Brigette McWilliams

Brigette McWilliams (born in Chicago, Illinois) is an R&B singer from the ’90s. Her mother is singer Paulette McWilliams, who fronted Chaka Khan’s band, Rufus (before Chaka Khan joined).
In 1994, she released her debut album, “Take Advantage of Me” which didn’t chart at all on the Billboard 200 chart.
Her first appearance on the Billboard charts was with her first single “I Get the Job Done” which peaked at #96 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for 3 weeks. Despite her talent, critics accused Brigette of attempting to force a soul voice into an R&B format.

After releasing her debut album, Brigette was asked to appear as part of Black Women United (which also included female R&B artists such as Mary J. Blige, En Vogue, Zhane, Me’shell Ndegéocello, and Salt-N-Pepa) on the song “Freedom” which was featured on the 1995 “Panther” movie soundtrack.
In 1997, Brigette released her sophomore album “Too Much Woman” which also didn’t peak on the Billboard 200 chart. She enlisted soul musicians such as Billy Preston, former Rufus guitarist Bobby Watson, percussionist Paulinho De Costa, and Earth, Wind, & Fire members Al McKay (guitarist) and Larry Dunn (keyboardist).

The lead single from the album “Fire” peaked at #66 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for 10 weeks, becoming Brigette’s highest chart appearance to date. After that, she was dropped from Virgin Records’ roster.
In 2005, Brigette released her third album, “Starlite Lounge” on Expansion Records in the UK. These days, she is married to director Mark Romanek and since 2005, she is a designer of upscale bags & purses called B. Romanek.

To see the music video for “I Get the Job Done,” go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dDsgTrRods

To see a fan-made video for “Fire,” go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vum1g_FGBBU

[updated on 04\16\2016]

Suavé

Suavé (born Waymond Anderson on February 22, 1966 in Los Angeles, California) is an R&B singer from the late ’80s. He is the son of R&B singer Waymond Anderson, who was a member of the music group, GQ.

He was raised in South Los Angeles, California by his great-grandmother. He sang in a church choir, wrote songs and orchestrated R&B arrangements in the “new jack swing” style in his home studio.

Suavé was discovered at a New Edition concert when one of the members invited him to sing on stage with them. He was later signed to Capitol Records.
In 1988, he released a cover version of The Temptations’ 1964 song, “My Girl”. The song peaked at #20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #3 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 15 weeks.
During that same year, Suavé released his debut studio album, “I’m Your Playmate” which peaked at #101 on the Billboard 200 and #26 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart.
The follow-up single from the album, “Shake Your Body” peaked at #22 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 12 weeks. The last single, “Don’t Rush” didn’t chart at all.
In 1991, Suavé released his sophomore and last studio album to date, “To The Maxx” which failed to make any album charts nor did the lone single, “Rocked Your Boots”.

In 1993, he was sentenced to life in prison for committing arson at a drug house in Los Angeles, California that killed a drug addict, but he maintains his innocence. In 2007, he perjured himself in court by recanting an implication of a police officer being involved in the death of The Notorious B.I.G.

These days (according to research), Suavé still remains in prison despite evidence that he was in Jackson, Missisippi at the time the crime was committed. In 2015, he was diagnosed with stage 4 throat cancer.

To see a video for “My Girl”, go to:

To see a video for “Shake Your Body”, go to:

To see a video for “Don’t Rush”, go to:

To see a video for “Rocked Your Boots”, go to:

Scarlett and Black

Scarlett and Black were a pop music duo from the United Kingdom that consisted of singers Sue West and Robin Hild.  Sue was a former backing vocalist for glam rock band, Doctor and the Medics while Robin was previously the keyboard player for a band, The Big Supreme.

In 1986, the duo released their debut single, “You Never Understand Me” on the MDM Records label, but it didn’t appear to make any music charts at all.

A year later in 1987, they released their self-titled and only studio album on Virgin Records which managed to peak at #107 on the Billboard 200.

The lead single from the album, “You Don’t Know” peaked at #20 on the Billboard Hot 100, #13 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart, #41 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales chart and #32 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart (staying on the chart for five weeks). The song was featured on the soundtrack for the film, “Hidin’ Out.”

