22 Mar BLACKstreet: “If Teddy Riley isn’t there you’re not getting the real music”

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.