One of the top R&B vocal groups of the '90s,
Blackstreet was founded by singer, producer, and new jack swing pioneer
Teddy Riley after the breakup of his seminal trio
Guy.
Riley had taken a few years to concentrate on his booming production career, which saw him working with
Wreckx-N-Effect,
Bobby Brown,
Michael Jackson, and
SWV, among others. His itch to get back in the performing arena resulted in the formation of
Blackstreet in 1993, which included singers
Chauncey "Black" Hannibal,
Levi Little, and Joe Stonestreet in addition to
Riley. Stonestreet was replaced by
Dave Hollister prior to the recording of the group's self-titled debut album, which appeared in the spring of 1994. On the strength of "Before I Let You Go," a Top Five hit on the R&B charts,
Blackstreet was a platinum-selling hit even without much crossover exposure. Two more singles from the album, "Booti Call" and "Joy," were minor hits as well.
Hollister subsequently left for a solo career and
Little exited as well; their replacements were Mark Middleton and
Eric Williams. The new additions helped set the stage for
Blackstreet's pop breakthrough with 1996's
Another Level. More specifically, it was the inescapable smash single "No Diggity," which featured special guest
Dr. Dre, that put them over the top. "No Diggity" reigned for four weeks on top of the pop charts and won a Grammy for Best R&B Vocal by a Duo or Group; it also pushed sales of
Another Level past the four million mark. The follow-up single, "Don't Leave Me," was a decent-sized hit in 1997, and the group later made a guest appearance on
Jay-Z's "The City Is Mine" and teamed with
Mya and
Mase for the hit "Take Me There" from the Rugrats soundtrack. More personnel shifts had ensued following their blockbuster success, however: Middleton left for his own solo career and was replaced by Terrell Phillips.
Blackstreet's third album, Finally, was released in early 1999, and though it contained "Take Me There" (and a bevy of guest cameos), it spent only one week in the Top Ten. The group's commercial momentum had slowed in the intervening years, and Finally struggled to go gold. Tensions within the group and with their label, Interscope, ran high, and a rift between
Hannibal and
Riley spelled the end of the road for
Blackstreet before the year was even out. Reports surfaced in early 2000 that
Hannibal had sued
Riley for two million dollars, but after
Riley filed a countersuit,
Hannibal denied that he had ever taken legal action and the matter was dropped.
Riley recorded a reunion album with
Guy in 2000, and subsequently began working on material for his first solo record. However, he had second thoughts about disbanding
Blackstreet, and patched things up with
Hannibal; Middleton and
Williams returned to restore the
Another Level lineup, and
Riley's solo project became a
Blackstreet reunion. The resulting album,
Level II, was released in early 2003. ~ Steve Huey