The follow-up singles: “Let Yourself Go-Go” and “Dream Out Loud” failed to make any impact on the charts at all. After that, nothing much was heard from Scarlett and Black, and they appeared to have faded into obscurity.

These days, Robin Hild continues to perform as a solo artist, releasing various songs on his Bandcamp page. From the mid-’90s to the early 2000s, Sue West was a member of Los Angeles power pop music act, Sparkle Jet UK; it’s unknown what she’s currently up to these days.

To see Robin Hild’s Bandcamp page, go to:
https://robinhildmusic.bandcamp.com/

To see a video for “You Don’t Know,” go to:

To see a video for “You Never Understand Me,” go to:

To see a video for “Let Yourself Go-Go,” go to:

To see a video for “Dream Out Loud,” go to:

[updated on 10/03/2020]

Kon Kan

Kon Kan is a Canadian synth-pop duo from Toronto that originally consisted of singer, keyboardist & guitarist Barry Harris and singer Kevin Wynne.

The duo got their name from the phrase “Can Con” which is short for Canadian Content which is the name of a rule that enforces Canadian radio stations to at least play 30% music from Canadian musicians.
In 1988, they released their debut single, “I Beg Your Pardon (I Never Promised You a Rose Garden)” which sampled Lynn Anderson’s 1971 song, “(I Never Promised You A) Rose Garden” along with Silver Connection’s 1976 song, “Get Up and Boogie (That’s Right)” and Spagna’s 1987 song, “Call Me”.

The song became a hit, peaking at #19 on the Canadian Singles Chart, #15 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #3 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Club Play chart, staying on the chart for 11 weeks. It also topped Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart.
In 1989, Kon Can released their debut studio album, “Move to Move” on Atlantic Records which peaked at #69 on the RPM Top 100 Albums chart in Canada.
The follow-up single, “Harry Houdini” peaked at #39 on the Canadian Singles Chart, #88 on the U.K. Singles chart and #33 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart.
Their third single, “Puss n’ Boots\These Boots (Are Made for Walking)” sampled Nancy Sinatra’s 1966 song, “These Boots Are Made for Walking” and Led Zeppelin’s 1970 song, “Immigrant Song”.

The song peaked at #61 on the Canadian Singles chart, #58 on the Billboard Hot 100, #25 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Club Play chart (staying on the chart for 7 weeks) and #14 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart.
The title song peaked at #84 on the Canadian Singles chart. After the release of their debut album, Kevin Wynne left Kon Kan, leaving only Barry Harris as the lone member.

In 1990, Barry released Kon Kan’s sophomore album, “Syntonic” which didn’t make any album charts. The lead single, “Liberty!” (which featured vocals from singer Debbe Cole) peaked at #91 on the Canadian Singles chart.
The follow-up single, “(Could’ve Said) I Told You So” peaked at #72 on the Canadian Singles chart. The last single released from the album, “Better Day” failed to chart at all.

Afterwards, Kon Kan was dropped from Atlantic Records. Marc Nathan (who was fired in 1991 following an altercation with the president of the record company) stayed loyal to Barry Harris and in his new role with management company, Between the Ears, he helped Barry get a new record deal for Kon Kan with the Hypnotic record label.
In 1993, Kon Kan’s third album, “Vida!…” was released. The only single from the album to make the charts was “Sinful Wishes” which managed to peak at #75 on the Canadian Singles Chart. The follow-up single, “S.O.L.” failed to chart at all.

After the release of Kon Kan’s third album, Barry went on to form the techno\house music project, Outta Control with Rachid Webbi and Kimberley Wetmore. They released a self-titled album in 1996 and scored four hit songs on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Club Play chart from 1995 to 1998.

In 1997, Barry became one half of the music production duo Thunderpuss, collaborating with deejay, producer & remixer Chris Cox. They worked together, remixing dance hits for various artists. The duo disbanded in 2003. Afterwards, he continued with his deejaying career.

After remixing a song for Chaka Khan, Barry took a four-year hiatus from the music business, but he re-emerged in 2009 with the song “Drama Queen (Texting You).” In 2011, he formed a rock band called Sick Seconds.

In June of 2013, Barry and Kevin Wynne reunited as Kon Kan; however, in May of 2022, Barry posted on the duo’s Facebook page that he wouldn’t be performing for the Lost 80’s Live U.S. tour and that he allowed Kevin to use the Kon Kan name for the tour. He also stated that there wouldn’t be any new music from Kon Kan.

To see Kon Kan’s Facebook page, go to:
https://www.facebook.com/konkanofficial

To follow Kon Kan on Twitter, go to:
https://twitter.com/konkanofficial

To see a video for “I Beg Your Pardon (I Never Promised You a Rose Garden),” go to:

To see a video for “Harry Houdini,” go to:

To see a video for “Puss n’ Boots/These Boots (Are Made for Walking)”, go to:

To see a video for “Move to Move,” go to:

To see a video for “Liberty,” go to:

To see a video for “(Could’ve Said) I Told You So,” go to:

To see a video for “Better Day”, go to:

To see a video for “Sinful Wishes,” go to:

To see a video for “S.O.L.”, go to:

Calloway

Calloway is an R&B music duo from Cincinnati, Ohio that consisted of the Calloway brothers: Reggie (born on January 23, 1955) and Vincent (born on January 5, 1957).

Reggie and Vincent grew up in a musical family; their father played the trumpet, their uncle played keyboards and their aunt sang opera. They began writing songs and forming bands when they were teenagers.

In 1976, while attending Kentucky State University, they formed an R&B\funk music band, Midnight Star, who achieved success during the early-to-mid ’80s. During that time, Reggie and Vincent also wrote songs for artists such as The Whispers and Klymaxx.

After the release of Midnight Star’s 1986 album, “Headlines”, Reggie left the group due to irreconcible differences with the members and Vincent left shortly afterwards. They went on to write songs for artists including Teddy Pendergrass, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Natalie Cole and Levert.
In 1987, they formed their own music duo, Calloway. In August of 1989, they released their debut studio album, “All The Way” which peaked at #80 on the Billboard 200 and #42 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart.
The lead single from the album, “I Wanna Be Rich” became a hit, peaking at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #5 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 18 weeks. It also peaked at #20 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart and #21 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart. The song was certified Gold by the RIAA.
The follow-up single, “Sir Lancelot” peaked at #19 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 13 weeks.
The title song, “All the Way” peaked at #63 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #39 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 8 weeks.
In 1992, Calloway released their sophomore album, “Let’s Get Smooth” which peaked at #89 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart.
The title song peaked at #33 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for 11 weeks. The follow-up single, “I Desire You” didn’t chart.
Afterwards, Reggie and Vincent concentrated on writing and producing music for various artists throughout the years. Reggie released two solo albums: “Walking Through Raindrops” (in 1997 on the Expansion record label) and “Bring Back The Love” (in 2002 on the Spiral Galaxy record label).

These days (according to research), Reggie is the director of Music Royalty Funding at Sound Royalties. Vincent appears to still be writing music for other artists as well.

To see Reggie Calloway’s official website, go to:
https://www.reggiecalloway.com/

To follow Reggie Calloway on Instagram, go to:
https://www.instagram.com/reggiecalloway/?hl=en

To see Reggie Calloway’s Facebook page, go to:
https://www.facebook.com/reggiecallowaymusic/

To follow Vincent Calloway on Instagram, go to:
https://www.instagram.com/vincentcalloway/?hl=en

To see a video for “I Wanna Be Rich”, go to:

To see a video for “All the Way”, go to:

To see a video for “Sir Lancelot”, go to:

 

To see a video for “Let’s Get Smooth”, go to:

To see a video for “I Desire You”, go to:

Midnight Star

Midnight Star is an R&B\funk music group from Frankfort, Kentucky. The group formed in 1976 at Kentucky State University.

