‘This Is How We Do It’: Montell Jordan’s R&B Classic

The title track to singer Montell Jordan’s 1995 debut album This Is How We Do It reigns as one of the decade’s most anthemic R&B moments. Settling somewhere between a sample and an interpolation of iconic golden era rapper Slick Rick’s cautionary “Children’s Story,” Jordan’s upbeat calling card captures a moment when the hip-hop and R&B worlds intertwined in a mutually appreciative way.

Singing in a honeyed and nimble lilt of a voice, Jordan lavishes the song’s bumptious production with an ode to a Friday night in his native South Central Los Angeles. “It feels so good in my ‘hood tonight/ The summertime skirts and the guys in Kani.” The song takes on extra resonance when you remember that this was a locale so often associated with internecine gang-related activity at the time. “All the gangbangers forgot about the drive-by/ You gotta get your groove on before you go get paid.” Nodding to the hip-hop heritage of the song’s sample source, Jordan breaks out into a brief rap at one point that’s based on the structure and tone of Slick Rick’s original narrative.

The runaway success of “This Is How We Do It” naturally casts a triumphant shadow over much of Jordan’s career. The track topped the Billboard charts and earned the singer a Grammy nomination. But there are plentiful other moments on Jordan’s debut that point to his knack for songs that exude a relaxed, feel-good atmosphere. The project’s second single, “Somethin’ 4 da Honeyz,” is a carefree slice of summertime bliss hooked around Jordan’s search for a romantic tryst. The song also highlights the singer incorporating cocksure hip-hop braggadocio into his lyrics. “While the beat is bumping/ From South Central to Compton, a little somethin’ somethin’,” trills Jordan, before casually comparing himself to soul music royalty: “Could very well be the next Aaron Neville/ Sounding like nobody ’cause I’m on another level.”

Listen to Montell Jordan’s This Is How We Do It now.

Jordan shows a fondness for infusing similar MC-style personal brags into his lyrics across the album, but key moments on This Is How We Do It also gesture toward the broader influence of hip-hop on the R&B scene at the time. “Payback” takes the form of a relationship revenge plot that drafts in Coolio for an extended verse; “Introducing Shaunta” is effectively a showcase for the rapper Shaunta (who’d go on to sign with Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment imprint); and deep album cut “Comin’ Home” resonates like a slice of bluesy G-funk with sinewey synth lines twisting around lonesome plucks of electric guitar. “No matter where I go/ I will always let you know/ That I’m singing this South Central LA style,” beams Jordan towards the track’s climax, conveying a hip-hop chest-out regional pride. It’s a testament to Jordan’s skill that nods like this never sounds anything less than natural.

Montell Jordan’s This Is How We Do It can be bought here.