Montell Jordan Celebrates 40 Years Of Def Jam With ‘This Is How We Do It’ With Vinyl Reissue

Def Jam 40 and Montell Jordan have teamed up to share a special edition of his classic album This Is How We Do It. This marks the first reissue since the album’s initial release in 1995.

This Is How We Do It reached No.4 on Billboard’s Top Hip-Hop/R&B Albums chart and features the classic 90s single of the same title, which earned Def Jam its first Billboard Hot 100 No.1 hit.

The title track to Jordan’s 1995 debut album reigns as one of the decade’s most anthemic R&B moments. Settling somewhere between a sample and an interpolation of iconic golden era rapper Slick Rick’s cautionary “Children’s Story,” Jordan’s upbeat calling card captures a moment when the hip-hop and R&B worlds intertwined in a mutually appreciative way.

Singing in a honeyed and nimble lilt of a voice, Jordan lavishes the song’s bumptious production with an ode to a Friday night in his native South Central Los Angeles. “It feels so good in my ‘hood tonight/ The summertime skirts and the guys in Kani.”

The song takes on extra resonance when you remember that this was a locale so often associated with internecine gang-related activity at the time. “All the gangbangers forgot about the drive-by/ You gotta get your groove on before you go get paid.” Nodding to the hip-hop heritage of the song’s sample source, Jordan breaks out into a brief rap at one point that’s based on the structure and tone of Slick Rick’s original narrative.

The runaway success of “This Is How We Do It” naturally casts a triumphant shadow over much of Jordan’s career. The track topped the Billboard charts and earned the singer a Grammy nomination. But there are plentiful other moments on Jordan’s debut that point to his knack for songs that exude a relaxed, feel-good atmosphere.

The project’s second single, “Somethin’ 4 da Honeyz,” is a carefree slice of summertime bliss hooked around Jordan’s search for a romantic tryst. The song also highlights the singer incorporating cocksure hip-hop braggadocio into his lyrics. “While the beat is bumping/ From South Central to Compton, a little somethin’ somethin’,” trills Jordan, before casually comparing himself to soul music royalty: “Could very well be the next Aaron Neville/ Sounding like nobody ’cause I’m on another level.”

Pre-order the new vinyl edition of This Is How We Do It.