Blackstreet
| Blackstreet | |
|---|---|
| Origin | New York City, New York, United States |
| Genres | R&B, soul, funk, new jack swing, hip hop |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Labels | Interscope, DreamWorks |
| Associated acts | Guy, Michael Jackson, Bobby Brown, SWV, The Neptunes, Bink, Rodney Jerkins, Danja, Jay-Z, Foxy Brown, Leon Sylvers III |
| Website | www.TheRealBlackStreet.com |
| Members | Chauncey "Black" Hannibal Levi Little Mark Middleton Eric Williams |
| Past members |
Teddy Riley Dave Hollister Joseph Stonestreet Terrell Phillips |
Blackstreet, often stylized as BLACKstreet, is an American R&B group founded in 1991 by Teddy Riley and Chauncey Hannibal, also known as "C. Black."
After the breakup of Guy, Riley came up with the idea to start a new group featuring himself. Originally, the group was to be named Stonestreet, but it was later decided to combine Stonestreet with Chauncey's nickname "Black." The group became Blackstreet Featuring Teddy Riley, with an original lineup of Teddy Riley, Chauncey Hannibal, Levi Little, and Joseph Stonestreet. However, Stonestreet was replaced with Dave Hollister before the first self-titled album was released.
In 1993, their first single "Baby Be Mine" was released on the soundtrack to the Universal Pictures comedy CB4 (starring Chris Rock). The song was written by Riley and Stonestreet and produced by Riley.
Their debut album, Blackstreet, featured the singles "Booti Call", "Before I Let You Go" and "Joy". "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 sophomore 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.
The Another Level album 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.Another Level featured Mark Middleton and Eric Williams in place of Dave Hollister and Levi Little. Both Middleton and Williams were in groups prior to joining Blackstreet. Middleton was part of the short-lived Motown Records group Brik Citi. Williams was part of the trio The Flex, a group that sang on songs produced by their mentor Marley Marl. 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.
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