(April 12, 2022) Tomi Jenkins is a founding member of Cameo, one of the most prolific and beloved funk bands of the era when self-contained bands dominated the R&B and soul music universe. Jenkins was a member when Cameo released albums brimming with great funk, dance numbers and ballads that kept dance floors crowded throughout the 1970s and 80s.
Jenkins was a Cameo mainstay as a lead vocalist as the band transformed from a giant, brass and bass driven funk band in the 1970s to a three man band that adapted well to the emerging synthesized funk and dance style that emerged in the 1980s. How well? Well, the group Cameo got smaller as the hits got bigger, and Jenkins had a hand in writing some of the band’s biggest hits of that era.
Jenkins has continued writing and singing as a solo artist into a new century. He’s released several singles, EPs and albums in recent years, including 2017s A Life to Remember and the protest song “Whatever It Takes,” which he released in the aftermath of the 2020 murder of George Floyd.
Now, Jenkins returns with “Like We Used To,” a funky number that shows he still knows how to get feet moving in the direction of the dance floor. The track sports a simple arrangement that keeps the focus on the funky bass line and Jenkins’ vocals that find him adopting a cool, conversational tone during a phone conversation that finds him trying to convince a lady that their past situation was better than her present one. Check out Tomi Jenkins “Like We Used To” here.
By Howard Dukes
Tomi Jenkins – “Like We Used To”
