Alex Henderson

Kashif

Condition of the Heart [Expanded Edition]

Album titles don’t necessarily offer insights into an artist’s musical personality; some are chosen randomly, some are catchy but don’t tell us much about the music itself. Other album titles, however, speak volumes about an artist’s creative makeup, and the title Condition of the Heart perfectly captures the essence of Kashif in the 1980s. During most of that decade, the Brooklyn-born singer/songwriter/producer reigned supreme as one of R&B’s top romantics. But unlike Freddie Jackson or the late Luther Vandross, Kashif didn’t express his romanticism with an especially ballad-heavy approach. As Condition of the Heart demonstrates, Kashif expressed his romanticism with uptempo synth-funk grooves as well as romantic ballads and slow jams. 

Condition of the Heart, which was Kashif’s third solo album and was initially released by Arista Records in 1985, underscores the distinctive nature of his 1980s output. But in order to fully appreciate how distinctive Kashif had become, one needs to go back and examine his recording career from the beginning. Although Kashif enjoyed his greatest visibility in the 1980s, he actually entered the music industry in the 1970s. It was in 1976 that an adolescent Kashif (who was born Michael Jones in 1959 and changed his name to Kashif Saleem after converting to Islam) joined BT Express as a keyboardist. 1976’s Energy to Burn was Kashif’s first album with the Brooklyn-based funk-disco unit, and he went on to play on two more of their albums (Function at the Junction in 1977 and Shout! in 1978). BT Express were very much a party band, and Kashif went for a major change of direction after leaving that popular outfit to concentrate on producing and songwriting. Kashif maintained his interest in funk, yet the Kashif who emerged in the early 1980s favored a sleeker, more urbane type of funk that was a big departure from BT Express’ sweaty shake-your-booty jams. And even before he recorded any solo albums, Kashif made a name for himself as the producer/songwriter who scored major hits for Evelyn “Champagne” King (“I’m in Love,” “Love Come Down”), Howard Johnson (“So Fine”), Melba Moore (“Love’s Comin’ at Ya”) and others. Kashif’s first solo album (a self-titled release on Arista Records) didn’t come until 1983, and by that time, his distinctive sound was firmly established in the R&B world. The Brooklynite continued to build on his legacy with his second album, Send Me Your Love (also released by Arista) in 1984 and Condition of the Heart the following year.

With Condition of the Heart, Kashif took listeners on a romantic journey at different tempos. This album has its share of ballads and slow jams, including “Stay the Night,” “Dancing in the Dark (Heart to Heart)” and the sentimental title song. But Kashif, true to form, demonstrates that he doesn’t have to perform at a slow tempo to achieve or maintain a romantic ambiance. “Say You Love Me,” “Weakness” and the opener “I Wanna Have Love with You” are uptempo, synthesizer-powered funk grooves, yet they are funky in a sleek, ethereal way and contribute to the romantic mood as effectively as “Stay the Night” or “Dancing in the Dark (Heart to Heart).” And even though Kashif often favors a sexy vibe on this album, he does so without being sexually explicit.

Arguably, Kashif was a 1980s equivalent of the late Barry White, who also knew how to maintain a romantic atmosphere even at his funkiest. But while White’s 1970s recordings favored lavish orchestration and elaborate horn and string sections, Kashif built his seductive sound around keyboards and synthesizers. Nonetheless, Kashif shared White’s interest in songs that were focused on relationships. And like White, Kashif remained distinctive even when he recorded an instrumental. “Movie Song” has no lyrics, but its funky yet haunting melody is instantly recognizable as something Kashif would do.

Kashif takes a break from romantic themes with the highly political “Botha Botha (Anti-Apartheid Song),” which criticizes South African President P.W. Botha and calls for the abolition of the racist apartheid system that still plagued South Africa in 1985. Unlike many of the anti-apartheid songs of the 1980s, the African-flavored “Botha Botha (Anti-Apartheid Song)” isn’t as angry or biting as some might expect; the lyrics are fairly subtle, not in-your-face. Nonetheless, Kashif gets his point across beautifully. Kashif didn’t record a lot of political songs in the 1980s, but the injustice of apartheid is something he obviously had to get off his chest. And even though Kashif’s anti-apartheid lyrics aren’t typical of this album on the whole, the song’s ability to blend the funky and the ethereal is quite typical of Kashif.

Condition of the Heart didn’t receive as much attention as Kashif’s two previous solo albums. In contrast to 1983’s Kashif (a #10 hit on Billboard’s R&B albums chart) or 1984’s Send Me Your Love (which made it to #3 on that chart), Condition of the Heart peaked at #32 R&B. Yet, it was well-received by Kashif’s hardcore followers and resulted in two medium-sized hits: the title song (which reached #34 on Billboard’s R&B singles chart) and the #36 R&B hit “Dancing in the Dark (Heart to Heart).”  And Kashif certainly fared well working with other artists in 1985—mostly notably, Arista labelmate Whitney Houston, whose Kashif-produced ballad “You Give Good Love” exploded in Billboard as a #1 R&B hit, #3 pop hit and #4 adult contemporary hit. And 1985 also saw the release of saxophonist Kenny G’s Gravity, which Kashif contributed to heavily as a producer. Gravity included the infectious, Kashif-produced “Love on the Rise,” which appears on this reissue as a bonus track and features Kashif on lead vocals. “Love on the Rise” became a #24 R&B hit in Billboard.

Condition of the Heart may not have been his best-selling album, but that doesn’t erase the fact that the performances are state-of-the-art Kashif. And like the rest of Kashif’s 1980s output, Condition of the Heart easily withstands the test of time.

—Alex Henderson, October 2012

Alex Henderson is a veteran journalist whose work has appeared in Billboard, Spin, Creem, The L.A. Weekly, JazzTimes, Jazziz, AlterNet, Cash Box, HITS, CD Review, Skin Two, Black Beat, The Pasadena Weekly, Black Radio Exclusive (BRE), Music Connection, Latin Style, The New York City Jazz Record and many other well known publications. Henderson (alexvhenderson.com) has also contributed several thousand CD reviews to The All Music Guide’s popular website and series of music reference books.