Retro R&B jam of the day: Elle Varner

We are all products of the age we grew up in, and that makes me a child of the 90s New Jack Swing era. If there's a song that echoes SWV or En Vogue or Bel Biv Devoe, I will be drawn inexorably towards it, like a cat to a person who does not like cats.

So Elle Varner's new single, Only Wanna Give It To You, was a shoo-in for the blog before it even got past the intro. Sweeter and stickier than a bubblegum pie, it's only a Blackstreet remix away from being a solid gold 90s nostalgia-fest.

Born in Los Angeles to two profesional songwriters, Elle honed her musical skills at the Clive Davis Program Of Recorded Music (Clive Davis being the be-jowled music industry bigwig who signed Aerosmith and nurtured Whitney Houston). She was nominated "most likely to win a Grammy" by her classmates and, perhaps unsurprisingly, was immediately snapped up by Sony Music offshoot J Records... Owned by one Clive Davis, Esq.

Her voice has the slightly croaky tone of Lauryn Hill before she went loopy, and she plays and produces her own material. Best of all, Elle dresses in blinding fluorescent sweaters and baggy dungarees like TLC at their youthful best.

While you watch the video, I'm off to dig out some magic eye pictures and my global hypercolour t-shirt. Power Rangers!

Elle Varner ft J Cole - Only Wanna Give It To You

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