The result was Stevie Wonder's distinctive harmonica part on "Once Were Lovers," co-written with longtime friend and musical associate Fonzi Thornton and musician/producer Rex Rideout. Another call brought Oscar nominee Queen Latifah into the studio for "Hit It Again," a straight-ahead groove with a no-nonsense lyric: "I wanted somebody who tells it like it is, someone who could bring it on home. Latifah is so natural and even though I had only met her once before, we really hit off. It was like being in the studio with your cousin! And the lyric? Yes, it's explicit and I'm grown!" Luther laughs. Labelmate Busta Rhymes added his own special touch to a re-working of Bill Withers 1977 "Lovely Day" which evolved during sessions for the album: "Marcus Miller was working on this track and I started singing pieces of "Lovely Day" and we made it into a new groove. I sent the track to Busta the day before he was due in the studio. The session was for 5:00pm. He walked through the door at 4:54pm and laid it on down. It was great working with him." Working with rap and hip-hop star Foxy Brown on the upbeat "If It Ain't One Thing," was "a downright party!" says Luther. "She creates an atmosphere that's so festive in the studio and she's so sassy! I love her, she's such a good spirit and we had a ball working on the song." Tunes like "Think About You" mix old school and new school styles while "Right In The Middle" - with an all-star backup vocal unit that includes Cissy Houston, Tawatha Agee, Cindy Mizelle and Brenda White-King - is the kind of soulful tune the legion of die-hard Vandross fans have come to expect from this peerless vocalist.