At the turn of the millennium, the music world was gifted a male vocalist known as Tank. Tank whose real name is Durrell Babbs instantly became a force in the R&B world with his hit “Maybe I Deserve” from his debut album Force of Nature. Throughout his career Tank hasn’t only been consistent with releasing new music, but remaining true to his R&B roots. In the midst of blessing us with his music, he’s also showcased his writing ability with some of his musical peers. Here’s eight songs Tank has written for other artists.
Fantasia– Ain’t Gon Beg You (2004): It’s 2003 and Fantasia was just crowned the winner of the third season of American Idol. In November of 2004 when her debut album dropped the opening track was penned by no other than Tank himself. The song became the winner’s fifth single released from her debut. Tank also wrote the song “This Is Me” that’s featured on the album as well.
Monica– Sideline Ho (2007): After a failed leading single with “Everytime tha Beat Drop” Monica repositioned herself with “A Dozen Roses,” only to tank once more with the third single “Sideline Ho.” Critics had a field day with the single as Monica stood beside it with an online petition begging her label to produce a music video, but they refused. The blistering track is one Tank probably wished to be disassociated with. Tank also wrote “My Everything” on The Makings of Me.
Jennifer Hudson– We Gon Fight (2008): Everybody and they mama were on board for Jennifer’s debut album including Tank. The track speaks about fighting for your relationship, or as Tank put it himself in an interview with AllHipHop “the lovers were going to fight for love, even if they had to fight each other for it.”
Chris Brown– I Wanna Be (2007) Breezy was back with his second studio album after the massive success of his debut. All of the heavy hitters in the industry were lined up to receive some type of credit for Exclusive. Sadly, among the double-platinum, re-releases, DVD, and deluxe editions Tank’s written track wasn’t selected as one of the six singles to support the album.
Tyrese– Prior to You (2015): After TGT disbanded in 2013 Tyrese got back to movies and music, as well as Tank. We were glad to see that whatever friction caused the dismantle of TGT it didn’t interfere with the fella’s friendship, because Tank did not only write the song, but he’s also featured on the song’s chorus. “Prior to You” is a piece of what another TGT album may sound like. However, Tyrese no longer wants to participate in the group. I say replace him with R.L. of Next. R.L. has the voice and the talent to write as well.
Letoya Luckett– Regret feat. Ludacris (2009): While starring alongside one another in The Preacher’s Kid the two singers decided to work together. The first song the pair worked on was “Over” before “Good to Me” and “Regret” came into play. “Regret” became Luckett’s second successful song of her solo career and caused her fans to begin a rift with Capitol Records over their lack of support for the Lady Love album. The outcome was a video released after the song lost its momentum. However, it wasn’t long before we realized that Ludacris is Letoya’s musical husband.
Omarion– O (2004): B2K’s front man Omarion was ready to flex his wings as a solo artist after the boy band parted ways. For his leading and breakout single, “O” which shares the same name as the album’s title was chosen over the song “Touch,” that untimely became Omarion’s second single. Despite the song debuting at number 68 on the Billboard Hot 100, eight weeks later it peaked at 27 and remained on the charts for twenty weeks. In 2005 the song was nominated for Best Make-Out Song at the Teen Choice Awards. Tank penned Omarion’s third single “I’m Tryna” off the O album too. In 2014 Tank wrote (a personal favorite of mine) “Don’t Leave” for O’s Sex Playlist album.
Marques Houston– Naked (2005): Following “All Because of You” featuring his former bandmate, Houston returned with the title track and second single off his sophomore album. The song was paired with a steamy video that’s reminiscent of D’Angelo’s “Untitled (How Does It Feel)” and it too had to be edited to air on television. Years later (2013) he channeled D’Angelo once again with his single “Speechless” off his Famous album, but “Naked” will forever remain as his most popular song.