Pretty Ricky
| Pretty Ricky | |
|---|---|
| Also known as |
|
| Origin | Miami, Florida, United States |
| Genres | Hip-hop, R&B |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Labels | Pretty Ricky (current) Atlantic, Big Cat, Tommy Boy, Bluestar Ent. (former) |
| Associated acts | |
| Members |
Marcus "Pleasure P" Cooper "Spectacular" Blue Smith Ala Diamond "Baby Blue" Smith Corey "Slick'em" Mathis |
| Past members | Joseph "J.Long" Smith Jr. Christopher "4Play" Myers Carl "Mowet" Lovett Emmanuel Ramone "Lingerie" DeAnda |
Pretty Ricky is an American R&B/hip hop group originated from Miami, Florida. Pretty Ricky originally consisted of four brothers: Corey "Slick'em" Mathis, Ala Diamond "Baby Blue" Smith, "Spectacular" Blue Smith, and Marcus "Pleasure P" Cooper who is the group's only singer since the rest of them take roles as rappers. They all have the same father, Joseph "Blue" Smith Sr., but only Spectacular & Baby Blue have the same mother. The name of the band was taken from a character in Martin Lawrence's comedy series, Martin (1992-1997). "We all used to dress alike, really different to everyone else. We wore fur in the summer when everyone else was in t-shirts," Pleasure explained. "On the show was a character called 'Pretty Ricky.' He was slick and always dressed different to everyone else, so all the girls at school started calling us 'Pretty Ricky'." They had great success with singles such as "Grind With Me" and "On The Hotline" with albums such as Late Night Special and Bluestars. Pleasure P left the group in 2007 to embark on a solo career. Since then, Pretty Ricky has replaced the lead singer numerous times with ex-members 4Play, Mowet, and Lingerie. Since 2015, Pleasure P has reunited with the group releasing their latest single "Puddles" and preparing a final album and tour for 2017.
In 1997 while performing together in Miami, Florida Pretty Ricky was signed to Bluestar Entertainment by CEO Joseph "Blue" Smith. Supported by their father, Joseph "Blue" Smith Sr., who also served as the band's manager and taskmaster, these four boys, also was joined by their older brother, Joseph "J.Long" Smith Jr., set out to develop their music career in 1997 under the name of "Pretty Rickie and The Maverix". According to a 1999 story in The Miami Herald, At first, it was J.Long who was called "Pretty Rickie" while the other four brothers were "The Maverix". But upon his departure from the group, plus the objection issued by an American country band "The Mavericks" to change their name, the remaining personnel decided to apply their original idea of the band's identity using back the name "Pretty Ricky" as the remaining four brothers decided to change 'ie' to 'y' for reasons of it sounding "more masculine". With the help from a producer named Jim Jonsin of Unusual Suspects production team, Pretty Ricky began to gain a desirable attention through their local performances. However, it was not until 2002 that the group encountered their initial success as their song, "Flossin'", became a huge hit on Miami radio station Power 96. Their career ended almost in year 2007 when the singer Pleasure P left the group. They released their first single Flossin in 2002 & their second single So Fresh So Clean in June 2004. Both singles were set to be the first singles on their original debut studio What They Call Me which was scheduled for 2003. The album was never released.
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