Hey Lover

This is a collaboration with Boyz II Men, who were the hottest vocal group at the time, charting #1 hits with "I'll Make Love To You" and "On Bended Knee" in 1994. Talking about the song in Entertainment Weekly, LL Cool J said: "I wrote this hook and I just thought it felt like Boyz II Men. They were on fire at the time, but more importantly it just felt like they were made to do it. We drove out to Philly and I played the record for the guys. They got in the truck with me and some friends, and they loved it. We went right to the studio that night I and did the entire song in one take. Everything, It was just magical."

This song features a sample from the legendary singer Michael Jackson. The sample comes from his song "The Lady In My Life," which was one of just two songs on the Thriller album that wasn't a hit. Rod Temperton, who wrote several of Jackson's hits, composed "The Lady In My Life" and got a songwriting credit on "Hey Lover" (along with LL Cool J) because of the sample.

"Hey Lover" may have been the pinnacle of romance in the mid-'90s, but it is difficult to see how this wish fulfillment fantasy about a poor woman who accidentally makes eye-contact with the rapper could be construed as anything but creepy. Over the course of the song, he stalks the woman repeatedly over a long period of time, and has sexual fantasies about her. It's hard to interpret his dream of "tonguing you down with vanilla ice cream," while he watches her at the bus stop from his car, as anything other than a little bit off. Interestingly enough, the same year this single was released, LL Cool J married Simone L. Johnson, and we could speculate as to whether or not she is the woman in his song. We certainly hope so, as it would make a comforting end to the story (better than, say, checking missing persons databases).