production and songwri ...

, who, at this time, was better known for writing for and producing hip-hop artists. According to Riley, he already had the beats prepared for " I Want Her" and "Make It Last Forever," along with all of the background vocals for "I Want Her." Riley had no intention of producing R&B music, and he also encouraged Sweat to sing in what would become his trademark nasal sound to distinguish his voice from other artists. Riley noted that Sweat's songwriting style also was unique as he composed lyrics instantly while listening to the track, as he did for the single, "Make It Last Forever." On November 24, 1987, Sweat released '' Make It Last Forever'', which sold three million copies. He and Riley co-wrote six songs, and the biggest hit inaugurated the new jack swing era, " I Want Her" (No. 1 R&B & No. 5 Pop), which was nominated for the 1989 Soul Train Best R&B/Urban Contemporary Song of the Year award, while the title track from the album hit No. 2 on the R&B charts.

1990-1991: ''I'll Give All My Love to You'', and ''Keep It Comin''

Sweat reached the charts again with his second album '' I'll Give All My Love to You'' (1990) which hit No. 6 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. He released his third album, '' Keep It Comin''' in 1991, which debuted in the Top 20 of the album chart. He produced soul singer Omar Chandler.

1992–2001: ''Get Up on It'', Keith Sweat/LSG

In 1992, Sweat discovered the group

, and helped craft their debut album, '' Lose Control'', which hit No. 7 on the ''Billboard'' 200 album chart. The album's single " Freak Me" hit No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on May 1, 1993. In 1993, Sweat discovered the Atlanta-based female R&B group

. Sweat also produced the group's debut album ''Surrender'', which produced their biggest hit single " I Like", peaking to No. 8 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. Sweat released his fourth album '' Get Up on It'' in the summer of 1994, and his self-titled fifth album in 1996. Both albums reached the top ten on the ''Billboard'' 200. The single co/produced and written by Eric McCaine " Twisted" featuring R&B group Kut Klose hit No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and " Nobody" hit No. 3, which made them Sweat's biggest hits to date. "Just A Touch" was a cover of the 1979 song "Just a Touch of Love" by

. He produced for R&B group

Dru Hill Dru Hill is an American R&B boy band, whose repertoire included soul, hip hop soul and gospel music. The group was founded in Baltimore in 1992 by Tamir "Nokio the N-Tity" Ruffin, and as of 2023, is still active. Dru Hill recorded seven top 40 ...

in 1996. In the fall of 1997, Sweat discovered the group Ol' Skool and helped with their self-titled debut. He was on their biggest single, "Am I Dreaming", which featured the R&B group Xscape. Sweat also formed the R&B supergroup LSG with

Gerald Levert Gerald Edward Levert (July 13, 1966 – November 10, 2006) was an Americans, American singer-songwriter and Music Producer, producer. Levert performed with his brother, Sean Levert, and friend Marc Gordon with the R&B vocal group, LeVert. Le ...

and

Johnny Gill Johnny Gill Jr. (born May 22, 1966) is an American singer and songwriter. He is the sixth and final member of the R&B/ pop group New Edition and was also a member of the supergroup called LSG, with Gerald Levert and Keith Sweat. Gill has rel ...

, and released their self-titled debut album '' Levert.Sweat.Gill'' was released that November. That album featured " My Body", which became a hit single. The album was certified double platinum and reached No. 4 on the U.S. Billboard 200. Sweat's sixth album, '' Still in the Game'' was released in 1998, hitting No. 6 on the ''Billboard'' 200, and No. 2 on the R&B/Hip Hop albums chart. It featured the singles "Come and Get With Me" (which featured rapper

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

) (No. 12 Hot 100) and " I'm Not Ready" (No. 16 Hot 100). Sweat's success on the charts started to diminish in 2000, when he released the album '' Didn't See Me Coming''. None of the singles from the album reached the top forty.

2002–present: ''Rebirth, Just Me, Ridin Solo'', and ''Til the Morning''

On August 13, 2002, Keith Sweat released his eighth album, ''

Rebirth Rebirth may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Film * ''Rebirth'' (2011 film), a 2011 Japanese drama film * ''Rebirth'' (2016 film), a 2016 American thriller film * ''Rebirth'', a 2011 documentary film produced by Project Rebirth * '' ...

''. The single "One on One" reached No. 75 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 44 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. His 2008 album '' Just Me'' included the single, "Love U Better (featuring

Keyshia Cole Keyshia Myeshia Cole (née Johnson; born October 15, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, television personality and actress. Dubbed by critics as the " Princess of Hip-Hop Soul", she is known for her soulful voice and heartfelt lyrics. Bor ...

)". Sweat is currently signed to Kedar Records and released his tenth studio album entitled ''Ridin' Solo'' on June 22, 2010. The lead single taken from the album is "Test Drive" and featured label-mate Joe. Since 2007, Sweat has been the host of ''The Keith Sweat Hotel'' —a nationally syndicated radio program with

Premiere Networks Premiere Networks, Inc. (formerly Premiere Radio Networks, shortened as PRN) is an American media company, a subsidiary of iHeartMedia, for which it currently serves as its main original radio content distribution and production arm. It is th ...

based upon the Quiet storm format.

Personal life

From 1992 until 2002, Sweat was married to '' The Real Housewives of Atlanta'' star Lisa Wu Hartwell. With her, he had two sons, born in 1995 and 1998. He also has three daughters, one with Tracy J. He also has a son named Joshua.

Discography

;Studio albums * '' Make It Last Forever'' (1987) * '' I'll Give All My Love to You'' (1990) * '' Keep It Comin''' (1991) * '' Get Up on It'' (1994) * ''

Keith Sweat Keith Sweat (born July 22, 1961) is an American singer, producer and songwriter. An early figure in the new jack swing musical movement, he is known for his collection of hits including "I Want Her," "Make It Last Forever (song), Make It Last For ...

'' (1996) * '' Still in the Game'' (1998) * '' Didn't See Me Coming'' (2000) * ''

'' (2002) * '' A Christmas of Love'' (2007) * '' Just Me'' (2008) * '' Ridin' Solo'' (2010) * '' Til the Morning'' (2011) * '' Dress to Impress'' (2016) * '' Playing for Keeps'' (2018) ;Collaboration albums *'' Levert.Sweat.Gill'' (1997) *'' LSG2'' (2003)

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

American Music Awards The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show produced by Dick Clark Productions since 1974. Nominees are selected on commercial performance such as sales and airplay. Winners are determined by a poll of the public and ...

**1991: Favorite R&B/Soul Male Artist (nominated) **1997: Favorite Male R&B/Soul Artist (winner) **1997: Favorite R&B/Soul Album for ''Keith Sweat'' (nominated) **1998: Favorite Male R&B/Soul Artist (nominated) **2013: ''Soul Train'' Lifetime Achievement Award

References

External links

*
Keith Sweat
artist page at

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

.com *

artist page at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

*
Keith Sweat's 'SoulRnB.com' group
(videos, photos, discussions, etc.)
Keith Sweat 2010 Audio Interview at Soulinterviews.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sweat, Keith 1961 births African-American record producers Record producers from New York (state) Singers from New York City Living people Singers from Atlanta Musicians from Manhattan People from Harlem Atco Records artists Songwriters from New York (state) American contemporary R&B singers LSG (band) members African-American male songwriters 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American male singers New jack swing musicians