Pretty Ricky
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Pretty Ricky | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | The Maverix[1], Bluestars |
| Origin | Miami, Florida, USA |
| Genre(s) | R&B, pop, Southern hip hop, pop rap |
| Years active | 1997 - present |
| Label(s) | Bluestar Ent. Atlantic Records |
| Associated acts | Static Major, Bow Wow, Lloyd, Brenda. |
| Website | Pretty Ricky at MySpace http://www.prettyricky.com |
| Members | |
| Slick'Em Baby Blue Spectacular Ambition/4 Play (2007-present) |
|
| Former members | |
| Pleasure P (1997-2007) | |
Pretty Ricky is an American R&B/hip-hop group made up of brothers Diamond Blue "Baby Blue" Smith, Spectacular Blue Smith, and Tavion La'Corey "Slick'Em" Mathis[2], and now former member of the group Marcus Ramone "Pleasure" Cooper and has now been replaced by Ambition/4 Play. They are notable for releasing several popular singles, such as "Grind With Me", "Your Body", "Juicy", "Nothing But A Number", "On the Hotline", "Push It Baby", and "Love Like Honey. The group emerged in the music industry in 1997–following the footsteps of their father, Joseph "Bluestar" Smith–and continue to have success.
Contents |
[edit] Albums
The debut album of Pretty Ricky, Bluestars, was released on May 23, 2005 and features the hit U.S. top ten single, "Grind With Me". The group also collaborated with rapper Pitbull on the song "Everybody Get Up".
The next two singles from Bluestars were "Your Body" and "Juicy". Later, their fourth single "Nothing But A Number" was released, but like "Juicy," a video was never made. In 2005, Pretty Ricky joined Bow Wow and Omarion, on the Scream 4 Tour. Once again in 2006, Pretty Ricky joined the Scream 5 Tour roster along with headliners Ne-Yo and Omarion.
Pretty Ricky then released their second album, Late Night Special, on January 23, 2007. The first single released from this album was "On the Hotline" originally featuring a local artist named Andre Jones who grew up in Westland, Michigan. Pretty Ricky followed up their single "On the Hotline" with an actual Bluestars Hotline (786-258-6074). The second album single, "Push It Baby", has also been released. The video for this single included winning contest entry dances from a promotional contest held on YouTube.
[edit] Recent work
Pretty Ricky was featured in Spring Bling '07, an annual event on the BET television network.[3] The group has developed a Pretty Clothing Line, which is featured in the first three music videos for the singles "On the Hotline", "Push It Baby" and "Love Like Honey". The group is currently touring on their Late Night Special Tour, which features artist on their recording label, Bluestar Records.
Pretty Ricky was nominated for "Best Group" for the BET Awards '07; They also won the BET award for "Best Costumes" in a Video.[4] Being classified as the #1 GROUP in the world, they were featured as performers in My Super Sweet 16: The Movie. All other artist performed on season episodes.
On August 9, 2007, they released a music video for "Love Like Honey" on BET's video premier show Access Granted. The group toured that year with Pittsburgh-based R&B/hip hop group Crave.
In recent months, rumors have circulated stating that Pretty Ricky were breaking up. These rumors have finally been addressed at the BET 2007 Hip-Hop Awards when member Pleasure confirmed he is no longer with Pretty Ricky and is now a solo artist. He also added that he wished the best of luck to the rest of the group.[5][6]
Recently in 2008, they have been working on a new studio album and have featured on the late Static Major's single "Till The Wheels Fall Off" from his debut album, Suppertime. Formerly departed member Pleasure P has now been replaced by Ambition/4 Play. His place in the group was announced in one of[specify] their promotional videos advertising their Bluestar-signed group, Meat and Bones. The bands third album, 80's Babies, is scheduled for release 26th of August and the video for cuddle up is to be shown on Access Granted on the 18th of August. The group announced the title of their new album on their weekly advice column on Vibe.[7] The next single up for release from their upcoming album is "Cuddle UP", this song can be heard on their myspace page or at prettyricky.com. This and more information on Pretty Ricky can be heard on their hotline, which can be reached on 786-258-6074. The group has used social networking websites such as MySpaceTV and YouTube numerous times to give out this number.
The group are planning on officially revealing the new member in videos posted on their official website called 21 days of 4play, starting from 5/11, you have 21 days of videos detailing who the REAL 4play is. Official website.[8]
80's Babies is now available on Pre-Order from their official website.
[edit] Promotion
Pretty Ricky has frequently utilized the Internet to promote their music and other works, usually through special features and contests directed at fans (for example, the music video dance contest that was featured on YouTube). This type of advertising and promotion, along with word of mouth, has contributed to the success of the group.[citation needed]
Pretty Ricky also has a YouTube channel that features their music. It ranks 7th of all music channels, and has reached #1 as the most watched channel on YouTube.[9] Currently, Pretty Ricky has a 1,000 demand competition on the website Eventful.com. Voters are able to influence where the group holds a concert by participating in this competition.[10] In another online contest, fans were able to email the group and tell them if they find a local music store that did not have Pretty Ricky's albums for sale. Out of the participants, a winner would be chosen to receive an autographed Late Night Special CD and a piece of clothing from the upcoming Pretty Clothing Line.[11] Also, Baby Blue stated at the making of the "Love Like Honey" video that there might be a "Love Like Honey" tour.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
| Album Information |
|---|
Bluestars
|
Late Night Special
|
80's Babies
|
[edit] Singles
| Year | Song | U.S. Hot 100 | U.S. R&B | U.S. Rap | UK singles | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | "Grind With Me" | 7 | 6 | 2 | 26 | Bluestars |
| "Your Body" | 12 | 22 | 5 | 37 | ||
| 2006 | "Nothing But A Number" | - | 70 | - | - | |
| "On the Hotline" | 12 | 6 | - | 115 | Late Night Special | |
| 2007 | "Push It Baby (featuring Sean Paul)" | - | 51 | 18 | 79 | |
| "Love Like Honey" | - | 101 | - | - | ||
| 2008 | "Cuddle Up (featuring Butta Creame)" | - | - | - | 80's Babies |
[edit] References
- ^ Pretty Ricky: A Who2 Profile
- ^ AtlanticStreet.com Pretty Ricky Chat Transcript 6/28/06
- ^ Spring Bling '07
- ^ http://www.betawards.bet.com/ BET Awards
- ^ HipHop News » Pretty Ricky Clear Up The Rumors, "Your Boys Ain't Gon' Break Up"
- ^ "Pleasure Leaves Pretty Ricky", BET.com, October 15, 2007
- ^ Vibe Column
- ^ Pretty Ricky
- ^ YouTube - prettyrickyvideos's Channel
- ^ Pretty Ricky | Bio, Tour, Community | Eventful
- ^ Pretty Ricky at MySpace
- ^ Bluestars U.S. Sales
- ^ Bluestars RIAA certification
- ^ Late Night Special U.S. Sales
- ^ Late Night Special RIAA Certification
