Bell Biv DeVoe was a successful splinter group of New Edition that consisted of three previous members, Ricky Bell (a.k.a. Slick), Michael Bivins (Biv), and Ronnie DeVoe (R.D.).

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History

Bell Biv DeVoe began to take shape in the late 1980s, but not until completing the tour in support of Heart Break did the threesome decide to make the break from New Edition official. At the suggestion of producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, they chose to chart their own course.

Bell Biv Devoe's debut album Poison has a variety of producers, including Dr. Freeze and Spyderman, Wolf & Epic (Richard Wolf & Bret "Epic" Mazur), Guy's Timmy Gatling, and Public Enemy's Hank Shocklee and Keith Shocklee. As a result, Bell Biv DeVoe's first album "Poison" has a larger new jack swing composition as compared to New Edition releases. BBD was a pioneering group that was the first to successfully combine hip-hop with R&B & pop. The CD was released in 1990, and its title track became a #1 hit on the R&B chart. The singles that followed were "Do Me!", "B.B.D. (I Thought It Was Me)?", "When Will I See You Smile Again", and "Dope!" (the latter was retitled "She's Dope!" upon release due to the rising drug abuse among children). Poison sold over three million copies. The remix album WBBD-Bootcity! The Remixes , with the Wolf & Epic produced "Word To The Mutha!" as accompanying single, was released the next year and was certified gold.

Bell Biv Devoe sold in excess of 4 million albums, prompting performances on the 1990 American Music Awards and other such ceremonies.

Bivins took time off from recording to search for new talent and bring together the East Coast Family, discovering and producing debut albums for the groups for Another Bad Creation and Boyz II Men, and little known Sudden Impact. They had two name changes, first to Whytguys and then to The Outsiderz. Bell Biv DeVoe's second album, Hootie Mack , was released in 1993 and spawned the singles "Gangsta", "Above The Rim", "Something In Your Eyes" and "Show Me the Way".

In 1996, Bell, Bivins, and DeVoe participated in the reunion of New Edition and toured in support of the CD Home Again on the MCA record label. In 2002, Bell Biv DeVoe's third album, B.B.D. , was released. This latest effort saw Bell Biv Devoe exploring a more, hardcore rap style/R&B approach. It received mixed reviews and not much commercial success.

Ronnie DeVoe is now a real estate agent in the Atlanta, Georgia area but still remains with New Edition. ^[1] He is very passionate about nutrition, especially healthy eating, and is currently collaborating with the group Viking Pimps on their up-coming album.

In October 2008, Bell, Biv, and Devoe were on the radio with V103 (Atlanta) where they played a sneak peak at a new track entitled, "That Girl." Another sneak peak is also available for valentines day called "welcome to my heart." See link below.

In February 2009, Bell Biv Devoe dropped 2 new tracks on itunes. " Welcome to My Heart " and " You ". They are working on a new album due out in 2009.

In June 2009, Bell Biv Devoe performed with Ne-Yo at the 2009 BET Awards.

Discography

Albums

Year	Album	Chart Positions
		US	US R&B
1990	Poison	5	1
1991	WBBD-Bootcity!: The Remix Album	18	18
1993	Hootie Mack	19	6
2001	BBD	-	62

Singles

Year	Song	US Hot 100	US R&B	US Dance	UK singles	Album
1990	"Poison"	3	1	7	19	Poison
	"Do Me!"	3	4	6	56
	"B.B.D. (I Thought It Was Me)?"	26	1	16	86
1991	"When Will I See You Smile Again?"	63	3	-	-
	"She's Dope!"	-	9	-	-	WBBD-Bootcity
	"Word to the Mutha!" (featuring Ralph Tresvant, Johnny Gill, and Bobby Brown)	13	1	9	-
1992	"Gangsta"	21	22	-	-	Hootie Mack
1993	"Something in Your Eyes"	38	6	-	60
	"Above the Rim"	-	81	-	-

Cultural references

• In October 2004 "Poison" appeared in the popular videogame Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas , playing on R&B, Soul radio station CSR 103.9. Michael was also the DJ of that station. He is known as Phillip "P.M." Michaels in the game.
• Richard Cheese parodies "Do Me!" on their 2005 album Aperitif for Destruction .
• The song "Poison" was featured on "My Half Acre", episode 9 of Scrubs season 5 in 2006. Turk's audition for the Janitor's air band was a performance of "Poison".
• The group was referenced in the Scrubs episode "My Kingdom", mentioned in the pilot episode of the CBS show Northern Exposure , and also featured in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air episode "The Butler Did It".
• The band was featured in collectible Taco Bell cups in the early nineties.
• The group was referenced as "number one in the charts" in a Kids in the Hall sketch from 1991.
• In the first episode of Halfway Home , Sebastian says "a salam aleikum" to Alan, who replies, "Umm... Bell Biv DeVoe."
• On the animated show Drawn Together , one of the main characters, Foxxy Love, mentions on at least two occasions that she has a chance to see Bell Biv Devoe in concert.
• The song "Do Me!" featured in the cafe scene in the movie 40 Days and 40 Nights .
• On the CBS show How I Met Your Mother , when the character Marshall is wearing parachute pants in the season two episode "Stuff," Ted says, "By the way, Bell Biv Devoe called. Even they don't want those pants back."
• The song "Poison" was featured in the 2008 film Pineapple Express .
• The Madvillain song "Fancy Clown" refers to 'poison like BBD first cassette'.
• The song "Poison" was featured in the season finale of the third season of the FX series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia ; the song was used during a dance-off between the characters Mac and Dennis.
• The song "Poison" was used in a mastermix in the America's Best Dance Crew Season 2 dance-off between Super Cr3w and SoReal Cru.

References

1. Moving to Georgia, Atlanta's Top Realtors Ron DeVoe of 'New Edition' (404)233-9996