Blackstreet is the debut studio album from American R&B group Blackstreet, released in 1994 on Interscope Records. The group was formed by Riley with Chauncey Hannibal after the dissolution of Teddy Riley's former group Guy.[3] The other members of Blackstreet - Joseph Stonestreet and Levi Little - were session singers alongside Hannibal on Bobby Brown's third album Bobby, an album that was mostly produced by Riley.[4] They recorded one song for the soundtrack of the Chris Rock film CB4 called "Baby Be Mine".[5] Before they could record an album, Stonestreet left the group[3] and was replaced by former Force One Network singer Dave Hollister.[6] When they re-recorded "Baby Be Mine" for their self-titled debut, Hollister's vocals were added on the album version of the song.
Hip hop producer Erick Sermon co-produced the first single "Booti Call",[3] which was a response to the rape trial and conviction of professional boxer Mike Tyson at the time of the album's release.[7] Riley, who was a close friend of Tyson,[7] referenced his incarceration in the album's liner notes: and to our main man Mike Tyson "we can't wait".[8] The song's opening was done by stand up comedian Bill Bellamy, who popularized his infamous saying on an episode of Russell Simmons' Def Comedy Jam.[9] The second single "Before I Let You Go" was released with a music video that featured appearances by actors Omar Epps[10][11] and Shari Headley.[12]
Also on the album is former member of The Sylvers songwriter and producer Leon Sylvers III, who collaborated with Riley on the writing and production of several songs on the album. Riley's proteges The Neptunes make one of their earliest appearances on Blackstreet as well, with Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo receiving a co-writing and assistant producer credit on the song "Tonight's the Night",[3][13] while Hugo plays the saxophone on the ballad "Happy Home".[14] Singer Michael Jackson helped with the composition of "Joy"- a song that was originally intended for Jackson's 1991 album Dangerous.[3][15] Blackstreet would be the first and last album with members Hollister and Little, who left the group at the end of 1995.[16][17]
The album peaked at number fifty-two on the Billboard 200 chart. By April 1995, it was certified platinum in sales by the RIAA, after sales exceeding 1,000,000 copies in the United States. Blackstreet's cover of the Stevie Wonder song "Love's in Need of Love Today" was featured in the 1995 Harrison Ford film Sabrina, but it does not appear on the film's soundtrack.
Another Level is the second studio album by American R&B group Blackstreet. Released in September 10, 1996, it was the first album with new members Eric Williams and Mark Middleton.[8] They joined the group after replacing departed members Dave Hollister and Levi Little.[9][8] Another Level was also the first Blackstreet album released under Interscope Records' new distribution deal with MCA Music Entertainment, Inc. after the company was dropped by Time Warner several months before the release of the album.[10]
Another Level was Blackstreet's most commercially successful album, reaching No. 3 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, and No. 1 on the Top R&B Albums chart for five weeks and selling over 4 million copies on April 15, 1997.[11] It contained the group's biggest hit to date, the Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single "No Diggity".
Despite Another Level being their most successful recording and the huge success of the single "No Diggity", member/producer Teddy Riley stated in a 2013 interview with BBC Radio 1Xtra host Ronnie Herel that the album did not have a signature song.
Finally is the third album from R&B group Blackstreet. It was released on Interscope Records on March 23, 1999. Finally was the only album to feature Terrell Phillips, after the departure of Mark Middleton.[8] After the success of their multi-platinum last album Another Level, their label allowed them a bigger budget for the next album. Finally was recorded at Teddy Riley's studio Future Recording Studios based in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Originally given the working title Get Higher, the album was scheduled for a November 1998 release until it was pushed back to March 1999.[9]
The album has high-profile guests, such as Janet Jackson, Stevie Wonder and Hezekiah Walker. The album also features several songs with string arrangements from conductor Jeremy Lubbock.[10] The music video for the single "Girlfriend/Boyfriend" was directed by Joseph Kahn. Complete with computer animation and 3D graphics, the video was considered to be one of the most expensive at the time.[11] Finally was critically acclaimed but a commercial disappointment, moving units at only a fraction of what their previous album sold. Shortly after the release of the single "Think About You", Riley left Blackstreet to reform his previous group Guy and Blackstreet were subsequently dropped by Interscope Records.[12]
Despite the album's failure, a couple of songs have been covered by other artists. British singer Sonique covered the song "Drama" on her album Hear My Cry as a duet with R&B singer Calvin Richardson. Korean pop group SS501 later covered the song "In A Rush" live in one of their concert performances.
Level II is the fourth album by R&B group, Blackstreet, released on March 11, 2003. It was their first and only album released on record label DreamWorks Records. The album's title was a reference to its members' best known line-up during their most successful album, 1996's Another Level.[12] Two of the members returned for the recording of Level II. Mark Middleton returned to the fold after he was replaced by Terrell Phillips on 1999's Finally to launch a gospel music career. Dave Hollister returned on the song "Bygones", as he also left the group to start his solo career.
Founding members Teddy Riley and Chauncey Hannibal patched things up to record Level II. A few years earlier, they were involved in a very public dispute that signaled the group's demise at the end of 1999.[13][14][15][16] After Blackstreet's eventual dissolution, Riley entered into a short-lived reunion with his previous group Guy.[17] Hannibal attempted a solo career, while Eric Williams returned to writing and producing for other artists such as Dave Hollister, Donell Jones and Jaheim.
Riley also attempted a solo career as well, with a deal with Virgin Records in 2000.[18][14] His solo recording Black Rock was shelved despite promotional copies of the album being issued.[19] Another project that he worked on was the Capitol Records singer Michael "Mike E." Etheridge, a former member of The Neptunes.[20] His debut album Master Plan- which was executive produced by Riley- was also shelved, and as a result, several songs on the unreleased albums made their way on Level II. "Look In The Water" was originally recorded by Mike E. for his album,[21] but Riley re-recorded the song with Blackstreet's vocals. Several songs from Riley's unreleased album Black Rock ("Friend Of Mine", "You Made Me", "Deep" and "Bygones") were also re-recorded for this album.[22] Level II was released with little to no promotion, as DreamWorks Records was on the verge of being absorbed by their previous label Interscope Records.[23][24]
The artwork for the edited version has the logo colored blue as opposed to the red color on the uncut version.
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire