Blackstreet (album)
| Blackstreet | ||||||||||
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| Studio album by Blackstreet | ||||||||||
| Released | June 21, 1994 | |||||||||
| Recorded | 1992–1994 | |||||||||
| Genre | R&B, new jack swing, hip hop soul, soul | |||||||||
| Length | 73:06 | |||||||||
| Label | Interscope | |||||||||
| Producer | Thomas Taliaferro, Michael Barber, Markell Riley, Teddy Riley, Erick Sermon, Chris Smith, Leon F. Sylvers III, David Wynn | |||||||||
| Blackstreet chronology | ||||||||||
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Blackstreet is the self-titled debut studio album from American R&B group Blackstreet, released in 1994 on Interscope Records. The group was formed after the dissolution of Teddy Riley's former group Guy. The other members of Blackstreet- Chauncey Hannibal, Joseph Stonestreet and Levi Little- were session singers on Bobby Brown's third album Bobby, an album that was mostly produced by Riley. They recorded one song for the soundtrack of the Chris Rock film CB4 called "Baby Be Mine". Before they could record an album, Stonestreet left the group and was replaced by former Force One Network singer Dave Hollister. When they re-recorded "Baby Be Mine" for their self-titled debut, Hollister's vocals were added on the album version of the song.
Hip hop producer Erick Sermon co-produced the first single "Booti Call", a song in which was a response to the rape trial and conviction of professional boxer Mike Tyson at the time of the album's release. The song's opening was done by stand up comedian Bill Bellamy, who popularized his infamous saying on an episode of Russell Simmons' Def Comedy Jam.[1] Also on the album is former member of The Sylvers songwriter and producer Leon Sylvers III, who collaborated with Riley on the writing and production of several songs on the album. Riley's proteges The Neptunes make one of their earliest appearances on Blackstreet as well- with Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo receiving a co-writing and assistant producer credit on the song "Tonight's The Night", while Hugo plays the saxophone on the ballad "Happy Home". Singer Michael Jackson helped with the composition of "Joy"- a song that was originally intended for Jackson's 1991 album Dangerous.[2] Blackstreet would be the first and last album with members Hollister and Little, who left the group at the end of 1995.
The album peaked at number fifty-two on the Billboard 200 chart. By April 1995, it was certified platinum in sales by the RIAA, after sales exceeding 1,000,000 copies in the United States. The remake of the Stevie Wonder song "Love's in Need of Love Today" was featured in the 1995 Harrison Ford film Sabrina, but it does not appear on the film's soundtrack.[3]
Release and reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [4] |
| Q | [5] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |  [6] |
| The Source | (favorable)[5] |
The album peaked at fifty-two on the U.S. Billboard 200 and reached the seventh spot on the R&B Albums chart.[7] The album was certified platinum by April 1995.[8]
While Stanton Swihart of Allmusic commented that some of the songs weren't fully formed and others sounded like new jack retreads, he did remark that the work included "some brilliantly catchy R&B tracks, songs that easily stood out in the mid-'90s urban soul crowd."[4]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Music | Sample(s)[9] | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Intro (Blackstreet Philosophy) [Interlude]" | Riley, "Lil" Chris Smith | 0:56 | ||
| 2. | "Baby Be Mine" | Iverson, Riley, Stonestreet, Williams, "Lil" Chris Smith | 3:02 | ||
| 3. | "U Blow My Mind" | Hannibal, Hollister, Riley, "Lil" Chris Smith |
|
3:49 | |
| 4. | "Hey Love (Keep It Real) [Interlude]" | Dickey, Riley, Sylvers | 1:11 | ||
| 5. | "I Like the Way You Work" | Graham, Hannibal, Little, Riley, Riley, Smith | 4:44 | ||
| 6. | "Good Life" | Brown, Callis, Linzer, Riley, Wynn |
|
4:04 | |
| 7. | "Physical Thing" | Drakeford, Hannibal, Little, Riley, Riley, Tex, Williams, "Lil" Chris Smith | 4:38 | ||
