Originating from gospel, doo wop, and polished jazz-tinged vocal ensembles of mid-20th-century America, the a cappella ensemble Take 6 recalls an earlier phase of U.S. music while anticipating several Black male pop acts of the 1990s, above all Boyz II Men. Its roster comprises Alvin Chea, Khristian Dentley—who succeeded Cedric Dent in 2011—Mark Kibble, Claude V. McKnight III (brother of Brian McKnight), Joey Kibble—who succeeded Mervyn Warren in 1991—and David Thomas. Kibble and McKnight first embraced a cappella singing at Alabama’s Oakwood College in the early 1980s, assembling a vocal outfit that became Take 6 once singer-arranger Warren joined in 1985. The group then signed with Warner Alliance and issued two sleek yet vocally exploratory albums that resisted easy classification aside from the general a cappella designation. Their 1988 debut captured Grammy awards in both jazz and gospel fields, earned three Dove awards, reached platinum certification, and yielded contributions to Spike Lee’s blockbuster Do the Right Thing as well as Quincy Jones’ commercially dominant Back on the Block. So Much 2 Say (1990) repeated the feat of charting simultaneously on Billboard’s pop, R&B, jazz, and gospel lists, placing in the top ten on the final two. After that initial surge, Take 6 moved to Reprise, another Warner-distributed imprint, and recorded six further albums—including a live set and two holiday collections—through the early 2000s. They continued merging genres while balancing traditional and newly composed material. Although later releases sold less than the first two, the group kept adding Grammy and Dove honors to its tally. Instrumental accompaniment entered the picture beginning with Join the Band (1994), and Brothers (1996) marked a clearer shift toward mainstream R&B without sacrificing their core identity. Following Beautiful World (2002) on Warner Bros. proper, Take 6 turned independent. Among their subsequent highlights are The Standard (2008), which included appearances by George Benson, Roy Hargrove, and Aaron Neville, and One (2012), distinguished by a Stevie Wonder collaboration. They later signed with SoNo for Believe (2016), produced by the label’s vice president and industry veteran Ross Vannelli.
