Blackstreet

There’s certainly plenty of artists, over the pasr couple of decades, who have kind of hinted at a crossover between hip hop and R&B, between harder, rougher rap stylings and the unparalleled smoothness of new jack swing, but as appealing a combination as it sounds - even though it’s a pairing that, on paper, shouldn’t come so easily - the truth remains that nobody has quite mastered that blend of styles in the same way that Blackstreet achieved in the early nineties, most notably with their signature track, ‘No Diggity’. The manner in which that song mixed together laid-back R&B and rapped verses is testament to the visionary nature of the New York outfit’s songwriting; officially speaking, they’re still a going concern, despite the fact that they’ve been far from prolific since their 1991 formation. Indeed, Blackstreet have only managed to turn out four studio albums over the course of their near twenty-five year career, a pitiful return; that isn’t to say, though, that the individual members haven’t worked hard on solo careers. Earlier this year, it was announced that four of the original six members - Teddy Riley and Dave Hollister are missing - will reform for a tour that should initially take them across America; expect mellow cuts from across their back catalogue, slick dance moves and sharp instrumentation should they pencil anything in across the pond.

Despite the genres of R & B and Hip Hop often featuring artists who consistently collaborate together, it is unusual for an artist to have a firm grasp of both. New York group Blackstreet are very much an exception to the rule after rising to prominence in the early 90's with a refreshing blend of the two genres.

A relative revolution of the time, they continue to tour their smooth R & B to the masses. Despite not having released an album in over a decade, fans continue to follow the band and cheer to hear classics such as 'Before I Let You Go'. The band has had time to develop their sound and show, 'Tonight's the Night' has an almost Motown feel now and the crowd are clearly enjoying it.

The harmonies are still very much on point, and a melodic rendition of 'Don't Leave Me' almost overshadows the mega-hit of the evening 'No Diggity'. The band sounds as fresh as ever and the vocals have not wavered at all over the years.

Another cracking night out @thejazzcafe this time listening to one of my all time favourites ‘Blackstreet’ The place was heaving with people swinging all night. Once again the only disappointment was they were on stage for only 55 minutes which is a bit of a piss take. Clearly a sign of old age.

Blackstreet were amazing.
My highlights were being able to hold their hands and being serenaded to.
Blackstreet really worked with the crowd and was great to see them interacting with fans.
112 was great however disappointing that there was really no crowd interaction

Teddy Riley still got it!! Not only Teddy, Dave Hollister with Keith Sweat was amazing too! 3rd row was good enough since none of the first 2 rows stood up & danced. We can't wait to the next one though!!

They aren't legends for nothing!! I enjoyed myself the whole time. will def go again. FYI im only 24. I will recommend for someone to see them live! Hopefully they will come to the hershey area soon.

the entire show was awesome. just wanted more of it. It was Shai, Jagged Edge and Blackstreet on the same show. Wow. we saw them in Westbury New York. I was surprised it was not a sell out.

Show was good. Amazing how much music Teddy Riley has written and produced. The music was really loud and some of the artists were hard to hear their vocals but all in all a good show.