Basic Black

Basic Black are an R&B music group from Atlanta, Georgia that originally consisted of Darryl “Dezo” Adams, Kelvin “K.B.” Bradshaw, Walter “Mucho” Scott and Lloyd “Spec” Turner.

The group was managed by Gene Griffin, who presented them to Motown Records where they were later signed a record deal to the label.
In 1990, they released their self-titled debut album which peaked at #178 on the Billboard 200 and #24 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart.
Their debut single, “She’s Mine” became a hit, peaked at #17 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 18 weeks. The song also peaked at #24 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart.
The follow-up single, “Nothing But A Party” was moderately successful, peaking at #26 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 15 weeks.
The last single released from the album, “Whatever It Takes” peaked at #64 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for 8 weeks.

Afterwards, Basic Black disbanded. According to an interview with The Hype Magazine in 2020, the reason for the group’s breakup was:

“The reason for the group to disband, we were on the road doing shows and hearing our music on multiple radio stations, seeing our videos, etcetera, but the financial aspect just wasn’t adding up. We were pretty much broke! So as a group decision, we decided that we would leave Gene and find a new deal. But that process was an uphill battle. Since we produced our own music, we decided to produce for other artists. Spec and K.B. formed a production company, and Mucho started producing and Dezo went on the road with Justin Timberlake. We all still kept in touch, but never decided to record back as Basic Black. It kind of phased out because we all got busy with other projects.”
These days (according to research), Basic Black have reformed with original members Spec and K.B., and new members Sean “Black” Jones & Anthony Dupree. In 2019, they released their sophomore album, “The Resurrection” independently.

To follow Basic Black on Instagram, go to:
https://www.instagram.com/therealbasicblack/

To follow Basic Black on Twitter, go to:
https://twitter.com/therealbasicbl1

To follow Basic Black on Facebook, go to:
https://www.facebook.com/therealbasicblack1/

To see a video for “She’s Mine”, go to:

To see a video for “Nothing But a Party”, go to:

To see a video for “Whatever It Takes”, go to:

To see a video for “The Anthem” (from their album “The Resurrection”), go to:

Monica Neal

Monica Neal was a female dance singer from the early ’80s. Not much information is given about her, but she was signed to SAM Records.

In 1982, she released her only single “Begging For More.” It’s unknown how or if the single ever made the charts at all.

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

To see a fan-made video for “Begging For More,” go to:

Michael Rodgers

Michael Rodgers (born in Los Angeles, California) was a pop singer from the ’80s. Not much information is given about him, but he was signed to WTG Records.
In 1988, he was featured on the soundtrack to the Eddie Murphy film “Coming to America” with the song “I Like it Like That” which peaked at #19 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Club Play chart and #65 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 10 weeks.
A year later, Michael released his debut (and only) album “I Got Love.” It’s unknown how or if the album ever charted at all.

The title song peaked at #18 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Club Play chart. The follow-up single “It’s the Same Old Love” peaked at #50 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Club Play chart as well.

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

To see a fan-made video for “I Like It Like That,” go to:

To see a fan-made video for “I Got Love,” go to:

To see a fan-made video for “It’s the Same Old Song,” go to:

Extra Prolific

Extra Prolific was an alternative hip-hop duo from Oakland, California that consisted of rapper Duane “Snupe” Lee and DJ\producer Michael “Mike G.” Gray. They were the second subgroup of rap group Hieroglyphics and they signed a record deal with Jive Records.
In October of 1994, they released their debut album “Like It Should” which peaked at #19 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Albums chart and #46 on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart.
The album was unsuccessful and the only single to chart from the album was “Brown Sugar” which peaked at #41 on Billboard’s Hot Rap Singles chart.
The follow-up single “First Sermon” failed to make any impact on the charts at all. They were also featured on the soundtrack to the film “A Low Down Dirty Shame” with the track “In Front of the Kids.”

Some time after that, Mike G left the group, but Snupe continued to release music under the “Extra Prolific” name, releasing two cassettes: “2 for 15” in 1996 and “Master Piece” in 1998.

These days, it’s unknown what Snupe and Mike G are up to and it appears as if they faded into obscurity.

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

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

To see a fan-made video for “In Front of the Kids,” go to:

Cultural Revolution

Cultural Revolution were a female R&B duo from the ’90s. Not much information is given about them, but they were signed to the Epix Soundtrax record label.
In 1993, they released the single “Nite & Day” which was featured on the movie soundtrack to “Poetic Justice.” It’s unknown how or if the single made the charts at all.

Some time after that, the duo disbanded & faded into obscurity. It’s unknown what the ladies of Cultural Revolution are up to these days.

To see the music video for “Nite & Day,” go to:

Mista Grimm

Mista Grimm (born Rojai Trawick on August 21, 1973 in West Covina, California) is a male rapper from the ’90s. He was signed to Epic Records’ sub-label, 550 Music.
In 1993, he released his debut single “Indo Smoke” (which was featured on the soundtrack to the movie “Poetic Justice” which starred Janet Jackson & the late Tupac Shakur).

The song peaked at #53 on the Billboard Hot 100, #12 on Billboard’s Hot Rap Singles chart, #40 on Billboard’s Rhythmic Top 40 chart, #7 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart and #63 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on thhe chart for 12 weeks.

In 1995, Mista Grimm released his second single “Situation: Grimm” (which was featured on the soundtrack to the film “Higher Learning”) which only charted at #97 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for only 2 weeks.
During that same year, he had completed work on his debut album “Things Are Looking Grimm” that was supposed to be released that summer, but after the lead single from the album “Steady Dippen” flopped, the album ended up being shelved, although promotional copies of it appear to exist.

Mista Grimm made appearances on albums by artists such as DJ Pooh, T-Bone and Warren G., but soon faded into obscurity. These days, he resides in Reno, Nevada, is married and appears to have a child. It’s unknown if he’s still active in the music business.

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

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

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