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The beginnings of the band 112 can be traced to the members meeting at high school. Daron Jones, Michael Keith & Reginald Finley sang together while Jones & Keith were in middle school & Finley was in high school. A close friend of Finley's, Aldon Lagon was recognised for his deep bass voice and added to the line up along with high tenor vocalist Marvin Scandrick who the boys sang with in the school chorus. They changed their name to 112 after a move to New York in 1996, before this they were performing at local events as Forte.
They recorded their debut album in 1996 and it was released in late August to moderate chart success in the US. It peaked at #37 on the US Billboard Charts and has now sold over two million copies in the States achieving double platinum certification. Their rise to fame really began in the following year when two of the singles from second album 'Room 112' charted within the top 20 of the US charts and 'Love Me' was certified as gold selling.
The band had the incredible opportunity to support Whitney Houston on the 'My Love Is Your Love Tour' in the summer of 1999 whilst promoting their first record, understandably their fan base grew substantially. The group's third albu, 'Part III' was released in 2001 and including the hit 'Peaches & Cream' which earned the group their first Grammy nomination in the Best R&B Group or Duo category. It received a lot of radio publicity ahead of the release and charted at #2 on the US chart, which still remains the band's highest chart placing to date. The band then got another fantastic deal supporting another renowned R & B vocalist, this time it was Janet Jackson on her U.S 'All for You' World Tour.
The band released two albums on Def Jam after a split with long term record label Bad Boy. In 2008 Michael Keith decided to leave 112 and go solo before reconciling with the group in 2010. The 'For The Fans' Tour which kicked off in the summer of 2012 and is still going to date, there are no signs of a new album release yet.
It started for Jaheim at a young age, with the influence of his grandfather who had previously sang in The Drifters. He grew up with music all around him, and would take part in talent shows, he won the Apollo Theater’s talent show at the age of fifteen, three times.
He got his break when he recorded a demo tape that found its way into an A&R at Divine Mill Records, which is a division of Warner Bros. Records. He received great reactions from his debut singles, “Could It Be” and “Just in Case”. The former shot right up to number two in the US R&B Charts, and 26 in the Billboard Top 100. Following these singles came the release of an album entitled “Ghetto Love”, released on March 13th 2001. It peaked at #9 on the Billboard 200. His sophomore album “Still Ghetto” followed suit, peaking at #8 on the Billboard 200 chart. Jaheim featured on the song by Nelly, “My Place” which was released on July 16th 2004. His third album however, “Ghetto Classics” released on February 14th 2006, shot right up to the number one spot of the Billboard 200 Chart.
His fourth studio album, “The Makings of a Man”, released on December 18th 2007 saw Jaheim move to Atlantic records, with his album debuting at #11 on the Billboard 200, with upwards of 176,000 copies being sold in the first week. The album “Another Round” followed suit, but reached #3 on the Billboard 200 Chart. “Appreciation Day” released September 3rd 2013, Jaheim’s sixth studio album, reached #6 on the Billboard 200 chart.
The group was born when founding members Chauncey Hannibal and Teddy Riley – who is no longer a member of the group – started making music together in New York. The pair brought on additional band members and quickly started attracting attention with their fresh and compelling sound.
In 1993 the group released their debut album, “Blackstreet”. The eponymous album was a huge hit and eventually went on to be certified platinum. One single from this debut album, "Before I Let You Go", was a top 10 hit on the US Billboard Chart and won the group scores of fans across the US.
Blackstreet followed up this impressive initial success with their second album, “Another Level”. The album outdid the success of its predecessor and peaked at number three on the US Billboard chart, largely due to the massive hit single, “No Diggity” which featured rap vocals by Dr. Dre. The track, which is now considered to be a rap classic and even won its own Grammy Award, was a breakout hit for the band and saw them become heavyweights within the American R&B world.
The band’s subsequent two albums “Finally” and “Level II” failed to best the success of “Another Level”. Tensions within the band caused the group to disband and reunite several times between 1999 and 2014 when Blackstreet announced they would be touring with members Chauncey Black, Levi Little, Mark Middleton and Eric Williams.
Blackstreet has collaborated with multiple artist including Dr Dre, Jay Z, Ja Rule and Janet Jackson. They have toured widely and have fans from all corners of the globe.
I remember listening to 112 growing up, they used to be a really popular R&B group especially in the 90s.
They used to be a part of bad boy records and perform with puff daddy, notorious big, etc... Its great to see that they have reunited and came back to perform to their original fan base.This is what true R&B sounds like, not none of the stuff that we hear in the radios now.
I think they perform well together. When they perform their voices blend well, I especially love slim's voice. His voice is just so distinctive and different, I can tell it apart from any other singer.
When you watch them live, you can tell they try to get the crowd going. This is easy especially when most of their crowds are people that already know them and their music. They played some of their popular original hits such as cupid, anywhere and its over now.
What's great, is we all remember these songs and we can just jam and sing along. They can easily have the ladies going crazy with their sexy slow love making music and when their performing the song anywhere, dancing especially with their shirts off.
Jaheim, on the face of it, is by no means an exclusive case over the past couple of decades of mainstream urban music - somebody who’s both rapped and turned his hand to smooth R&B - but the difference with this New Brunswick, New Jersey native is that he hasn’t tried to do both at once, which we’ve so often seen to be to the detriment of the artist’s output; instead, he left his dalliance with straight-up hip hop behind early in his career, and instead decided to croon his way to R&B success; he achieved that, too, in 2003, when his second album, the misleadingly-titled Still Ghetto, spawned the platinum-selling smash ‘Put That Woman First’. In the years since, Jaheim has turned out an additional four albums, with last year’s Appreciation Day the most recent. He continues to be a popular live performer across the States, showcasing his formidable vocal talent with a full live band, but hasn’t made any UK appearances in almost a decade; he retains a significant cult fanbase over on these shores, and they’ll no doubt be hoping for the opportunity to stage an appreciation day of their own sooner rather than later.
Joeg_67
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.
Joeg_67
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