Cassandra Wilson’s “You Move Me” appears on the soundtrack to the 1997 film Love Jones. The jazz singer’s nuanced lower register projected an earthy desire that matched the movie’s bohemian aesthetic and love story. Lyrics describing trembling thighs and eyes blinded by rainfall captured the quintessence of romantic love with poetic virtue. Wilson guided every note of “You Move Me” as the writer, producer and performer of the song. Her voice soothed in its appeal to the senses with soulful intonations acknowledging a primal love.  “You Move Me” was exclusive to the soundtrack and the most favored of the three jazz songs on the compilation that is often cited as one of the most admired of the decade.  Cassandra Wilson released her 19th studio album Coming Forth By Day in 2015. In 2022, Wilson became a recipient of the NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship.

Twenty-three years ago Van Hunt saw his first song “Hopeless” get recorded by Dionne Farris and be released into the world. Farris’s interpretation matched and helped define the bohemian romance that took place in the film Love Jones. “Hopeless” is one of the reasons for the soundtrack’s appeal that is just as strong as the movie’s cult following. Van Hunt decided to record his version and he adds a different phrasing of the lyrics and fresh layers of instrumentation like new guitar sounds.  The video for Van Hunt’s recording of “Hopeless” combines footage of him having fun at home and recent photos.  

Dionne Farris’s “Hopeless” was penned by Van Hunt and one was of the gems to grace the Love Jones soundtrack. Farris’s gentle but fervid delivery of Hunt’s poetic lyrics made the feelings of an unrepentant dreamer a moment of beautiful vindication for aspiring romantics. The video features her, Van Hunt and Randy Jackson before his American Idol days playing the bass. Farris first became known for her contribution to Arrested Development’s hit single “Tennessee” in 1992. Her 1994 solo album Wild Seed – Wild Flower was helmed by the single “I Know” which earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and won her the Billboard Music Video Awards Best Pop/Rock New Artist Clip of the Year. But it is her song with Van Hunt that endures and continues to introduce her voice to new generations. Farris’s fourth album Dionne Get Your Gunn was released in 2013. She is also the mother of rapper Yung Baby Tate. 

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