Download Free Blackstreet * Songs

Blackstreet music biography continued...

had worked with the likes of Bobby Brown and Michael Jackson, as well as performed in the successful trio Guy. The group was originally rounded out by Chauncey "Black" Hannibal, David Hollister and Levi Little. In 1994, the foursome released Blackstreet on Interscope Records to the warm reception of R&B fans. The album itself sold over a million copies, and featured several hit singles, including "Booti Call" and "Joy." However, just as Blackstreet was establishing its identity as a group, members Little and Hollister quit the project. Riley replaced them with Eric Williams and Mark Middleton, two powerful vocalists. The foursome emerged from Riley's studio with 1996's Another Level, which literally took their careers to another level. The album yielded several hit singles, including a cover of the Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love," the gospel-tinged "The Lord is Real" and "No Diggity," a hip hop-inflected tune that featured Dr. Dre and went on to win a Grammy for Best R&B Vocal by a Duo or Group; it also pushed sales of Another Level past the four million mark, and made Blackstreet superstars.



The blockbuster success of their sophomore album led the group toward squabbles with their record label and internal strife. Blackstreet's third album, Finally, was released in early 1999, and though it contained "Take Me There" it spent only one week in the Top Ten. It was followed by rumors of legal action between Riley and Hannibal, but the two eventually patched things up reforming Blackstreet for 2003's effort, Level II. In 2006, the group was a part of a New Jack Reunion Tour that included with Teddy Riley, Mark Middleton, Eric Williams, and new member J-Stylz, who had replaced Hannibal. The Another Level lineup has since reunited to record another album, and R&B fans everywhere couldn't be more delighted. In the meantime, "No Diggity" has been ranked at #91 on Rolling Stone and MTV: 100 Greatest Pop Songs, while Blackstreet came in at #214 of the Top 500 Pop Artists of the Past 25 Years.