Maria

Maria (born Maria Jensen on May 13, 1978 in Denmark) is a female R&B singer from the 2000s.

Even though she was born in Denmark, Maria grew up in various countries such as England, Holland and Spain. She decided to pursue a music career despite her parents’ initial hesitation and she did not come from a musical family. She was a member of a Danish female singing trio called Juice.

Maria was later signed to Soulpower/Dreamworks Records as a solo artist. In 2003, she released her debut single, “I Give, You Take” which managed to peak at #33 on Billboard’s Top 40 Mainstream chart.

During that same year, she released her debut album, “My Soul” which managed to peak at #13 on Billboard’s Top Heatseekers albums chart. Unfortunately, Dreamworks Records were unable to come through with a follow-up single and Maria was dropped from the label before it folded.

After that, Maria studied acting in New York City. She portrayed the role of the color purple in the play, “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf.”

These days, Maria is back in the music business. She currently resides in Lisbon, Portugal. She is working and touring with Portuguese singer Mikkel Solnado, co-writing his debut album, “It’s Only Love, Give it Away.” She is also working on a new EP called “Oh, So Full of Promise.”

To see the music video for “I Give, You Take,” go to:

No Authority

No Authority was a boy band from the late ’90s/early 2000s from Southern California. The original line-up consisted of Ric Felix (born Ricky Godinez on December 2, 1980), Josh Keaton (born on February 8, 1979 in Pasadena, California), Danny Zavatsky (born on June 1, 1982 in Long Beach, California) and Eric Stretch (born on June 22, 1980 in Yorba Linda, California).

The group performed locally for a few years and then, their manager Richard Walters managed to get their demo tape to Michael Jackson’s record label, MMJ Music. The record label’s executives, Jono Kohan and Jerry Greenberg passed the tape to Michael, who signed No Authority to his label.
In October of 1997, they released their debut single, “Don’t Stop” which managed to peak at #38 on Billboard’s Rhythmic Top 40 chart, but missed the Hot 100.
In November of that same year, the group’s debut album, “Don’t Stop” was released. It’s unknown how or if the album made the charts at all.
The follow-up singles “Up and Down” and “One More Time” failed to make the charts at all. Josh later left No Authority and was replaced by new member Tommy McCarthy. The group later left MMJ Music and signed with Madonna’s Maverick Records label.
In July of 2000, No Authority’s self-titled sophomore album was released, managing to peak at #18 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Albums chart.

The lead single from the album, “Can I Get Your Number” which peaked at #33 on Billboard’s Top 40 Mainstream chart, making it their last charting single to date.
Another single from the album, “What I Wanna Do” flopped. The group was featured on the “Rugrats in Paris” movie soundtrack with the track, “I’m Telling You This”. Eventually, No Authority faded into obscurity.

These days, Rick (now known as Ricky Rebel) is pursuing a solo music career. Eric is performing on Broadway, having starred in the plays “La Cage aux Folles” and “Wicked.”

Tommy is the venue relations manager at Goldstar Events, the owner of SnackyShack and is also a songwriter.

Josh continues to be active in acting, voice-over work and music. It’s unknown what Danny is up to these days.

To see the music video for “Don’t Stop,” go to:

To see a video for “Can I Get Your Number,” go to:

To see a video for “Up and Down,” go to:

To see a video for “One More Time,” go to:

To see a video for “What I Wanna Do,” go to:

Favorite Angel

Favorite Angel was a pop/rock duo from Boston, Massachusetts that consisted of singer Gigi Abraham and guitarist/songwriter Joe McGhee.

In 1990, they released their only single, a cover version of Alice Cooper’s song “Only Women Bleed” which managed to peak at #69 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the duo’s only chart appearance on the chart.

After that, it seems as if Favorite Angel has faded into obscurity. These days, Gigi Abraham continues to be active as a singer & also does voiceover work.

To see a fan-made video for “Only Women Bleed,” go to:

[Updated on 12\29\2015]

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Brothers uv da Blakmarket

Brothers Uv Da Blakmarket was a hip-hop\rap group from Paterson, New Jersey that consisted of Cool Money Cee (born Christopher McKinney) and DJ Menal (born Eric Menal).

They were discovered by Pookie Gist (the older brother of Naughty By Nature member Kay Gee) & were signed to Select Records. In 1992, the duo released their debut single “Livin’ in Da Bottle” which managed to peak at #20 on Billboard’s Hot Rap Singles chart.

During that same year, they released their debut (and only) album “Ruff Life.” It’s unknown how or if the album made the Billboard charts at all.

After releasing their album, the duo was the opening act in the Flavor Unit Tour (which featured artists such as Cypress Hill, Apache, Black Sheep, Queen Latifah, Das EFX, House of Pain & Naughty by Nature).

They were also members of the original Source Magazine mobile van tour (which featured artists such as K-Solo, Raheem, Black Sheep, EPMD, the Brand New Heavies and Red Hot Lover Tone). Their follow-up single “Not U Again” failed to make the charts. After that, the Brothers uv da Blakmarket felt that their record label wasn’t doing a good job of promoting them & their music, so they ended up leaving Select Records.

Despite their break-up, the duo continued to be active in the music business.

DJ Menal produced three songs for artist LeShaun’s unreleased album “Ready or Not.” Cool Money Cee appeared on Apache’s album “Apache Ain’t Shit” on the track “Woodchuck.”

