Kenny Latimore

Do you believe in fate? Even if you don’t, it’s apparent that the union of Kenny Lattimore and Chante Moore, two of today’s most distinctive song stylists, was destined in the stars. Elements leading to their pairing— the urging of friends, family and acquaintances—pointed to the inevitable truth that there was something in each artist that suggested they were two halves on a collision course to wholeness. A whisper here, a hint there, an intimation that these two individuals—overwhelmingly gifted with talent, spirituality and sheer good looks—were simply and inevitably meant for each other. And it happened. But Kenny and Chante’s spiritual aim reaches even higher with the culmination of their passions, desires and insights into love on a brilliant collection of duets on Arista Records, THINGS THAT LOVERS DO. What started out as distant admiration for each other’s talents turned into a discovery of similarities. Before long, it would blossom into vows of marriage.

THINGS THAT LOVERS DO is, plainly and simply, an exquisitely executed stunner, an album of 12 duets that takes on deeper meaning with each listen. In an age where the game plan is to follow tried-and-true patterns, Kenny Lattimore and Chante Moore decided to do things just a little bit differently. The 12 songs on THINGS THAT LOVERS DO—two originals, “Things That Lovers Do” and “Loveable (From Your Head To Your Toes)” and covers of ten classic R&B love songs—act as a window into their tight-as-a-glove relationship, and as an inspiration to those on the path to love.

The seed of recording a duet project came from Kenny’s manager, Michael Mauldin, who jump-started Lattimore’s solo career at his previous label, Columbia Records, and stayed in contact with Kenny after they both left the label. “The timing was perfect, because Michael didn’t know that we had gotten married,” Kenny relates. “We had talked about doing a duet album in February and he asked how we felt about it. We were like, ‘Oh, okay, we’ll see.’ But when Mike began to pitch the idea, we were trying to figure out a home for the record. I was already at Arista, so it made the decision that much easier for us.

“We entered the studio in March of 2002, and thought the idea for us to record an album of duets was so cool. The first idea was for us to do cover songs, a tribute to duets, which sounded easier than it was. First of all, you have to pick your favorite songs out of millions. Some songs (Teddy Pendergrass’ 1978 “Close The Door” and the Commodores’ 1979 “Still”), we made into duets. Then we had to figure out which we could bring magic to; what do we feel we can sincerely bring something different to, yet keep the integrity.” Chante adds, “The recording process was really intense. I had recorded duets with several other people, but for me to sing songs that I believe in, and then sing songs with the man I really love, it was a new dimension. One of the first songs we sang was ‘You Don’t Have To Cry’ (Rene & Angela, 1986), and when we sang ‘With You I’m Born Again,’ (Billy Preston & Syreeta Wright, 1980), it was really emotional.”

With the difficulty of picking twelve definitive songs, one might expect serious arguments to arise over the final selection, but Chante says, “There were no arguments about anything.” Kenny reveals, though, that “We had a couple of ideas that didn’t work that we thought were going to work. We did the Isley Brothers’ ‘Sensuality,’ but it didn’t turn out like we planned. Then we tried Rick James and Teena Marie’s ‘Fire & Desire,’ but I hated the way I sounded on it.” Chante concludes, “They have such a signature sound that we would have had to flip the song and come about it another way. That’s dangerous, because some people want to hear it like they heard it, but yet they want you to put your own thing on it and be able to feel that you’re right where you think you need to be. Problem is, we may not be where other people think we should be. But we picked the ones that we liked.”

Seven songs on THINGS THAT LOVERS DO–“Born Again,” “You Don’t Have To Cry,” “When I Say I Do” (Clint Black & Lisa Hartman Black), “Close The Door,” “Is It Still Good To You” (Ashford & Simpson, 1978) “Make It Last Forever” (Keith Sweat with Jacci McGhee, 1988) and “Still”–were recorded at Grammy winner Darryl Simmons’ Silent Sounds Studio in Atlanta. Longtime Chante friends and collaborators, Grammy winners Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis co-wrote and produced the only two originals on THINGS THAT LOVERS DO, the title cut and the first single release, “Loveable.” Rounding out the album are the Jamey Jazz-produced “You’re All I Need To Get By” (Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell, 1968), the Jamie Hawkins-produced “Love Saw It” (Karyn White & Babyface, 1989) and the James Poyser-produced “Here We Go” (Minnie Riperton & Peabo Bryson, posthumously released in 1980).

While all the songs on THINGS THAT LOVERS DO are undeniable classics, “With You I’m Born Again” is a singular masterpiece, nearly operatic in its execution. Kenny and Chante have special feelings about the recording process behind the song. Chante: “We sang it first with just guitar, and the orchestration was added later. When Kenny first heard it with the orchestration, he was almost crying.” Kenny: “I heard the mix, and when the strings came in, I was in tears. I was feeling the pressure of doing a remake of a classic, to show that I can hang in there with Billy Preston! I’m very proud of the final outcome. On the creative side, I gained so much more respect for Chante, seeing how she worked. I got to the point where I said, ‘Okay, babe, you go and do your thing first, you set the tone.’ She set the tone for every single song on the album.”

