P.M. Dawn

P.M. Dawn arrived after the initial wave of artists blending vocals and rhymes, a style traceable to early figures like the Sequence and later rewarded with commercial success for Whodini in the 1980s. By the time the brothers emerged prominently in the following decade via the chart-topping "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" (1991), such combinations had grown common enough that Billboard adjusted its R&B listings to incorporate the term "hip-hop." What set the pair apart was their distinctive blend of emotional depth, reflection, and occasional spirituality, delivered across expansive releases that opened with the gold-certified Of the Heart, Of the Soul and of the Cross (1991) and The Bliss Album...? (1993). Prince Be's serious medical challenges curtailed the group's momentum during the 2000s, yet traces of their approach surfaced in later work by figures such as Kanye West and Drake, as well as in the ethereal textures associated with cloud rap. After Prince Be passed away in 2016, the project persisted with Doc G, his cousin, alongside K-R.O.K.

Natives of Jersey City, New Jersey, Attrell and Jarrett Cordes, who performed as Prince Be and primarily DJ Minutemix, established P.M. Dawn in 1988. The siblings endured the loss of their father to pneumonia and the early death of a younger brother during their formative years, growing up under the care of their mother and stepfather George Brown, the Kool & the Gang drummer whose influence steered Attrell toward the gentler sounds of Donovan. Their first recording, "Ode to a Forgetfull Mind" [sic], appeared in 1989 under the co-production of Newcleus' Ben "Cozmo-D" Cenac; the 12" came out domestically via Warlock and in the U.K. on Gee Street, which later served as their home label after Island acquired it. The Cordes followed in 1991 with "A Watcher's Point of View (Don't 'Cha Think)," which reached the U.K. Top 40, before achieving wider recognition with "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss," constructed around the familiar Soul Searchers breakbeat from "Ashley's Roachclip" and portions of Spandau Ballet's "True." The reflective single ascended to the top of the Billboard Hot 100, entered the Top Ten across multiple markets including the U.K. and Canada, and earned gold certification on the same day as its parent album Of the Heart, Of the Soul and of the Cross: The Utopian Experience, which itself reached the Top 50 and was produced entirely by the duo.

In the interval before their next full-length, P.M. Dawn added "I'd Die Without You" to the Boomerang soundtrack in 1992. The piano-driven ballad, squarely in an R&B vein and featuring Be's expressive, melodic delivery, climbed to number three stateside, attained gold status, and contributed to the multi-platinum performance of a collection that also housed Boyz II Men's "End of the Road" and Toni Braxton's first single. The Bliss Album...?, their sophomore effort, surfaced the next March and opened at number 30; propelled by the George Michael-sampling Top Ten single "Looking Through Patient Eyes," it secured gold within three months. Before the decade closed, the duo issued two further self-produced, expansive, and inventive albums on Gee Street: Jesus Wept entered the Billboard 200 at number 119 upon its October 1995 release, while Dearest Christian, I'm So Very Sorry for Bringing You Here. Love, Dad. followed in October 1998. The independently released F*cked Music appeared in December 2000.

Activity resumed in 2005 when the Cordes took part in the television contest Hit Me Baby One More Time. Though Prince Be had suffered a stroke shortly before, the group prevailed in their episode by performing "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" and Puddle of Mudd's "Blurry." Minutemix soon exited, with cousin Doc G stepping in; Be's condition later prevented further appearances. He succumbed to renal failure on June 17, 2016. Doc G maintained P.M. Dawn's recording and live presence, bringing aboard K-R.O.K., the producer behind Murs' "GBKW," in 2018.