Tank (Metal)

From the outset of the new millennium, the vocalist, tunesmith, and beatmaker known as Tank distinguished himself through steadfast advocacy for commercial R&B infused with gospel and soul elements, even if mainstream superstardom eluded him. Defying perceptions of him as a specialized act, he secured Billboard 200 top-ten placements for his inaugural release Force of Nature in 2001, the Grammy-nominated Sex Love & Pain from 2007, This Is How I Feel in 2012, and again in 2013 via Three Kings, where he joined forces with Tyrese and Ginuwine in the trio TGT. Urban adult contemporary outlets have long championed his output, with multiple Adult R&B chart leaders spanning "Please Don't Go" in 2007 through "Can't Let It Show" in 2021. Sustained prominence owes partly to behind-the-scenes partnerships aiding emerging singers. Notable among his songwriting and guest contributions are Pleasure P's "Under," a top-five R&B/hip-hop success, alongside Chris Brown's "Take My Time," each earning Grammy nods in R&B categories. His tenth full-length project R&B Money arrived in 2022, with the track "Before We Get Started" following in 2024.

Durrell Babbs entered the world in Milwaukee, later relocating to Clinton, Maryland, in the Washington, D.C. suburbs, where an early fascination with music took root. Church provided an initial training ground for his vocal skills during childhood, thanks to a cousin serving as choir director. Teenage years brought parallel interests in athletics and melody, including a period of contemplating college football, yet he ultimately pursued music and secured background-vocal slots on tours supporting Aaliyah and Ginuwine. Additional openings emerged, most prominently with Dave Hollister, whose 2000 album Chicago '85...The Movie credits Tank on multiple compositions.

A Blackground Records deal soon materialized, yielding the 2001 solo debut Force of Nature, which generated two singles—one being the Top 40 entry "Maybe I Deserve"—while reaching number one on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and number seven overall. One Man followed in 2002 and nearly matched that performance, spawning the singles "One Man" and "Let Me Live" en route to a top-five R&B/hip-hop placement and number 20 overall. Tank simultaneously expanded his behind-the-scenes role as writer and producer, contributing to high-charting projects by Blackground labelmate Aaliyah, along with Dave Hollister, Brian McKnight, Fantasia, Marques Houston, Jamie Foxx, Monica, and Kelly Rowland. The resulting workload prompted a five-year gap before Sex Love & Pain surfaced in 2007, debuting at number one on the R&B/hip-hop chart and number two overall, earning a Best R&B Album Grammy nomination, and delivering the Adult R&B Songs chart-topper "Please Don't Go," itself nominated for Best R&B Male Vocal Performance.

The year 2009 saw Tank co-write Pleasure P's Top Five R&B/hip-hop single "Under" and guest on Chris Brown's "Take My Time"—two further Grammy-nominated recordings—while transitioning from Blackground to Atlantic. Now or Never, his first release on the new label in 2010, featured the Adult R&B hit "Emergency" at number seven and included Brown's appearance on "Foreplay." The pair later reconvened for "Lonely," which appeared on This Is How I Feel in 2012, Tank's third number-one R&B/hip-hop album. TGT's Three Kings followed in 2013, matching prior commercial success and securing Tank's second Grammy nomination. The latter half of the decade found him especially active, issuing Stronger in 2014 and Sex Love & Pain II in 2016, both R&B/hip-hop chart-toppers, then Savage in 2017 and Elevation in 2019, releases reflecting ongoing adaptation to prevailing mainstream R&B sounds. The 2020 EPs While You Wait and Worth the Wait preceded the 2021 Adult R&B Songs leader "Can't Let It Show," after which R&B Money, his tenth studio album, emerged in August 2022. Subsequent 2024 singles comprised the Fabolous-assisted "Before We Get Started" and the T-Rell collaboration "Toxic."