"From the beginning of his career, Hayes was an innovator. In contrast with the gospel-derived, highly-charged vocals of his soul compatriots at Stax, Hayes pioneered a cool vocal style; his relaxed baritone was conversational and romantic. The pillow talk of the 1970s and 1980s megastar Barry White was directly inspired by Hayes’s style. The elaborate production and insistent four-beat of recordings such as 'Shaft' prefigured the disco movement; Hayes himself had some success during the disco era. Years before the word 'rap' had come to denote a musical style, Hayes was referring to the lengthy spoken interludes in his songs and performances as rapping."—Contemporary Black Biography