Biography
Under the leadership of R.J. Rice, known professionally as the Wiz, the Detroit ensemble R.J.'s Latest Arrival secured seventeen entries on Billboard's R&B chart across the decade spanning 1981 to 1990. Rice handled keyboards and vocals while also arranging and producing most of the group's output and writing or co-writing the bulk of its songs. The lineup featured vocalist and guitarist DeDe Leitta, Rice's spouse, along with keyboardist and vocalist Dean Dipierro, bassist Craig Lane, billed as C.L. Grand, drummer Rudy Maldonado, credited as Rudy Famous, guitarist Paul Munro, listed as Fingers, and vocalist Robin Marie Powell. Although the band cracked the R&B Top Ten via the standout tracks "Shackles," "Hold On," and "Off the Hook (With Your Love)," broader commercial recognition remained elusive, hampered by inconsistent label backing. Whereas peers such as Midnight Star and the S.O.S. Band enjoyed sustained cultivation from single imprints, R.J.'s Latest Arrival circulated among roughly a dozen independents and majors, few of which delivered adequate marketing or promotion.
The group first appeared in the late '70s on Ariola, where external collaborators dictated much of the creative direction. Initial releases "Crystal" and "Does She Do It Like She Dances" echoed Rose Royce yet operated on a leaner scale, both written and produced by outside hands. Once Rice and his associates assumed greater control, the band forged a distinctive funky identity, evident on the independent outings "Ultimate Masterpiece" and "Wind Me Up." The latter, a buoyant slice of synth funk licensed to Buddah for wider distribution, became the first A-side to register on the charts, albeit at number fifty-nine. Comparable efforts such as "Body Snatcher" and "Aerobic Dancin' (Keep Dancin')" generated similarly modest commercial ripples, yet "Shackles," issued in 1984, reached number six and opened doors to a single-album deal with Atlantic followed by an extended though unstable tenure across Manhattan, EMI-Manhattan, and EMI-USA. That period yielded two additional Top Ten singles and spotlighted "Heaven in Your Arms," one of the era's strongest late-'80s ballads.
After the 1990 dissolution, Rice launched Barak Records as a platform for Detroit-area and metropolitan rap acts, including Slum Village, Phat Kat, and B.R. Gunna, the latter featuring his son Ralph "Young R.J." Rice, Jr. Beyond scattered compilation appearances, the catalog of R.J.'s Latest Arrival stayed difficult to obtain; by the late 2010s most of it lacked digital availability, with original pressings accessible chiefly through secondary markets.
The group first appeared in the late '70s on Ariola, where external collaborators dictated much of the creative direction. Initial releases "Crystal" and "Does She Do It Like She Dances" echoed Rose Royce yet operated on a leaner scale, both written and produced by outside hands. Once Rice and his associates assumed greater control, the band forged a distinctive funky identity, evident on the independent outings "Ultimate Masterpiece" and "Wind Me Up." The latter, a buoyant slice of synth funk licensed to Buddah for wider distribution, became the first A-side to register on the charts, albeit at number fifty-nine. Comparable efforts such as "Body Snatcher" and "Aerobic Dancin' (Keep Dancin')" generated similarly modest commercial ripples, yet "Shackles," issued in 1984, reached number six and opened doors to a single-album deal with Atlantic followed by an extended though unstable tenure across Manhattan, EMI-Manhattan, and EMI-USA. That period yielded two additional Top Ten singles and spotlighted "Heaven in Your Arms," one of the era's strongest late-'80s ballads.
After the 1990 dissolution, Rice launched Barak Records as a platform for Detroit-area and metropolitan rap acts, including Slum Village, Phat Kat, and B.R. Gunna, the latter featuring his son Ralph "Young R.J." Rice, Jr. Beyond scattered compilation appearances, the catalog of R.J.'s Latest Arrival stayed difficult to obtain; by the late 2010s most of it lacked digital availability, with original pressings accessible chiefly through secondary markets.
Albums