The original line-up consisted of Reggie Calloway (who played the trumpet), vocalist Belinda Lipscomb, vocalist Melvin Gentry (who also plays guitar and drums), bassist Kenneth Gant, multi-instrumentalist Bill Simmons, vocalist Bo Watson (who also plays the keyboard) and Jeff Cooper (who played guitar and keyboards). They later added Reginald’s younger brother, Vincent Calloway, who played the trombone.
In 1978, the group performed at a showcase in New York City which inspired Dick Griffey from SOLAR Records to sign the group to the label. In 1980, they released their debut studio album, “The Beginning”.
The lead single, “Make It Last” peaked at #85 on Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles chart, staying on the chart for 4 weeks. The follow-up single, “You’re The Star” didn’t make the charts at all.
In 1981, Midnight Star released their sophomore album, “Standing Together” which peaked at #54 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart.
The first single, “I’ve Been Watching You” peaked at #36 on Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles chart, staying on the chart for 11 weeks.
The second single from the album, “Tuff” peaked at #60 on Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles chart, staying on the chart for 9 weeks. The last single, “Can’t Give You Up” didn’t chart.
In 1982, they released their third studio album, “Victory” which peaked at #58 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart.

The lead single, “Hot Spot” peaked at #8 on Billboard’s Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart (staying on the chart for 2 weeks) and #35 on Billboard’s Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 12 weeks.

The title song peaked at #83 on Billboard’s Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for only 4 weeks. In late 1982, drummer Bobby Lovelace joined the group which allowed Melvin Gentry to sing and play the guitar exclusively.
In May of 1983, Midnight Star released the single, “Freak-A-Zoid” peaked at #2 on Billboard’s Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 20 weeks. The song also peaked at #66 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #44 on Billboard’s Dance\Disco Top 80 chart, staying on the chart for 12 weeks.
In June of 1983, they released their fourth studio album, “No Parking on the Dance Floor” which peaked at #27 on the Billboard 200 and #2 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart. The album was certified 2× Platinum by the RIAA.
The follow-up single, “Wet My Whistle” peaked at #61 on the Billboard Hot 100, #60 on the U.K. Singles chart (in 1987) and #8 on Billboard’s Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 18 weeks. The song also peaked at #15 on Billboard’s Dance\Disco Top 80 chart, staying on the chart for 11 weeks.
The title song peaked at #81 on the Billboard Hot 100, #43 on Billboard’s Black Singles chart (staying on the chart for 13 weeks) and #44 on Billboard’s Dance\Disco Top 80 chart, staying on the chart for 8 weeks. The last single released from the album, “Night Rider” didn’t make the charts.
In November of 1984, Midnight Star released their fifth studio album, “Planetary Invasion”. The album peaked at #32 on the Billboard 200 and #7 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart.
The lead single, “Operator” became the group’s highest charting song to date, peaking at #18 on the Billboard Hot 100, #66 on the U.K. Singles chart and topping Billboard’s Black Singles chart for 5 weeks, staying on the chart for 17 weeks. The song also peaked at #15 on Billboard’s Hot Dance\Disco chart, staying on the chart for 12 weeks.
The follow-up single, “Scientific Love” peaked at #80 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #19 on Billboard’s Hot Dance\Disco chart, staying on the chart for 9 weeks. The song also peaked at #16 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 12 weeks.
The third single from the album, “Body Snatchers” peaked at #31 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 10 weeks. The last single, “Curious” peaked at #92 on the U.K. Singles chart and received moderate airplay in the United States.

In 1985, Midnight Star performed at the Marriott Convention Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma along with Kool & the Gang, Shalamar and Klymaxx. Afterwards, they performed in concerts in San Antonio, Texas and Little Rock, Arkansas.
In 1986, the group released their sixth studio album, “Headlines” which peaked at #56 on the Billboard 200 and #7 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA.
The title song peaked at #69 on the Billboard Hot 100, #16 on the U.K. Singles chart and #3 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 18 weeks. The song also peaked at #34 on Billboard’s Hot Dance\Disco Club Play chart (staying on the chart for 6 weeks) and #11 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart.
The follow-up single from the album, “Midas Touch” peaked at #42 on the Billboard Hot 100, #8 on the U.K. Singles chart and #7 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 18 weeks.
The third single, “Engine #9” peaked at #64 on the U.K. Singles chart and #11 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 15 weeks. The last single released from the album, “Stay Here by My Side” didn’t chart.

