Blackstreet Biography
Among the most highly rated of the new generation of urban R&B bands, BLACKstreet is the brainchild of gifted musician and producer Teddy Riley (Edward Theodore Riley, New York City, New York, USA). The band, formed in Los Angeles, California, USA, originally comprised songwriters Riley and Chauncey Hannibal (b. New Jersey, USA), with Levi Little and Dave Hollister as additional vocalists. The quartet made their self-titled debut for Interscope Records in 1994. This well-received collection, dominated by hip-hop rhythms, provided a compulsive rhythmic soundtrack to the summer of 1994, selling over one million copies and featuring the hit single "Before I Let You Go". For the follow-up, Hollister and Little were replaced by Mark Middleton (b. New York, USA) and Eric Williams (b. 6 January 1960, New Jersey, USA), and the musical accent changed from hip-hop to pure R&B. The only exception was the brilliant single, "No Diggity" (a Grammy winning US chart-topper and UK Top 10 single), which featured a guest rap from Dr. Dre. More arresting was "The Lord Is Real", a vocal track which borrowed heavily from the gospel tradition, and a completely restyled version of the Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love". The album went on to sell over six million copies. The same year they were featured on New Edition's reunion tour, and in 1997 performed a highly rated MTV Unplugged special. The band also appeared on the single "Take Me There" (US number 14, January 1999), taken from the soundtrack to the Rugrats movie, alongside Mya, Ma$e and Blinky Blink. The heavily anticipated Finally was released in March, and was the first album to feature Middleton's replacement, Terrell Philips. The record included the hit singles "Can You Feel It" (including a sample of the Jacksons' song of the same name) and "Girlfriend/Boyfriend".
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
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