Carole Bayer Sager first wrote that “it’s the fallin’ in love that’s making me high [but] it’s the being in love that makes me cry cry cry.” Yes, MJ’s version was arguably the best, but let’s give credit where credit’s due. Now that that trivia that you probably already knew’s out the way, love is a fickle beast. It can chew you up, chop and screw you and be a maneater, sometimes all at once. R&B songstress Elle Baez, I feel, speaks for us all when she says she doesn’t want to be a player’s fool on her newest song. Co-written with Anthony Quaid, the live, neo-soul-meets-vintage-R&B-feeling song finds our powerful vocalist lamenting about love, how it’s done her in and how she’s found real love. However, with that real and true love, she is a bit scared that, because of previous experiences, it will just turn out the same. It’s a story as old as time, but with a lovely twist.

Baez puts herself out there and says “I’m in love and I want it to stay real and true.”

I love the throwback vibes on this one, as it just feels like you’d hear it from Baez in a smoke-filled room with her instrumentalists letting this one just become its true and honest self. It’s honest, earnest and even a bit playful. It’s all of the things that make Baez a talent to watch. It’s also all of the things you need with a love song about being a bit afraid of falling in love. That dual-natured approach helps this song stand out, to me, beyond just being “another sad love song” (no shade to Toni Braxton) that makes you feel the feels but doesn’t fully give you the satisfaction of “hey, I fell in love. It was real love. And it’s here to stay.” Check out the track below and support dope music in all its forms.