| 8. | "Make U Wet" | Barber, Davidson, Hannibal, Riley, Sylvers | 4:59 | ||
| 9. | "Booti Call" | Clinton, Dickey, Riley, Riley, Sermon, Shider, Spradley, Sylvers, Troutman |
|
4:26 | |
| 10. | "Love's in Need" | Wonder |
|
4:41 | |
| 11. | "Joy" | Riley, Lucas, Jackson |
|
4:55 | |
| 12. | "Before I Let You Go" | Hannibal, Hollister, Riley, Riley, Sylvers | 4:59 | ||
| 13. | "Confession [Interlude]" | Hollister, Riley, Riley, Williams | 0:54 | ||
| 14. | "Falling in Love Again" | Hannibal, Hollister, Little, Riley, Riley | 4:34 | ||
| 15. | "Candlelight Night [Interlude]" | Thomas Taliaferro, Riley | 0:54 | ||
| 16. | "Tonight's the Night" (featuring SWV and Craig Mack) | Hugo, Lucas, Riley, Riley, Williams |
|
4:18 | |
| 17. | "Happy Home" | Davis, Hannibal, Riley, Riley | 5:38 | ||
| 18. | "Wanna Make Love" | Riley, Stonestreet, Watkins |
|
5:00 | |
| 19. | "Once in a Lifetime [Interlude]" | Thomas Taliaferro, Riley | 1:02 | ||
| 20. | "Givin' You All My Lovin'" | Riley, Riley, Smith, Sylvers |
|
4:12 |
Chart history
Album
| Chart (1994)[7] | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 52 |
| U.S. R&B Albums | 7 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions[10] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | U.S. Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales | U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | U.S. Rhythmic Top 40 | ||
| 1993 | "Baby Be Mine" | — | 22 | — | — |
| 1994 | "Booti Call" | 34 | 3 | 14 | 19 |
| "Before I Let You Go" | 7 | 7 | 2 | 2 | |
| 1995 | "Joy" | 43 | 13 | 12 | 23 |
| "Tonight's the Night" | 80 | 12 | 27 | — | |
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.
Personnel
Information taken from Allmusic.[11]
- assistant engineering – Serban Ghenea, George Mayers, Kimberly Smith, Sprague Williams
- assistant executive production – Mike Concepcion, John McClain
- associate production – Chad Hugo, "Lil" Chris Smith, Markell Riley, Leon F. Sylvers III, Thomas Taliaferro
- associate production – Chad Hugo, "Lil" Chris Smith, Markell Riley, Leon F. Sylvers III, Thomas Taliaferro, Sprague Williams
- design – Eric Altenburger
- engineering – Serban Ghenea, John Hanes, George Mayers, Herb Powers, Kimberly Smith
- guitar – Serban Ghenea, Thomas Taliaferro
- mastering – Herb Powers
- mixing – John Hanes, George Mayers, Teddy Riley
- performing – Tammy Lucas
- photography – Gerhard Yurkovic
- production – Thomas Taliaferro, Michael Barber, Markell Riley, Teddy Riley, Erick Sermon, "Lil" Chris Smith, Leon F. Sylvers III, David Wynn
- project coordination – Dan O'Leary
- rapping – Idris Davidson, Antwone Dickey, Markell Riley, Menton Smith, David Roland Williams
- saxophone – Chad Hugo
- stylist – Kareen Linton
- vocal coach – Kenny Hicks
- vocals – Chauncey Hannibal, Dave Hollister, Levi Little, Teddy Riley
References
- ↑ "Def Comedy Jam All Stars 3 (Show 1) 2/2". youtube.com. Retrieved 9/12/2012.
- ↑ Allah, Dasun. "When Heaven Can Wait: Teddy Riley Remembers Michael Jackson". hiphopwired.com. Retrieved 9/12/2012.
- ↑ "Sabrina (1995)- Soundtracks". imdb.com. Retrieved 5/12/2012.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Swihart, Stanton. "Blackstreet - Blackstreet". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-08-11.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Blackstreet CD Album". CD Universe. Retrieved 2013-04-27.
- ↑ Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City, New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 80. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "allmusic ((( Blackstreet > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-08-11.
- ↑ "RIAA - Gold & Platinum - August 11, 2010 : Search Results - Blackstreet". RIAA. Retrieved 2010-08-11.
- ↑ "Rap Sample FAQ - Quick FAQ Search: Blackstreet". The-Breaks.com. Retrieved 08-11-2010.
- ↑ "allmusic ((( Blackstreet > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-08-11.
- ↑ "allmusic ((( Blackstreet > Credits )))". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-08-11.
External links
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