An Iconic ‘90s Neo-Soul Record About Life After Lockup
Listen if you like: D’Angelo, Lyfe Jennings, Marvin Gaye
From Tupac’s 1994 track “Out on Bail” to Gucci Mane’s 2016 “First Day Out Da Feds,” countless rappers have commemorated their release from prison, with so-called ‘first day out’ songs. But back in 1997, it felt radical when a neo-soul singer, Chico DeBarge, put out “Long Time No See,” a concept album about his real-life release from federal prison.
The opening interlude — when a corrections officer sarcastically tells DeBarge he’ll be back in two months — sets the stage for the lead single, “Iggin’ Me,” a haunting midtempo lament about an unfaithful partner. All of the songs aren’t explicitly about prison, but I’d argue DeBarge’s album represents a moment in American pop culture when the harsh drug sentencing laws of the 1980s and ‘90s made it impossible to ignore the growing toll of mass incarceration, particularly on intimate relationships.
Born in Detroit to a White father and Black mother, Chico DeBarge grew up in the 1980s watching his older siblings get famous as a Motown group under the family name. His siblings would later accuse their father of molestation, and substance abuse became a persistent struggle across the family.
Chico himself scored a hit — and a memorable hairstyle — with the 1986 song “Talk to Me.” But a few years later, he was caught at an airport transporting cocaine with his brother Bobby. They both went to prison with sentences of nearly six years. Chico got out in 1994 and claimed he’d written more than 400 songs inside.
“When I was locked up all I thought about was picking up the pieces of my life,” DeBarge told The New York Beacon. “I just wanted to come out a productive person.” After release, he recorded “Long Time No See” with his eldest brother El, whose organ runs give “Iggin’ Me’ a touch of gospel.
DeBarge told interviewers he drew on “What’s Goin’ On,” Marvin Gaye’s song addressing a soldier’s return from Vietnam. He saw a parallel, he said, in coming home from prison. (He also covers Gaye’s classic “Trouble Man” on “Long Time No See.”)
Over the following years, DeBarge had more struggles with substance abuse and short stints behind bars. In 2020, his oldest son was killed on a Los Angeles street. Soon after, in an unrelated incident, DeBarge was arrested after police found drugs in his car.
But he evidently still finds some solace in performing. He still puts on shows. In a recent video on YouTube, he sings “Iggin’ Me,” standing in front of the piano like he can’t contain himself, remembering what it’s like to first taste freedom.
Liner Notes:
Song: “Iggin’ Me | Album: “Long Time No See” | Artist: Chico DeBarge | Producer: Chico DeBarge | Co-producer: El DeBarge | Executive producer: Kedar Massenburg | Year: 1997
