Lisa Bonet isn’t just an acclaimed actress, she’s also made her way into the realm of songwriting. Most known for being the Huxtable’s second eldest daughter Denise on The Cosby Show, Bonet only built upon her legacy when the show came to an end in 1992. In addition to continuing her acting career, Bonet also made her way into music as a co-writer on a pair of songs by former husband Lenny Kravitz, as well as one by rapper Da Brat. Check out three songs you didn’t know were written by Bonet.
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[RELATED: Top 10 Lenny Kravitz Songs]
1. “Fear” by Lenny Kravitz
Written by Lisa Bonet
Even though Lenny Kravitz was essentially a one-man band on his 1989 debut album, Let Love Rule, he did place his trust in his then-wife Lisa Bonet to handle the lyrics for “Fear.” Bonet is the sole credited writer on this deep cut that takes a stark look at reality. Bonet doesn’t hold back on the harsh state of the environment as Kravitz wails over a funky, guitar-driven melody, A mist of doom and clouds of pain/Toxic waste and acid rain/The passing of our ignorance/A lifetime spent in abstinence/Of living in fear.
2. “Rosemary” by Lenny Kravitz
Written by Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet
In addition to “Fear,” Lenny Kravitz also enlisted Lisa Bonet to lend a hand to the lyrics of “Rosemary” on Let Love Rule. Here, Kravitz takes a gentler tone with the melody, leaning into acoustic instrumentation tinged with a harmonica. The former couple holds no barred in the lyrics as they tell the heartbreaking story of an abandoned child named Rosemary with matted hair, cold bare feet and tear-stained cheeks. Keep the faith in your soul/Stay down on your knees/I’m beggin you please/Hold onto the beads at your heart, Kravitz sings in the faithful chorus.
3. “Come and Get Some” by Da Brat
Written by Lisa Bonet, Lenny Kravitz, Chris Kelly, Jermaine Dupri and Shawntae Harris
The actress proved her songwriting talents had no bounds when she teamed up with Kravitz, Chris Kelly, Jermaine Dupri and Shawntae Harris to write this bop off rapper Da Brat’s debut album, Funkdafied. The song sounds like her own personal anthem with in-your-face lyrics like, To be or not to be fucked with is Da Brat with some gangsta shit and her confident delivery in the chorus, When you’re in the mood to flow let me know/Cause to me it ain’t no thing I’m always ready to go/So I know that you know that I know you gets none/But if you want some come and get some. Funkdafied made history in 1994 when it became the first album by a solo female rapper to go platinum for sales of more than one million copies.
(Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
