Heavy D & the Boyz, “Mood for Love” (1989)
The flagship group on Andre Harrell’s Uptown Records and one of the earliest projects of Teddy Riley, Heavy D. & the Boyz were central to the burgeoning New Jack Swing movement in the late ’80s. While Riley remained involved in 1989’s sophomore effort Big Tyme, it also featured the very first production credits from Hev’s Mount Vernon neighbor and cousin Pete Rock, who would continue to work with the group throughout its lifespan. A Jamaican himself, the Chocolate Boy Wonder gave Heavy just the right riddim to flex his Josey Wales-style deejay muscles on “Mood For Love.”