"U Will Know," BMU (Black Men United) (1994)

An all-star single that actually slaps

Peak: #5 on the R&B chart (#28 on the Hot 100)
Streams: 5.5 million

Most of the time, when an all-star group of artists gathers to record an “uplifting” single, the result is a disaster. It may have reached #1 on the Hot 100 and won loads of Grammys, but “We Are the World” is a sodden mess. (Sarah and I recently discussed this on Mark and Sarah Talk About Songs, if you’d care to hear me when I’m in a state of music-induced rage.) “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” isn’t much better, and if you don’t remember songs like “Voices That Care,” “Just Stand Up!”, and the Artists Against AIDS version of “What’s Going On,” then your soul is less scuffed than mine.

Yet out of this morass, one flower blooms. “U Will Know” may not be a masterpiece, but at least it’s not an art crime.