5 Slow Jams That Still Own the Late Night

Some songs are built for the daytime. These are not those songs. Every slow jam on this list has been played on RED CUP and RNB after midnight more times than we can count, and every one of them still lands the same way it did the first time you heard it. Turn the lights down and let's get into it.

Boyz II Men – "End of the Road" (1992). It's hard to make a list like this without it. The harmonies, the spoken-word bridge, the way the whole thing builds until there is nowhere left to go. It came off the Boomerang soundtrack and somehow became bigger than the movie.

Blackstreet – "Before I Let You Go" (1994). Teddy Riley's group could do the uptempo New Jack thing in their sleep, but this one shows the other side. Smooth, patient and a little bit pleading, exactly how a slow jam should feel.

Maxwell – "Fortunate" (1999). Maxwell's falsetto over that slow, rolling groove is grown and sexy in the best way. It came from the Life soundtrack in 1999 and still sounds like candlelight.

Avant – "Separated" (2000). A breakup song you can still slow dance to. Avant's voice sits right in the pocket and the production leaves room for every word to hit.

Jeremih – "Birthday Sex" (2009). The newest record here, and proof that the slow jam didn't stop in the 90s. Minimal, moody and still a guaranteed reaction when it comes on.

Slow jams like these are in the mix on RED CUP and RNB every night. Press play on the live stream, and tell us on Instagram @redcuprnb which late-night record we left off.