Now That We Found Love — Heavy D & the Boyz
A Gamble & Huff song, a Third World reggae-disco hit and a Teddy Riley hip house remake: how Heavy D & the Boyz took Now That We Found Love to No. 2 in 1991.
- Written by Gamble & Huff for the O’Jays (1973); covered by Third World in 1978.
- Heavy D & the Boyz’s hip house version, produced by Teddy Riley, came out on 11 June 1991.
- No. 2 in the UK and the Netherlands, No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, gold in the US.
“Now That We Found Love” had already been a hit before Heavy D got to it. In 1991 the rapper and his crew took a Philadelphia soul song, added a house beat and Aaron Hall’s chorus, and turned it into one of the defining hip house records: No. 2 in the UK and a top-five hit across much of Europe.
From Philadelphia to reggae-disco
Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff wrote the song for the O’Jays, who recorded it at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia for their 1973 album Ship Ahoy. Five years later Third World recut it as reggae-disco for Island Records. Their version, from Journey to Addis, reached No. 10 in the UK and No. 9 on the US soul chart.
Heavy D, Uptown and a tribute album
Heavy D (Dwight Myers, born in Jamaica in 1967, raised in Mount Vernon, New York) fronted the group with dancers G-Whiz and Trouble T. Roy and DJ-producer Eddie F. They were the first act signed to Uptown Records. In July 1990 Trouble T. Roy died at 22 after a fall, and the group’s next album, Peaceful Journey, carried a tribute to him.
Teddy Riley’s hip house remake
“Now That We Found Love” was the album’s second single, released on 11 June 1991 by MCA and Uptown. Teddy Riley produced it and Aaron Hall sang the chorus; the songwriting credits list Dwight Myers alongside Gamble & Huff. The result runs 4:18: rap verses over a four-to-the-floor groove, built for clubs as much as radio. Drew Carolan’s video, set on an urban backstreet with dancers in yellow raincoats, had passed 60 million YouTube views by October 2025.
Charts
It reached No. 2 in the UK on the chart dated 21 July 1991, its fourth week. In the US it peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 2 on the Dance Club Play chart, No. 5 on Hot R&B Singles and No. 1 on 12-inch singles sales, and went gold. It was also No. 2 in the Netherlands and Sweden and a top-five hit in Denmark, Germany and Belgium.
In the mix
For a DJ it is a bridge record: soul fans know the song, hip-hop fans know Heavy D, house dancers get the beat. Keep digging with “Good Vibrations” by Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, from the same hip house moment, and “Gypsy Woman” by Crystal Waters, another 1991 crossover.
FAQ
Who originally sang Now That We Found Love?
The O’Jays, on their 1973 album Ship Ahoy. Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff wrote it, and Third World had a UK top-ten reggae-disco version in 1978.
Who sings the chorus on Heavy D’s Now That We Found Love?
Aaron Hall sings the chorus. Teddy Riley produced the track.
When did Heavy D & the Boyz release Now That We Found Love?
On 11 June 1991, as the second single from Peaceful Journey. It reached No. 2 in the UK and No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100.
