BLACKstreet
is an American R&B group founded in 1992 by Thomas Taliaferro (producer) Bobby Brown, BLACKstreet and Teddy Riley, the inventor of New Jack Swing known for his work as a member of Guy. The current members are, Teddy Riley, Chauncey Hannibal, Mark Middleton, and Eric Williams. The first original members of BLACKstreet were Teddy Riley, Chauncey Hannibal, Levi Little, and Joseph Stonestreet. The original lineup released their first single in 1993 on the soundtrack to the movie CB4 starring Chris Rock titled "Baby Be Mine" featuring Joseph Stonestreet on lead and produced by Teddy Riley and written by Teddy Riley and Joseph Stonestreet. Stonestreet however left the group shortly after the single was released due to creative and personal differences with Riley and was replaced by Dave Hollister before the group recorded their debut album but not before he and Riley co-wrote a song called "I Wanna Make Love" for their debut album.
Their debut album, BLACKstreet
, was a moderate success due to the singles "Booti Call" and "Before I Let You Go", both Top 40 hits ("Before I Let You Go" hit the Top 10). The follow-up, 1996's Another Level
(see 1996 in music) was a breakthrough success due to the top single "No Diggity" (with Dr. Dre), which was a #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1996, and won the 1998 Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, along with the Top 40 hit "Don't Leave Me". Another Level
eventually went four times platinum in the United States and peaked at #3 on the Billboard chart. "No Diggity" is ranked at #91 on
, while BLACKstreet comes in at #214 of the
.
BLACKstreet has also collaborated with Jay-Z on his single "The City is Mine".
The first single from their third album, "Girlfriend/Boyfriend", a collaboration with Janet Jackson featuring Ja Rule and Eve - BLACKstreet finally had a top ten album with Finally
. But personnel shifts wrecked the group and contributed to the relative failure of Finally
(1999 in music) and BLACKstreet soon broke up. After rumors of legal action and a preemptive countersuit, the group re-banded and released Level II
in 2003 (see 2003 in music).
In 2006 the group was a part of the New Jack Reunion Tour with Teddy Riley, Mark Middleton, Eric Williams, and new member J-Stylz who replaced Chauncey Hannibal who left the group to sign with Busta Rhymes label Flipmode Records as a solo artist.
J-Stylz also left the group and Blackstreet used a temporary fill-in named J-Remy. In late 2008 the Another Level lineup of Teddy Riley, Chauncey Hannibal, Mark Middleton, and Eric Williams have reunited and are working on a new album. Riley has also reunited his other group Guy with the Hall brothers Aaron Hall and Damion Hall and both groups are gonna tour together and release new albums. Dave Hollister rejoined the current lineup at the Core DJ's Event in Atlanta during a show given by both of Riley's groups he sang "Before I Let You Go" with the four current Blackstreet members and also performed No Diggity with them.
|
BLACKSTREET TICKETS
|