It would be the last album to feature Reggie and Vincent Calloway. Reggie left Midnight Star due to irreconcilable differences with the other members and Vincent left shortly afterwards. In 1987, the group was featured on the soundtrack to the film, “Penitentiary III” with the track, “Do The Prep”.
In 1988, Midnight Star released their seventh self-titled studio album which peaked at #96 on the Billboard 200 and #14 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart.
The lead single, “Don’t Rock the Boat” (featuring Ecstasy from hip hop group Whodini) peaked at #3 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 19 weeks. It also topped Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart.
The follow-up single from the album, “Snake in the Grass” peaked at #50 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart and #10 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 14 weeks.
The third single, “Love Song” peaked at #55 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 8 weeks.
The last two singles released from the album: “Pamper Me” and “90 Days (Same As Cash)” didn’t make any impact on the charts.

In 1990, the group released their eighth studio album, “Work It Out”. The lead single, “Do It (One More Time)” peaked at #12 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 14 weeks.
The follow-up single, “Luv-U-Up” peaked at #58 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 7 weeks. The last single released from the album, “Red Roses” didn’t chart.

Afterwards, Midnight Star went on a long hiatus, but they never officially broke up. The members of the group went on to separate projects. In the late ’80s, Reginald and Vincent formed the music duo, Calloway and achieved success on the R&B charts during the early ’90s. They later concentrated on doing production work.
In 2000, the group reunited with many of the original members and released their ninth studio album, “15th Avenue” on the Reel Star Records label.

In the years since, the group has toured and performed sporadically. The most recent lineup consists of Belinda Lipscomb, Kenneth Gant, Melvin Gentry, Bo Watson and Bobby Lawson (with Bill Simmons sometimes joining them as well).

To see Midnight Star’s Facebook page, go to:
https://www.facebook.com/midnightstarband/

To follow Midnight Star on Instagram, go to:
https://www.instagram.com/midnightstarband/

To see a video for “Make It Last”, go to:

To see a video for “You’re the Star”, go to:

To see a video for “I’ve Been Watching You”, go to:

To see a video for “Tuff”, go to:

To see a video for “Can’t Give You Up”, go to:

To see a video for “Hot Spot”, go to:

To see a video for “Victory”, go to:

To see a video for “Freak-A-Zoid”, go to:

To see a video for “Wet My Whistle”, go to:

To see a video for “No Parking (On the Dance Floor)”, go to:

To see a video for “Night Rider”, go to:

To see a video for “Operator”, go to:

To see a video for “Scientific Love”, go to:

To see a video for “Body Snatchers”, go to:

To see a video for “Curious”, go to:

To see a video for “Headlines”, go to:

To see a video for “Midas Touch”, go to:

To see a video for “Engine #9”, go to:

To see a video for “Stay Here by My Side”, go to:

To see a video for “Do the Prep”, go to:

To see a video for “Don’t Rock the Boat”, go to:

To see a video for “Snake in the Grass”, go to:

To see a video for “Love Song”, go to:

To see a video for “Pamper Me”, go to:

To see a video for “90 Days (Same As Cash)”, go to:

To see a video for “Do It (One More Time)”, go to:

To see a video for “Luv-U-Up”, go to:

To see a video for “Red Roses”, go to:

To see a video for “15th Avenue”, go to:

Jane Child

Jane Child (born Jane Richman on February 15, 1967 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a pop-dance music singer, musician and producer. She was known for her fashion style that included spiked hair with long braids and a chain linking a nose ring to an earring.

Jane is the daughter of late Canadian violinist\conductor\composer\arranger Ricky Hyslop. She took violin lessons from her father and voice lessons from her mother, Lorraine Johnson. As a child, she was part of the Canadian Opera Company’s children chorus and later attended the Royal Conversatory of Music until she dropped out to join a rock band in Toronto.
In 1988, she signed a record deal with Warner Music; a year later, she released her self-titled debut album which peaked at #49 on the Billboard 200 and #40 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart. Jane wrote and arranged all the songs on the album. She also sang and played keyboards, synthesizers, synth & electric bass, drums, and percussion on the album too.

