112 was released on August 27, 1996 by Bad Boy Records.
112 arrived on a musical landscape where R&B music was at its peak for mainstream audiences. During this juncture, there were a plethora of R&B groups making their mark on the industry and opening doors for new acts to breakthrough. The opportunity to capitalize on this momentum was made available and 112 seized the opportunity in the stellar fashion.
Bad Boy Records was the newest label on the scene and their youthful exuberance shined through with the hot acts they were signing in both the R&B and Hip Hop genres respectively. 112 became the second R&B act signed by
Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs and he clearly saw something in the quartet ages ranging from 17-19. The group failed to disappoint with their debut offering and left quite the impression on the multitude of music fans worldwide.
This album would introduce the group as an alternative choice from the other R&B groups on the music charts. Their style of rhythm and blues was reminiscent of
Boyz II Men and many of the forefather R&B groups throughout the history of R&B music. Each of the 19 songs on the album highlighted the four part harmonies of
Michael Keith and
Daron Jones and lead singers
Marvin “Slim” Scandrick and
Quinnes “Q” Parker. It would also showcase the production talents of group member Daron Jones, up and coming Bad Boy Hitmen producer,
Steven “Stevie J.” Jordan, Tim & Bob, Wanya Morris of Boyz II Men and Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs. All of these elements proved to be explosive once the album hit stores in the late summer of 1996.
The concept for the group was formulated by Daron Jones and Michael Keith when they were in 7th grade. 112 formed as a group in 1994 in Atlanta, Georgia while attending the same high school. They were originally a quintet and their group name was
Forte, which was an acronym for
Forever On Route to Excellence.
After various line up changes with different group members, co-founders Daron Jones and Michael Keith recruited Marvin “Slim” Scandrick and Quinnes “Q” Parker to become part of the group. The group began to build a legendary reputation around their hometown of Atlanta by winning consecutive singing competitions. They eventually gained the attention of producers Tim & Bob and managers Courtney Sills and Kevin Wales.
As the story goes, the group was brought in to perform for Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs at the famous Buckhead 112 Club in Atlanta, Georgia. It would be here where they would obtain the name for their group. After receiving a co-sign from
Faith Evans and
Chucky Thompson, Combs signed the quartet to his label to become his first male R&B collective. A year later, the group would release their debut album and the rest would be history.
Between the months of February 1995-January 1996, 112 was recorded at Daddy's House studios in New York, New York.
SoulCulture recently sat down with co-founder Daron Jones and producer Steven “Stevie J.” Jordan to discuss how the album developed from beginning to end.
On a night set to ignite a love for all things '90s R&B related, an extremely poor live performance last night (March 23rd) cemented the demise of one of R&B's once great all male groups.
Veteran R&B group Next recently performed live in London, treating fans with their classics, including “Wifey” and “Too Close,” as well as debuting new material. The live show marks the return for the trio, who are set to release a new album - seductively titled Next, Lies & Videotape – early next year.
Nowadays authentic R&B music is noticeably scarce in the mainstream charts. I remember growing up in the '90s; you’d hear a lot of credible R&B on the mainstream music channels. It had a soulful edge to it, with elements of swing, jazz and even hints of reggae mixed in. But these days R&B chart music barely resembles its rhythm and blues origins. It’s now watered down to cater to a more commercial audience, creating a new R&B/pop sound in the process – one that’s a million miles away from the genre’s previous generations.
In the late '90s urban boybands – or male vocal groups, as some like to call them – were really big: from the likes of Jodeci, 112, Blackstreet and Dru Hill, to Damage, Boyz II Men and H-Town. One band that was riding high in the late '90s/early '00s were Next.
Formed in 1997 by Robert Lavelle "R.L." Huggar and brothers Raphael "Tweety" Brown and Terry "T-Low" Brown,
Check 1: Interview with Chauncey “Black” Hannibal? Yep.
Check 2: Interview with legendary producer and swingbeat creator Teddy “Street” Riley?
Yep yep.
That’s the real BLACKstreet, no diggity, no doubt. Founding members Riley and Hannibal are coming over for a one-off show in the UK on April 2nd (Good Friday) at the IndigO2 in London. It’ll be the first time they’ve appeared together in Britain, as part of four man vocal group BLACKstreet, for over 15 years. That’s the show that the buzz is all about.
If you’ve got tickets to see another three blokes masquerading as the group, performing in places like Leamington Spa or Basingstoke, it's not going to be the real thing; just two geezers singing over a DAT (whereas Teddy and Hannibal are bringing a full band) in a nightclub on a fancy dress “school disco night” – be assured that’s not the real BLACKstreet. You’ll have plenty of reasonable diggity to get your money back.
The emergence of ex-sidemen doing spoiler shows in Europe has understandably got BLACKstreet more than a little vexed: “Yeah, legally we're putting a halt and were setting all of it down. It’s a shame that these guys are out there trying to belittle the name. If it ain’t Riley or Hannibal it’s not the real Blackstreet!” says Chauncey.