“Can We Talk?” by Tevin Campbell

Although Tevin Campbell himself has described “Can We Talk?” as being “about stalking” almost three decades after its release, the truth of the matter is that the lyrics themselves aren’t offensive. Rather the situation reads as if he has encountered a girl that he really, really likes. However, he is too shook to initially approach her. And yes, he has considered other means of expressing his emotions, such as sending her a love letter.  But at the end of the day, he has come to the decision that he needs to be a bit bolder than that, as in stepping to her face-to-face. Indeed such would be more advantageous, as in such a scenario he would be able to really “sweet talk” her.

So even though this lady would be the addressee of the song, it is arguable that with the exception of the bridge perhaps there is no part whereas Tevin is actually speaking to her directly. Rather he is fantasizing about interacting with her.  And along those lines, it can logically be deduced that when he does finally muster up the courage to do so, the first words which will be uttered from his lips, as the title suggests, are “can we talk?”

Facts about “Can We Talk?”

Babyface produced and co-wrote this track. And the other co-writer is Daryl Simmons.

“Can We Talk?” is one of the songs from the heyday of Tevin Campbell’s career, with him being 16 years old at the time of its recording. Accordingly it peaked at number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, topped Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay charts and has been certified Gold in both the US and Australia.

R&B singer Usher has claimed that he was the artist originally slated to sing “Can We Talk?”. However, due to some beef Babyface had with his musical partner L.A. Reid at the time, such did not come to pass.

The Warner Music Group and Qwest Records released this track 26 October 1993 as part of Tevin’s second album, “I’m Ready”.