The lead single, “Don’t Wanna Fall in Love” peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, #11 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales chart, #5 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart (staying on the chart for 10 weeks) and #6 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart (staying on the chart for 15 weeks). It was certified Gold by the RIAA in April of 1990.

The song peaked at #4 on the Canadian Singles chart; however, it stalled at #22 on the U.K. Singles chart due to Jane’s refusal to appear on “Top of the Pops” because she considered the program to be a “sellout”. It was also moderately successful in New Zealand, Sweden, the Netherlands, Australia, Europe and Ireland.
The follow-up single from the album, “Welcome to the Real World” didn’t match the success of her previous single, peaking at #49 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #59 on the Canadian Singles chart. In 1992, she contributed the song, “Mona Lisa Smiles” to the film, “Freejack”.
In 1993, Jane released her sophomore album, “Here Not There” which consisted of hard rock music elements instead of the dance pop music she previously recorded for her debut album. The album failed to make any impact on the charts at all.
The only charting single, “All I Do” peaked at #80 on the Canadian Singles chart and #25 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, staying on the chart for 7 weeks.
The follow-up singles: “Do Whatcha Do” and the title song failed to make any impact on the charts at all.
Afterwards, Jane faded away from the music scene for several years, but she managed to keep herself busy by working as a backing vocalist and on various projects as well. In 1996, she began working on her third studio album, “Surge” which was finally released on her website in 2001 on her own record label, Sugarwave.
In 2001, she re-recorded the song, “World Lullabye” (from her debut album) and sold it on her website where all of the proceeds were donated to the Twin Towers Fund.
In 2004, Jane recorded a cover version of Tina Turner’s song, “We Don’t Need Another Hero” for the tribute album, “What’s Love? A Tribute to Tina Turner”. During that same year, she married Cat Gray, the chief musician on “Let’s Make a Deal”.

In the years since, nothing much has been heard from Jane Child and it’s unknown what she’s currently up to; it appears as if she has faded into obscurity.

To see a video for “Don’t Wanna Fall in Love,” go to:

To see a video for “Welcome to the Real World,” go to:

To see a video for “Mona Lisa Smiles”, go to:

To see a video for “All I Do,” go to:

To see a video for “Do Whatcha Do”, go to:

To see a video for “Here Not There”, go to:

To see a video for “Honeymine” (from her album, “Surge”), go to:

To see a video for “World Lullabye,” go to:

To see a video for “We Don’t Need Another Hero”, go to:

Five XI

Five XI (or Five Eleven) were an R&B duo from the early 90’s that consisted of Rod Marcel (from Miami, Florida) and Lawrence Tolbert (from Gary, Indiana). Lawrence started singing in church; Rob’s father was a member of James Brown’s Famous Flames and he had been exposed to music at an early age.

In 1993, Five XI released their self-titled debut album which managed to peak at #84 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart.

The first single, “Say It Isn’t Over” peaked at #41 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for 13 weeks. 

The follow-up single, “Don’t Cry For Me” peaked at #96 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for only 2 weeks. After that, nothing much was heard from Five IX and they have seemingly faded into obscurity.

To see the music video for “Don’t Cry For Me,” go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFUACXNEakI

To see the music video for “Say It Isn’t Over,” go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlboH0XNUdI

[updated on 05\07\12]

Monifah

Monifah (born Monifa Carter on January 28, 1972 in New York) is a female R&B singer\songwriter.

She grew up in Spanish Harlem in a musical family that encouraged her to perform in musicals as a child. With the experience that Monifah gained by singing, she signed a record contract with MCA Records.
In 1996, Monifah released her debut album, “Moods…Moments” which peaked at #42 on the Billboard 200 chart and #6 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart. The album was produced by Heavy D.
The first single “I Miss You (Come Back Home)” peaked at #56 on the Billboard Hot 100, #22 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart, and #16 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for 31 weeks. The song was featured on the “New York Undercover” television soundtrack.
The second single “You” peaked at #32 on the Billboard Hot 100,  #13 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart, and #11 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for 23 weeks.

The third single from the album “Nobody’s Body” peaked at #71 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles, staying on the chart for 23 weeks.

