Mint Condition

Mint Condition originated in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area during the early 1980s, anchored by lead vocalist Stokley Williams, guitarist Homer O'Dell, keyboardist Larry Waddell, keyboardist and saxophonist Jeff Allen, keyboardist and guitarist Keri Lewis, plus guitarist and bassist Rick Kinchen. The six musicians drew from diverse personal histories to craft a distinctive blend. Williams started on traditional West African instruments at age four, whereas O'Dell absorbed blues from his father's bass playing and joined him in a family ensemble. Waddell honed his keyboard technique in a school recording-arts group by studying jazz masters Oscar Peterson and Herbie Hancock. Allen, immersed in his father's jazz holdings, performed on keyboards and saxophone in local groups through high school, while Lewis refined his command of keyboards, percussion, and guitar during his own schooling. Kinchen's earliest and most formative inspiration came from his musical household in Chicago, which nurtured his talent; he sharpened his bass skills through repeated listens to Stanley Clarke and Louis Johnson of the Brothers Johnson, later appearing in multiple Chicago bands and Kennedy-King College productions prior to relocating to the Twin Cities.

In 1986 the group appeared at the Minnesota Black Musician Awards, where its explosive stage energy quickly cultivated a loyal audience across Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, the Dakotas, and Nebraska. A 1989 showcase brought Mint Condition to the notice of Minneapolis R&B producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Steady chart traction followed with the debut album Meant to Be Mint (1991) and its singles "(Breaking My Heart) Pretty Brown Eyes" plus "Forever in Your Eyes," then continued via "Nobody Does It Betta" and "(U Send Me) Swinging" from From the Mint Factory (1993), and reached platinum status with "What Kind of Man Would I Be" from the gold-certified Definition of a Band (1996).

As the new millennium approached, Mint Condition stood as the sole prominent R&B/pop ensemble still signed to a major label. Their 1999 album Life's Aquarium, anchored by the Top Five Billboard R&B single "If You Love Me," became their first Top Ten R&B release yet marked their final major-label project. Although visibility dipped throughout the early 2000s, a devoted audience endured and expanded alongside a steady stream of distinctive independent releases: Livin' the Luxury Brown (2005), Live from the 9:30 Club (2006), E-Life (2008), 7... (2011), and Music @ the Speed of Life (2012).