Bobby Brown

One of the leading figures in late-'80s and early-'90s R&B, Bobby Brown helped establish new jack swing as a mainstream force by fusing classic soul, synth-funk, and hip-hop beats that regularly inserted rap breaks amid melodic verses and choruses. Although Guy's Teddy Riley drove many of the genre's innovations, Brown emerged as its most reliable hitmaker; his blockbuster Don't Be Cruel album crossed over to pop listeners and turned new jack swing into the prevailing R&B sound of the early '90s, an achievement that also launched solo paths for his ex-bandmates from New Edition. As tastes shifted, Brown's private life overshadowed his recordings; a turbulent marriage to Whitney Houston and repeated legal troubles kept him in tabloid coverage throughout the '90s and 2000s, even as new music appeared infrequently.

Born February 5, 1969, in Boston, Brown began performing with Roxbury classmates Michael Bivins and Ricky Bell in 1978. The trio evolved into New Edition, and after several talent-show victories the group caught the attention of producer Maurice Starr. Starr placed them on his own imprint and co-wrote their debut single, "Candy Girl," which secured a contract with MCA. After enjoying teen success for a few years, Brown chose to pursue an adult solo career and exited New Edition in 1986. His first solo effort, King of Stage, arrived in 1987; while it failed to establish him as a pop attraction, the ballad "Girlfriend" became a substantial R&B success. Still, the album offered scant evidence that Brown would soon define the forefront of contemporary R&B.

Seeking a sharper identity for his next project, Brown immersed himself in the rising new jack swing scene. He recruited the up-and-coming production and songwriting duo L.A. Reid and Babyface for most of the album, while new jack trailblazer Teddy Riley contributed in a supporting role. The resulting Don't Be Cruel, issued in summer 1988, proved a cutting-edge, career-defining release. Its title track supplied Brown's initial pop Top Ten entry, yet the record truly accelerated when the forceful "My Prerogative" climbed to number one late that year and incorporated the word "prerogative" into a memorable refrain. Additional singles followed in rapid succession: the ballad "Roni," the upbeat "Every Little Step" (which highlighted Brown's rap abilities), and another ballad, "Rock Wit'cha," all reached the Top Ten during 1989, with the first two peaking at number three. Don't Be Cruel topped the album charts and moved seven million copies, elevating Brown to superstar status. In 1990 he supplied the theme for Ghostbusters II with the number-two hit "On Our Own," another rap-infused R&B track, and added a guest rap to Glenn Medeiros' chart-topping pop single "She Ain't Worth It." At the height of his popularity, even the 1990 remix collection Dance!...Ya Know It! achieved platinum certification.

Momentum gradually waned thereafter. Numerous artists built upon the new jack swing template, many of them Brown's former New Edition associates: Bell Biv Devoe, Johnny Gill, and Ralph Tresvant led the way. Meanwhile, Don't Be Cruel had transformed L.A. Reid and Babyface into in-demand producers whose sound saturated radio. Just prior to the summer 1992 release of his next album, Bobby, Brown wed superstar Whitney Houston, who appeared on the duet "Something in Common." The lead single, "Humpin' Around," scored a major success on both pop and R&B charts, climbing into the pop Top Five. Yet Bobby never matched the commercial stride of its predecessor, perhaps because it blended more readily into the prevailing landscape than Don't Be Cruel had in 1988. Sales ultimately reached roughly two million copies despite further R&B successes such as "Good Enough," "Get Away," and "That's the Way Love Is." In 1993 Georgia authorities arrested Brown following an explicit stage performance—the first in a string of legal entanglements that, together with substance-abuse problems, would occupy much of the ensuing decade.

After a sequence of episodes that encompassed a nightclub altercation, a battery charge resulting in probation, a drunk-driving crash, and a stay at the Betty Ford Clinic, Brown participated in a full New Edition reunion whose comeback album, Home Again, debuted at number one in September 1996. He joined the subsequent tour but left once it concluded. Tabloid scrutiny intensified around reports of marital strife between Brown and Houston. His fourth solo album, Forever, appeared in 1997 yet underperformed commercially and stalled outside the Top 50.

In 2005 Brown rejoined New Edition again, formed the touring trio Heads of State with Johnny Gill and Ralph Tresvant, and headlined the BET reality series Being Bobby Brown. Not long after the program's short run, he and Houston divorced. Several months following Houston's February 2012 death, Brown issued his fifth solo album, The Masterpiece.