Biography
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Years Active
1991 – present (33 years)
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Founded In
New York, New York, United States
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Members
- Chauncey Hannibal
- Dave Hollister
- Eric Williams
- Mark L. Middleton (1996 – 2011)
- Teddy Riley
Blackstreet was an American R&B group founded in 1994 by Teddy Riley, a New Jack Swing pioneer known for his work as a member of Guy. The band members were: Teddy Riley, Chauncey Hannibal, Eric Williams, and Terrell Philips (and formerly Joe Stonestreet, Levi Little, David Hollister, and Mark Middleton). Their debut album, Blackstreet, was a moderate success due to the singles "Booti Call" and "Before I Let You Go", both Top 40 hits ("Before" hit the Top 10). The follow-up, 1996's Another Level was a breakthrough success due to the top single "No Diggity" (with Dr. Dre), which was a #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1996, and won the 1998 Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, along with the Top 40 hit "Don't Leave Me". Another Level eventually went four times platinum in the United States and peaked at #3 on the Billboard chart. "No Diggity" is ranked at #91 on Rolling Stone and MTV: 100 Greatest Pop Songs, while Blackstreet comes in at #214 of the Top 500 Pop Artists of the Past 25 Years.
Blackstreet has also collaborated with Jay-Z on his single "The City is Mine". With the help of the Janet Jackson single "Girlfriend", Blackstreet finally had a top ten album with Finally. But personnel shifts wracked the group and contributed to the relative failure of Finally in 1999, and Blackstreet soon broke up. After rumors of legal action and a preemptive countersuit, the group reformed and released Level II in 2003.
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