Sampling a well-known oldie in the pursuit of a new hit has been a reliable commercial strategy since at least the Nineties, during the glory days of Bad Boy Records.
Due to the track’s rise on TikTok, 2rare has been fielding a lot of calls from major labels recently. The young rapper 2rare gallops over the top, narrating a series of lusty pursuits and shouting out a who’s who of star athletes from Barry Bonds to Giannis Antetokounmpo. “Cupid” recently went viral in a very different form: A thumping, full-throttle remix, which sounds like someone stuffed the original into a cannon and shot it at the moon, became popular on TikTok. Suspicion rules, so requests come with wild caveats: “Girl when I ask you to trust me, that doesn’t mean that I’m gonna cheat on you.” Communication between the characters has clearly been poisoned, but 112’s delivery remains unerringly sweet and endearingly naive, as if one more compliment might make everything right. But step into the song and you’re entering a place where sweet nothings are not to be trusted. It comes on like a lullaby, with feathery guitar and handsome multi-part harmonies.
“Cupid,” a 1996 ballad from the R&B group 112, is as gorgeous as it is jarring.
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