Blackstreet

Teddy Riley, the singer-producer who helped launch new jack swing, created Blackstreet after his groundbreaking trio Guy disbanded, placing the ensemble among the foremost R&B vocal acts of the 1990s. He had spent several years focusing on an expanding production résumé that encompassed projects for Wreckx-N-Effect, Bobby Brown, Michael Jackson, and SWV. The urge to return to performing prompted him to assemble Blackstreet in 1993, drawing in Chauncey "Black" Hannibal, Levi Little, and Joe Stonestreet alongside himself. Before the self-titled debut album reached stores in spring 1994, Dave Hollister took Stonestreet’s place. Powered by the R&B Top Five single “Before I Let You Go,” the record achieved platinum status despite limited pop radio play, while follow-up tracks “Booti Call” and “Joy” registered modest chart entries.

After Hollister departed for a solo path and Little also exited, Mark Middleton and Eric Williams stepped in. Their arrival helped propel the group’s mainstream breakthrough on 1996’s Another Level. The driving force was the ubiquitous hit “No Diggity,” featuring Dr. Dre, which held the top pop-chart spot for four weeks, captured a Grammy for Best R&B Vocal by a Duo or Group, and drove sales beyond four million copies. The next release, “Don’t Leave Me,” became a solid 1997 hit; the quartet later joined Jay-Z on “The City Is Mine” and collaborated with Mya and Mase on “Take Me There” from the Rugrats soundtrack. Further lineup adjustments followed the commercial peak when Middleton left for solo work and Terrell Phillips replaced him.

Early in 1999 the group issued its third album, Finally, which included “Take Me There” and numerous guest appearances yet managed only a single week in the Top Ten. Declining sales momentum left the project short of gold certification. Internal strains and conflicts with Interscope intensified until a split between Hannibal and Riley dissolved the band before year’s end. Early-2000 accounts indicated Hannibal had filed a two-million-dollar suit against Riley, but after Riley countersued, Hannibal retracted the claim and the dispute was abandoned. Riley reunited with Guy for a 2000 album and then prepared material for a solo debut, only to reconsider Blackstreet’s future. He reconciled with Hannibal, welcomed Middleton and Williams back to recreate the Another Level configuration, and converted the solo sessions into a Blackstreet reunion project titled Level II, which arrived in early 2003.