EP114: Phil Yu on Boyz II Men’s “II” (1994) redux

Episode 114

28th November 2019

Phil wanted to revisit one of the big hit albums of his youth: II by Boyz II Men. By ’94, the group was already one of the biggest acts in all of R&B and expectations were beyond high for the follow-up. The quartet of crooners from Philly didn’t disappoint as II continued the group’s reign at the top, especially thanks to smooth ballads like “Water Runs Dry,” “On Bended Knee” and of course, “I’ll Make Love To You.” (The three of us couldn’t stop laughing when we were discussing the majesty that was the video for that single. Shout out to sexy finger wags. And if anyone knows the identity of the woman in the video, get @ us about it!).

Episode notes

This episode originally ran 07/26/2018

The Album: Boyz II Men: II (1994)

Phil Yu is better known to most as Angry Asian Man…except that he isn’t actually all that angry (though he is Asian and a man). Phil started his titular site nearly 20 years ago and since then, it has become an indispensable news resource about Asian American culture, politics and related issues. Phil, along with Jeff Yang, also hosts his own Asian American culture podcast, They Call Us Bruce.

Phil wanted to revisit one of the big hit albums of his youth: II by Boyz II Men. By ’94, the group was already one of the biggest acts in all of R&B and expectations were beyond high for the follow-up. The quartet of crooners from Philly didn’t disappoint as II continued the group’s reign at the top, especially thanks to smooth ballads like “Water Runs Dry,” “On Bended Knee” and of course, “I’ll Make Love To You.” (The three of us couldn’t stop laughing when we were discussing the majesty that was the video for that single. Shout out to sexy finger wags. And if anyone knows the identity of the woman in the video, get @ us about it!).

More on Phil Yu

More on II

Show Tracklisting (all songs from II unless indicated otherwise):

  • Thank You
  • I’ll Make Love To You
  • Damar Jackson: No Protection
  • Thank You
  • Boyz II Men: End of the Road
  • I Sit Away
  • LL Cool J: Hey Lover
  • Khalil – Interlude
  • Yesterday
  • Water Runs Dry
  • On Bended Knee
  • I’ll Make Love To You
  • On Bended Knee
  • Boyz II Men: A Song For Mama
  • Jezzebel
  • Jazmine Sullivan: Round Midnight
  • Water Runs Dry

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In this episode...

About the show

Hosted by Oliver Wang and Morgan Rhodes, every episode of Heat Rocks invites a special guest to talk about a heat rock – a hot album, a scorching record. These are in-depth conversations about the albums that shape our lives.

Our guests include musicians, writers, and scholars and though we don’t exclusively focus on any one genre, expect to hear about albums from the worlds of soul, hip-hop, funk, jazz, Latin, and more.

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