The last single from the album “You Don’t Have to Love Me” peaked at #82 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #36 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for 17 weeks.

In 1997, she contributed the song, “I Still Love You” to the “Sprung” movie soundtrack, which peaked at #55 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart in June of 1997, staying on the chart for 9 weeks.
In 1998, Monifah released her sophomore album, “Mo’hogany” which peaked at #96 on the Billboard 200 and #42 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart. The album was produced by Heavy D, Mario Winans, and N.O. Joe. The album was certified Platinum in 2000, 2 years after the release of “Mo’hogany.”
Her biggest hit to date, “Touch It” peaked at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100, #9 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart (staying on the chart for 20 weeks), #13 on Billboard’s Top 40 Mainstream and Billboard’s Top 40 Tracks chart, and topped Billboard’s Rhythmic Top 40 chart. The song also peaked at #14 on Billboard’s Canadian Singles Chart.

The follow-up single, “Suga Suga” didn’t fare as well as the previous single, peaking only at #71 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart and missing the Hot 100 completely.
In 2000, Monifah released her last album to date, “Home” which peaked at #151 on the Billboard 200 and #39 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart. Despite production from Teddy Riley, the album was a commercial failure, selling only 103,000 copies.
The only single to chart was “I Can Tell” which peaked at #28 on Billboard’s Rhythmic Top 40 chart and #94 on Billboard’s Hot R&B\Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, staying on the chart for only 3 weeks.

In 2003, Monifah portrayed a supporting role in Michael Baisden’s stage play “Men Cry in the Dark.” In August of 2012, she began appearing on the TV One reality series “R&B Divas”, staying on the show for three seasons. During that same year, she was featured on Faith Evans’ compliation album “R&B Divas” which was nominated for a Grammy award.

These days, Monifah continues to be active with her music career. In 2014, she released the single “The Other Side” and a year later, she released the single “One Moment.”

To see Monifah’s Facebook page, go to:
https://www.facebook.com/THEMONIFAH

To follow Monifah on Twitter, go to:
https://twitter.com/THEMONIFAH

To see the music video for “I Miss You (Come Back Home),” go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZ8JhxVeI1k

To see a fan-made video for “You,” go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtkJBBL8nkM

To see the music video for “You Don’t Have to Love Me,” go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjHzwTS8_fQ

To see the music video for “I Still Love You,” go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoJe8fRsS_Q

To see the music video for “Touch It,” go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CL89fxfGZI

To see a fan-made video for “Bad Girl,” go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4spZQJtJNt4

To see a fan-made video for “Suga Suga,” go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaqneNWIeHo

To see the music video for “I Can Tell,” go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIvX9evDUoM

To see a fan-made video for “The Other Side,” go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VlwWXVuWBg

To see the music video for “One Moment,” go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJOurGR28dc

[Updated on 04\16\2016]

Lateasha

Lateasha (born Lateasha DeGuzman from New York City) was a female R&B singer from the late 80s/early 90s. She is the daughter of late R&B singer Ali-Ollie Woodson from the Temptations and her mother, Dolores Bundy is a well-respected entrepreneur in the music field and also a successful author/writer. 

As a child, Lateasha was a child model and appeared in several print & TV commercials. When she was 22 years old, she was signed to independent record label, Rawsome Records.

In 1989, Lateasha released her debut single, “Move on You” which peaked at #33 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 13 weeks. She also wrote and produced the song.

During that same year, her debut album of the same title was released. It’s unknown how or if the album ever made the charts. She appeared on “Soul Train”, the BET Network and had an extensive touring schedule.

After forming T-Shirt Productions, Lateasha landed a production deal with Motown Records.

In 1991, Lateasha released her self-titled album on Motown, which failed to make any impact on the chart nor did the single, “It Ain’t Easy.” 

These days, Lateasha is the founder of Book It Girl LLC and is still active in the entertainment business.

To see Book It Girl’s official website, go to:
http://www.bookitgirl.com/home.html

To see the music video for “It Just Ain’t Easy,” go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b71BbPflOFs

To see a fan-made video for “Move on You,” go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Imk8YmhJ53M

[updated on 03/08/13]