Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
Blackstreet
American contemporary R&B group From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
Blackstreet (often stylized as BLACKstreet) is an American R&B group founded in 1991 by record producers Chauncey "Black" Hannibal and Teddy Riley. The group released four albums with Interscope Records between 1994 and 2003. They achieved relative commercial success leading up to their 1996 single "No Diggity" (featuring Dr. Dre and Queen Pen), which peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks.
Remove ads
History
Summarize
Perspective
 | This section has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
|
The group was formed in 1991 by Teddy Riley, Chauncey Hannibal and Joseph Stonestreet after the dissolution of Riley's former group Guy. Through an audition they later recruited Levi Little to become a session singer alongside Hannibal and Stonestreet on Bobby Brown's third studio album, Bobby, an album that was mostly produced by Riley.[2] They recorded one song for the soundtrack album of the Chris Rock film CB4 called "Baby Be Mine".[3] After they finished recording the first half of their debut album on February 2, 1994, Stonestreet left the group due creative differences, lifestyle disputes and business disputes with Riley.[4] The group eventually met and recruited former Force One Network singer Dave Hollister, who was singing background vocals at a Jodeci concert.[5] They re-recorded the album once he was recruited.
Their debut album, Blackstreet, featured the singles "Booti Call", "Before I Let You Go" and "Joy".[6] "Booti Call" and "Before I Let You Go" were both Top 40 hits, with "Before I Let You Go" hitting the Top 10. In 1996, they released their second album Another Level. It was a breakthrough success due to the top single "No Diggity" (with Dr. Dre), which was a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1996. In 1998, Blackstreet won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.[6]
Another Level eventually went four times platinum in the United States and peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard chart. "No Diggity" was later ranked at No. 91 on Rolling Stone and MTV: 100 Greatest Pop Songs.[7] Another Level featured Mark Middleton and Eric Williams in place of Dave Hollister and Levi Little when they left in early in 1996.[6] Both Middleton and Williams were in groups prior to joining Blackstreet. Middleton was part of the short-lived Motown Records group Brik Citi.[8][9][10] Williams was part of the trio The Flex, a group that sang on songs produced by their mentor Marley Marl.[11] The success of Another Level landed them a guest appearance on Jay-Z's "The City Is Mine" and they teamed with Mýa and Mase for the hit "Take Me There" from the Rugrats soundtrack. The success of Another Level would also land them a spot on New Edition's 1997 Home Again reunion tour.
Blackstreet had a top ten album with Finally. The first single from the album, "Girlfriend/Boyfriend", was a collaboration with Janet Jackson featuring Ja Rule and Eve. Riley recorded a reunion album with Guy in 2000 and subsequently began working on material for his first solo record. Riley had second thoughts about disbanding Blackstreet and patched things up with Hannibal. Middleton and Williams returned to restore the Another Level lineup, and Riley's solo project became a Blackstreet reunion. After rumors of legal action and a preemptive countersuit, the group re-banded and released Level II.
Later years
After several failed attempts to keep Blackstreet together, all members eventually continued with solo careers for a time. However, in 2014, it was announced that past members Black, Little, Middleton, and Williams were back together under the Blackstreet moniker. They continue to perform with this lineup currently, and embarked on their second Australian tour in April 2015.[12]
In 2015, Middleton and Williams were backing vocalists for Eurovision Song Contest 2015 North Macedonia entry "Autumn Leaves" performed by Daniel Kajmakoski.[13]
Joseph Stonestreet died on June 25, 2018 at the age of 56.[14]
Remove ads
Members
Current
- Chauncey "Black" Hannibal (1991–2005, 2007–present)
- Levi Little (1991–1996, 2005–2006, 2014–present)
- Mark Middleton (1996–1998, 2002–2011, 2014–present)
- Eric Williams (1996–1999, 2002–2011, 2014–present)
Former
- Joseph Stonestreet (1991–1994; died 2018)
- Teddy Riley (1991–2016)
- Dave Hollister (1994–1996, 2009–2016)
- Terrell Phillips (1998–1999)
Discography
- Blackstreet (1994)
- Another Level (1996)
- Finally (1999)
- Level II (2003)
References
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads