Raze’s “Break 4 Love” is an early classic of house music and still is capable of setting dance floors (and loins) on fire three decades later.

The mastermind behind Raze was Vaughan Mason, who R&B fans might remember from the classic “Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll”. It puts Mason in a really interesting historical spot, as he’s essentially a one-hit wonder under two different names.

When “Break” was popular, I was a pre-teen and thus entirely too young to be a part of any club scene. I already fancied myself as something of a dancer, though. Plus my hormones were raging. I thought then (and still think now)“Break 4 Love” is as sexual a song as dance music has produced; it doesn’t need the moans that echo throughout the song (sampled from the movie Airplane!!) to create that vibe, either. There’s a definite correlation between freedom through dance and freedom through sex. “Break 4 Love” (pardon the pun) nails it. The beat is throbbing, the synthesized strings are sultry, the vocalists are practically dripping with desire.

Not just a song, “Break 4 Love” is an experience.