hey Bill,have you got a name for that classic soul progression that goes VI-V-Im-VIIm-III-VI-V -Im? Like "just the two of us" or "if you want me to stay" (but in this case already beggining in the root), and have you ever heard any nice twists to it?
Keep up the good work! Love you
i don't have a name for it, other than to say it's the good old "5min to set up the 4" except it's used from the perspective of the relative minor. so like, if you're in a minor key, it's when you go ahead and smack the flat7min7, to set up the b6.  honestly, a pretty slick version of this which you might get a kick out of, is in the verse of 'let me love you one more time' (benson). and then there's obviously biggie's 'big poppa' which i believe is actually just isley brothers. also check out the second verse of a song called "You" by mya, on the word "grow." this one has the extra passing tone thrown in for bonus points. Also, another twist i just thought of -- a lot of songs do like a 2-5 and then another 2-5 a whole step lower -- so it actually kind of has that same effect when it hits the 2 of the second 2-5-- sounds like the b7min7. example of that would be c'est la vie by robbie neville. 'love' by musiq does another one chromatically in the verse, but the melody doesn't obey it as well as the 'mya' example.  here's one that may seem subtle -- there was a mariah carey song (maybe 2006??) called 'shake it off" it's really just 3 chord hits, but it implies the same thing. t-pain 'show you how' also uses it pretty quick. also 'luv' by janet jackson uses it very expertly, with a gold-plated tritone substitution thing for the inbetween chord. basically all these are the b7min7 (to usually set up the b6) from a minor key. hope that's what you meant, i'm just taking that as the main common thread between your examples. ultimately this is a good technique, which i bet not many people know nowadays, and it is surely a great way to get chicks