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.
Critically acclaimed as a success by music industry insiders and culture writers of the time period, Forever My Lady was released on May 28, 1991 by Uptown/MCA Records. At the time, the genre of R&B was being dominated by the infusion of Teddy Riley’s New Jack Swing style and it was at a real crossroads from a generation earlier where singers dominated the genre as opposed to the production of the music. The world would be introduced to two sets of brothers who would stake their rightful claim as trendsetters within the genre; Jodeci boasted the production and songwriting talents of the DeGrate brothers, Donald “Devante Swing” DeGrate and Dalvin “Mr. Dalvin” DeGrate and the stellar vocals of the Hailey Brothers, Cedric “K-Ci” Hailey and Joel “Jo-Jo” Hailey.
Their style was a refreshing reminder of soulful ballads from a bygone era and the highly successful New Jack Swing style of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Their vocal talents alongside Devante Swing’s production and songwriting skill set were something to behold given how young they were at the time. Their ages ranged from 17-19, but their music sounded like well-groomed R&B stalwarts. Aesthetically, their style was groundbreaking due to the “bad boy” machismo and bravado they personified on record and stage. A young Sean “Diddy” Combs assisted in crafting the ensemble’s image while Andre Harrell, Dwight “Heavy D” Myers and Al B. Sure! provided musical guidance for this particular album; which was recorded in the Hit Factory Studios in Manhattan, New York between the years of 1990-1991 Forever My Lady.
SoulCulture recently sat down with Dalvin “Mr. Dalvin” DeGrate, group member, musician and co-writer for the album to shed some light on how the album came together.
Before there was Hype Williams, Little X and Benny Boom, there was Lionel C. Martin.
From 1987 to present, Martin’s videography reads like a scroll of all of the great talents of the past 25 years in urban and popular music. Martin is responsible for giving urban music videos life and authenticity at a time where Hip Hop and R&B desperately needed a pioneer to deliver a quality product for the world to see. Martin has produced videos for TLC, Stevie Wonder, R. Kelly, Public Enemy, Bell Biv Devoe, Big Daddy Kane, Jay-Z, Keith Sweat, Toni Braxton, Boyz II Men, SWV, En Vogue, MC Shan, Jodeci, Mariah Carey, Jill Scott, Nas, Wu-Tang Clan, Notorious B.I.G., Father MC, Hi-Five, Tupac, N’Sync, Backstreet Boys and many more.
Martin, a native of Queens, NY, was a trailblazing force in the 1980s when he helped launch the Video Music Box channel with his childhood friend, Ralph McDaniels in 1984. The Video Music Box channel was only seen in the Tri-State area at the time. The Tri-State area consists of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Martin was one of the first hosts on the show and his moniker was (The VidKid). The channel would play every Hip Hop video from the popular artists of the time period.
After its inaugural year, Martin devised an idea to expand the channel’s brand and this move helped to make the channel achieve legendary status. Martin alongside McDaniels made the decision to travel extensively through the emerging hip-hop scene to cover parties and shows to illustrate the influence that Hip Hop culture was having on New York City and the surrounding areas. It would prove to be pivotal in shaping the career path of Martin.
During this time, the Video Music Box channel was the only Hip Hop program in syndication on public television in the United States. It gave a voice and face to a culture that would begin to dominate the mainstream in the forthcoming years. Whilst working on the Video Music Box channel, Martin would see the types of videos that would come in from the artists and thought that the Hip Hop culture needed to have better representation for the art form. This is where his voyage of directing music videos begins.
Recently, SoulCulture sat down to talk with Martin about his contributions to urban music videos, behind the scene stories and the importance of maintaining pride in urban culture.
Forever My Lady was released on Memorial Day weekend in 1991 and was critically acclaimed as a success by music industry insiders and culture writers of the time period.
The genre of R&B was being dominated by the infusion of Teddy Riley’s New Jack Swing style at the time and it was at a real crossroads from a generation earlier were singers dominated the genre as opposed to the production of the music.
Jodeci consisted of the perfect amalgamation between the production and songwriting talents of the DeGrate brothers, Donald “Devante Swing” DeGrate and Dalvin “Mr. Dalvin” DeGrate and the stellar vocals of the Hailey Brothers, Cedric “K-Ci” Hailey and Joel “Jo-Jo” Hailey.
Their style was a reminder of soulful ballads of a bygone era and the infusion of the New Jack Swing style of the late '80s and early '90s. K-Ci’s vocal prowess was reminiscent of early 1970s soul singers such as Bobby Womack and his brother Jo-jo’s upper register delivered indelible notes that gave their records a distinguishable feel from their contemporaries.
Forever My Lady was released on Memorial Day weekend in 1991 and was critically acclaimed as a success by music industry insiders and culture writers of the time period.
The genre of R&B was being dominated by the infusion of Teddy Riley’s New Jack Swing style at the time and it was at a real crossroads from a generation earlier were singers dominated the genre as opposed to the production of the music.
Jodeci consisted of the perfect amalgamation between the production and songwriting talents of the DeGrate brothers, Donald “Devante Swing” DeGrate and Dalvin “Mr. Dalvin” DeGrate and the stellar vocals of the Hailey Brothers, Cedric “K-Ci” Hailey and Joel “Jo-Jo” Hailey.
Their style was a reminder of soulful ballads of a bygone era and the infusion of the New Jack Swing style of the late '80s and early '90s. K-Ci’s vocal prowess was reminiscent of early 1970s soul singers such as Bobby Womack and his brother Jo-jo’s upper register delivered indelible notes that gave their records a distinguishable feel from their contemporaries.
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,