The road to THINGS THAT LOVERS DO had its bumps and smooth patches for Kenny and Chante. Vibe magazine said of Lattimore in a recent issue, “When Kenny Lattimore croons, ladies swoon.” This Washington, D.C. native began his career with a local group called Mannequin, who released an album in 1989 that didn’t catch on. Lattimore decided to go solo, and in 1996 he released KENNY LATTIMORE, which yielded the hits “Never Too Busy” and “Just What It Takes.” However, in 1997, Lattimore caught international fire with “FROM THE SOUL OF MAN,” which contained “For You,” a song still considered a wedding staple for couples around the world. Despite major critical acclaim, in 2000, Lattimore left Columbia, due to a roster purge. He was quickly signed by Arista Records, which released the album WEEKEND in 2001.

Chante Moore, daughter of a minister, is one of the most versatile singer/songwriters of this generation, having recorded four superb albums: 1992’s PRECIOUS, 1995’s A LOVE SUPREME, 1999’s THIS MOMENT IS MINE and 2000’s EXPOSED. Despite a solid track record—including hits such as “Candlelight & You” (a duet with Keith Washington), “Love’s Taken Over,” “It’s Alright,” “Chante’s Got A Man At Home” (a # 2 R&B hit) and “Straight Up”— Moore was released from MCA Records. She recently recorded the track “One More Time” with alto saxophone superstar Kenny G.

The coupling of Kenny and Chante is the stuff of the best romance movies. Knowing each other only professionally, they had a mutual admiration well before the fires of love started to burn strong. “We met a couple of times before and both said, ‘People keep telling me to get with you,’ and I said, ‘Oh, yeah? They said that to me, too,’” Chante relates. “ But, we never had time to talk at any length. It was always in passing. Then he came to a show that Will Downing and I did at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles.”

Kenny picks up the story: “My dad was in town, so we went to the show. Now, I had never seen Chante do a whole concert. So I’m sittin’ there saying, ‘Whoa, she can sing! Oh my goodness, look at this fine woman onstage! I was looking at her feet and said, ‘Even her feet are cute!’ Then she came to the song, ‘Chante’s Got A Man At Home,’ and said she didn’t have a man at home right now. The audience was moaning, and I said, “Dad, I’m gonna go backstage and I’m gonna have to talk with her tonight!’ We went backstage, and I could not find Chante—everybody but Chante… A while later, I was in New York shooting a story for Vibe magazine and her tour was in town. My assistant told me, “Tour’s here!” I said, “What tour?” He said, “Will Downing/Chante Moore.” I went, got backstage, and said ‘hello’ to Chante. We exchanged information and we got together when Chante got home about a week later.”

What happened next wasn’t exactly West Side Story’s Tony and Maria meeting across the dance floor. “As much as people think they know about how my life is, it hasn’t been what they think,” Chante says. “I’ve lived with my daughter, Sophia, for about five years, and I’ve been alone all that time. So, just to date would have been nice. When Kenny called, I was thinking, ‘Let’s go out and eat, go to the movies or something’ because it’s been about Sophia for so long. Can it be about me a couple of nights a week, besides work? Dating within the industry is much different for a woman than dating guys outside the entertainment world. I work at my craft, go home and still work, because I’m a mother. When I met Kenny, he said, ‘Let’s just sit down and talk.’ I was like, ‘okay!’”

“I didn’t have any expectations,” Kenny says. “What I loved was that she was wearing some sweats and a bandana when I met her. I was in sweats, too; it wasn’t pretentious. That’s how I get to know somebody. I’m a first-date person who will go to the beach where there are no distractions, and we can talk. We sat in her living room and just talked for about five hours. Just talking constantly, realizing that we had a tremendous amount in common.”

Kenny and Chante were married January 1, 2002, in a hush-hush ceremony in Jamaica. “We just decided that’s what we wanted to do. It was like, ‘Let’s go, let’s do it,’ ” Chante relates. Kenny adds, “We told our family, but what we really didn’t want was for people to tell the world what we were doing before we did it, or be bombarded prior to the wedding. And we didn’t want a lot of people or a lot of pressure. Then we decided, “You know what, no one should go. We should be the only ones there. Then we’ll come back and have a reception. We ended up having receptions on both the East and West Coasts.”

And now, audiences can join in the celebration with THINGS THAT LOVERS DO. They will have a cornucopia of songs dedicated to the art of love between two lovers who respect each other. “We expect that some people are gonna say [of certain songs], ‘That was my favorite, they shouldn’t have touched it.’ And other people are gonna be like, ‘That was my favorite, and I like what they did to it.’ Or, ‘I didn’t like that song, and now I like it because of their version,’” Kenny says. But if there is a favorite song that defines Kenny Lattimore and Chante Moore’s special relationship, it’s “When I Say I Do.” Kenny summarizes his and Chante’s feelings about the song: “We, as black singers, especially in R&B, tend to get put into a position or category that’s very small, not as broad in terms of what our talents might represent. So, we are proud of having a song like ‘When I Say I Do’ on this album, knowing that it’s bigger than skin color; it’s bigger than anything else out there. It represents love to the fullest degree.” To enlightened couples, they know it’s just a part of things that lovers do.