Mica Paris – One

For almost 2 and a half Decades this was a Holy Grail for me, a simple but utterly wonderful remix of Mica's 'One' with a slightly slowed down hip hop beat closely reminicent of Black Moon's 'I Got Cha 'Opin'(Da Beatminerz Remix Instrumental) and Barry White 'Playing your game, baby' melody running throughout. There's an unknown (to me) male MC repeating sample 'One Love' throughout too (*Edit* Thanks to Ricoparadise for ID'ing Nas 'One Love' as the sample). Absolutely sublime and incredibly rare. I was on Cooltempo's mailing list when this was sent out and even phone calls couldn't secure a copy back then, as they had all been allocated by the time us mere minions had even got to find out about it's existence. I can only guess the samples/melody used would have been too complicated to clear back then for general release. Would love to know who remixed it.

Mica Paris delivers a deeply soulful version of U2's "One" (from their "Achtung Baby" album). Where the original version is a cynical and bittersweet rock anthem about love, Paris takes it into UK mid-1990s moody R&B territory, infusing with a gospel flavour made all the more intense by her powerful vocals. And while Mary J. Blige's later take on the same song is more well known, it's Mica Paris who really found the soul in this song -- she owns it, hands down. The Perfecto Mix is more clubby than the Original Mix, while the Dub mixes take it deeper into hip hop. A must-have for anyone interested in 90's soul.