He loved hip-hop growing up, but the only R&B he could get into was R. Kelly. But when his friends heard his perfect tenor voice, they pushed Trey Songz to drop rap and start crooning. He did, and after winning numerous talent shows in his native Petersburg, VA, the 15-year-old singer met Troy Taylor, who had worked behind the scenes with Patti... [+] Read More

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Michael Bivins, a founding member of New Edition and part of the trio Bell Biv Devoe, struck commercial gold as the manager/producer of this Atlanta pre-teen quintet. Chris Sellers, Dave Shelton, Romell Chapman, and brothers Marliss and Demetrius Pugh landed a platinum release with Coolin' at the Playground Ya' Know! for Motown in 1991. Both... [+] Read More

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One of the top R&B vocal groups of the '90s, Blackstreet was founded by singer, producer, and new jack swing pioneer Teddy Riley after the breakup of his seminal trio Guy. Riley had taken a few years to concentrate on his booming production career, which saw him working with Wreckx-N-Effect, Bobby Brown, Michael Jackson, and SWV, among others.... [+] Read More

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According to no less an authority than the RIAA, Boyz II Men are the most commercially successful R&B group of all time. They've sold ludicrous numbers of records and been involved in three of the longest-running number-one pop singles in history, and they've done it as a unit of equals. In fact, their four-part harmonies blend so smoothly that... [+] Read More

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This vocal quartet formed as high school students in Oklahoma City before relocating to New York. They proved adept at both churning dance tunes and sincere ballads. Signing to Giant Records, they broke through in 1991 with their performance of "I Wanna Sex You Up" on the soundtrack of New Jack City. Released as a single, the song topped the R&B... [+] Read More

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This seminal R&B trio was the first group to sport the new jack swing sound, essentially traditional soul vocals melded to hip-hop beats, with credit for the genre's invention going to founder, multi-instrumentalist, and super-producer Teddy Riley. Riley formed his first band, Wreckx-N-Effect, while still a teenager, with brothers Markell Riley... [+] Read More

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If Boyz II Men are portrayed as a clean-cut, wholesome R&B vocal group, then Jodeci's wild, sexual, bad-boy image represents the other side of the coin. Made up of two sets of brothers, the group's name is a consolidation of three members' aliases: "JoJo" Hailey, Donald "DeVante Swing" DeGrate, and Cedric "K-Ci" Hailey; the group also includes... [+] Read More

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Another New Jack swing ensemble to file alongside Bell Biv DeVoe and Guy, Joe Public's self-titled debut in 1992 got them off to a good start among urban contemporary audiences. Their only other album, Easy Come, Easy Go, followed two years later. ~ Ron Wynn, All Music Guide

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Formed in the early '80s in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Mint Condition began as lead singer Stokley Williams, guitarist Homer O'Dell, keyboardist Larry Waddell, keyboardist/saxophonist Jeff Allen, keyboardist/guitarist Keri Lewis, and guitarist/bassist Rick Kinchen.

The six talented musicians combine a variety of influences and... [+] Read More

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Ralph Tresvant sang lead on New Edition's hits and had his own gold number one R&B hit with the silky "Sensitivity." He was the last member to release a solo project of his own. All of the group's previous members had number one R&B hits: Bobby Brown with "Girlfriend " and Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, and Ronald DeVoe as Bell Biv DeVoe (aka BBD)... [+] Read More

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With their Teddy Riley-produced 1992 debut, It's About Time, the all-female new jack swing trio SWV scored a string of Top Ten R&B hits that established them as one of the most popular urban R&B groups of the '90s.

SWV (their name is an acronym for Sisters With Voices) is comprised of three school friends: Coko (born Cheryl Gamble),... [+] Read More

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