1993 Was a Strange Time, Indeed
Actor/comedian Eddie Murphy had already made a couple of records of self-indulgent funk/R&B throughout the late '80s with some famous friends (Rick James, Stevie Wonder) but by the early 1990's his primary career was in a pretty deep slump.
What makes this, his 3rd (final?), music album a little more interesting is that it's again a stylistic indulgence by a non-musician, but that the music itself is surprisingly heavily rooted in mid-period Beatles-esque psychedelia, albeit filtered through a 1990's lite-R&B production sheen - kind of like PM Dawn with a bigger budget.
The entire album features a heavy "peace & love" message of general positivity - not many mainstream artists were having success with this sort of outlook at the time, as grunge was then starting to hit it's peak. In fact, some of the style reflects the arrangements and lyrical content of friend (and fellow Beatles fan) Michael Jackson's most recent work (MJ, possibly repaying Eddie for appearing in his "Remember the Time" video, sings a duet and appears in the video for "Whatzupwitu" - yep...).