These days, it seems as if the duo has faded into obscurity. Not much has been heard about their current whereabouts lately.

To see a video for “Livin’ in Da Bottle,” go to:

To see a video for “Not U Again,” go to:

Johnny Mans

Johnny Mans (born John T. Manuel) was a freestyle\dance singer from the ’90s. Not much information is given about him, but he was signed to Tazmania Records. In 1994, he released his only single “The Day You Left Me.” It’s unknown how or if the single made the charts at all.

After that, it seems as if Johnny has faded into obscurity. It’s unknown what he’s up to these days.

To see a fan-made video for “The Day You Left Me,” go to:

Bobby Delante

Bobby Delante (born Robert Joseph Mason in South Philadelphia) was a freestyle\dance singer from the ’90s. He grew up in Washington Township, New Jersey.

Not a lot information is given about him, but he was signed to Tazmania Records. In 1994, Bobby released his debut single “Mirage.” It’s unknown how or if the single made the charts at all.

During that same year, he released his follow-up single “Moment in Love” which also didn’t appear to chart at all.

In 1995, Bobby’s last single to date “Deja Vue” was released and like his previous singles, they didn’t chart.

After that, it seems as if Bobby has faded into obscurity. Nothing much has been from him since the ’90s.

To see a video for “Mirage,” go to:

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

To see a video for “Deja Vue,” go to:

Yanda

Yanda was a female freestyle\dance artist from the ’90s. Not much information is given about her, but she was signed to Tazmania Records.

In 1993, she released the single “Stay With Me.” It’s unknown how or if the single made the charts at all.

To see a fan-made video for “Stay With Me,” go to:

Numonics

Numonics was an R&B trio from Oakland, California that consisted of Louis Dandridge, Luckey Davis & Lee Hayes.

Luckey began his music career as a teenager. He moved to Los Angeles, California in the early 1960s where he formed his own band & began performing in local clubs around the city. He also booked & promoted his own shows as well.

By the early 1970s, Luckey was working as a concert promoter, promoting concerts for artists such as Roberta Flack, the Gap Band, the Whispers & Bobby Womack. He even promoted a concert for the late Marvin Gaye at the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.

In 1970, he founded his own independent record label called Big City where he produced & promoted his own songs. Luckey received his first major record deal with Stax Records, but the label went bankrupt in 1975.

During the mid-1970s, Lucky, Joe Jackson (also known as the father of the Jackson 5) & Forest Hamilton published the magazine “Soulful Wheels” which became the first black custom car & cycle magazine. Luckey even produced & promoted a black custom car & cycle show as well.

In 1982, Numonics released their debut album “Rollin'” on Hodisk Records. It’s unknown how or if the album made the charts.

The singles released from the album “You Lied” and “One More Try” didn’t appear to make any Billboard charts at all. In 1984, they released the single “Sexy Chile” which managed to peak at #80 on Billboard’s Black Singles chart, staying on the charts for only 5 weeks.

During that same year, the trio released the single “Fox Trappin’ (Part 1)” which peaked at #66 on Billboard’s Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 9 weeks, making it their only highest chart appearance to date.

After that, it seems as if  the Numonics faded into obscurity. In 2009, Luckey released the album “Northern Soul: The Big City Records Collection” (under the name Luckey Jamal Davis) which is available on CD Baby. He still continues to be active in the music business these days.

It’s unknown what Louis Dandridge & Lee Hayes are up to these days.

To see a video for “You Lied,” go to:

To see a video for “One More Try,” go to:

To see a video for “Fox Trappin’ Part 1,” go to:

To see a video for “Sexy Chile,” go to:

N-Toon

N-Toon was an R&B boy band from Atlanta, Georgia. The members consisted of Lloyd Polite (born Lloyd Polite Jr. on January 3, 1986 in New Orleans, Louisiana), his younger brother Chuckie D. Reynolds, Justin Clark & Everett Hall.

The group was created in 1996 by Joyce Irby (from pop\R&B band Klymaxx). She searched through the phone books in Atlanta, and discovered Everett, Justin and Lloyd at the Wings of Faith Ministries in the city. Chuckie joined the group later on.
In 1999, the group released their debut single, “Shoulda Been My Girl” on DreamWorks Records which didn’t appear to make the charts at all.
Their follow-up single, “Ready” peaked at #64 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles & Tracks chart, staying on the chart for 15 weeks, making it their only appearance on the chart.

On March 21, 2000, N-Toon released their debut and only album, “Toon Time.” It’s unknown how or if the album made the charts at all. The album was recorded between 1997 to 1999, and also featured producers such as Dallas Austin & Christopher “Tricky” Stewart.

N-Toon appeared on Radio Disney’s “Peanut Butter n’ Jam Summer Concert in the Park” series. During that same year, their record label crossed over into Geffen Records and many artists (including them) on the roster were let go. By 2001, they had disbanded.

These days, Lloyd has a solo music career. Everett is the co-founder at Extra Terrestrial Graphics in South Carolina and works at SoundWalk Music Group, LLC. He has also traveled the world as a singer, songwriter, worship leader & conference speaker. It appears that Justin continues to sing and it’s unknown what Chuckie is up to these days.

To see the music video for “Ready,” go to:

 

To see a video for “Shoulda Been My Girl,” go to: