Throwbacks: Adina Howard - 'Freak Like Me'

On January 25, 1995, Adina Howard dropped a G-funk-laced debut that shifted the temperature of hip-hop soul. "Freak Like Me" didn't just introduce her first album, Do You Wanna Ride?—it gave R&B a completely unabashed anthem. Produced by Mass Order and released via East West and Lola Waxx, the track is built on a heavy, crawling bassline.

Howard glides right over that thick groove. She sings with a raw, upfront energy about exactly what she wants. The record dominated the airwaves, sitting at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks and holding the number two spot on the Hot R&B Singles chart for four. It earned RIAA Platinum status for a reason. Modern artists get a lot of credit for pushing sex-positive boundaries, but Adina laid the absolute blueprint in the mid-90s. The track hits just as hard today as it did when it first rang out of car systems. It is a certified classic that still gets the cookout jumping. Hit play below.