Eazy-E
...bio coming soon!
E.U.
This Washington DC-based act was one of the original Go-Go bands, a heavily percussive style of music of the African-American tradition with roots in funk and jazz. While Go-Go music is best experienced live, filmmaker Spike Lee took E.U.'s "Da Butt" double platinum when he featured the song in his major film debut, 1988's "School Daze". Thanks to E.U., Go-Go music got a chance to gain a larger audience than it had ever had before. Later that year, rap duo Kid N' Play would employ the Go-Go sound for their signature hit, "Rollin With Kid 'N Play".
For more information about the Go-Go movement, feel free to check out Big Mike's Go-Go Joint here
En Vogue
If Destiny’s Child had a forerunner, that group would have to be En Vogue. Dawn Robinson, Maxine Jones, Cindy Heron, and Terry Ellis made up this quartet of beautiful Black women. In 1990, their debut single “Hold On” was an instant smash, sending their debut album ‘Born To Sing’ racing up the charts. Their second single “Lies” was a moderate hit in the summer of 1990. “Don’t Go” was the third single, and “You Don’t Have To Worry ‘Bout A Thing” was a hit for the quartet in the Winter/Spring of 1991.
By the fall of 1991, En Vogue was back with ‘Funky Divas’ featuring “My Lovin (You’re Never Gonna Get It)”, a major hit that sounded like a sonic cousin of “Hold On” (both songs shared the same James Brown “Payback” sample). In the summer of 1992, their second smoldering hit “Giving Him Something He Can Feel” (a remake from Sparkle – video and all) was yet another hit for the group. Then in the fall of 1992, “Free Your Mind”, became all the rage, propelled by a dazzling MTV Video Music Awards performance. En Vogue capped off their successful early 90s campaign with “Give It Up, Turn It Loose” and “Runaway Love”.
After that, En Vogue ran into problems. Dawn Robinson had ambitions of becoming a solo artist. However, Terry Ellis was the first to release an album in 1995 that fared just OK. In 1996, the group reunited for “Can’t Let Go” from a soundtrack, and then Dawn left for good. En Vogue was never the same without Dawn, and by the time the 90s ended, Destiny Child had for the most part, picked up from where En Vogue left off.
EPMD
...bio coming soon!
Expose
In 1985, producer Lewis Martinee put together a female trio consisting of Jeanette Jurado, Ann Curless, and Gioia Bruno-Carmen, who would soon be known as Expose. The group's first single, "Exposed To Love" became an underground club classic, but it was songs like "Come Go With Me" and "Point Of No Return" that would give them mainstream success. Exposure (their 1st album) went double-platinum spawning two of their biggest hits, "Let Me Be The One" (which parlayed a bit of the "NJS" sound, showing off Gioia's powerhouse voice) and "Seasons Change", which went to #1 in 1988. Later that year,Expose released their 2nd album,"What You Don't Know" spawning the hits, "When I Looked At Him", "Tell Me Why" and the title track.
The group appealed to both the dance/pop and urban/R&B audiences, but in 1990, all that came to a screeching halt when Gioia had to dismiss herself from the group, due to problems with her throat. Ann and Jeanette had no other choice but to replace her with a young Alaskan named Kelly Moneymaker and released their 3rd self-titled album in 1992. Even with the New Jack Swing-ish "I Wish The Phone Would Ring" and their second #1 hit, "I'll Never Get Over You (Getting Over Me)", Expose's time at the top was up and the group disbanded since then.
Bio submitted to NJS 4-Ever by Jabar Robbins
Everlast
One of the original White rappers, Everlast was a member of Ice-T’s “Rhyme Syndicate” (which featured Donald Dee, Divine Styler, and a female White rapper named Tarrie B). Everlast’s 1990 “Forever Everlasting” featured two strong singles: “I Got the Knack” and “The Rhythm”, produced by QD III (son of Quincy Jones). By the fall of 1992 however, Everlast had reinvented himself as one-third of the rugged Irish-themed rap group House of Pain. House of Pain made records until 1996. These days, Everlast is faring way better now than he ever did during the New Jack Era, with a ’98 appearance on Carlos Santana’s ‘Supernatural’, and critical acclaim for both 1998’s “Whitey Ford Sings The Blues”, and 2000’s “Eat At Whitey’s”.
Father M.C.
Editor's Note: Looks a lot like P. Diddy, doesn't he? Well, along with Mary J. Blige and Jodeci, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs was responsible for Father M.C.'s look and style...
Father entered the scene at Uptown Records, probably the most urban label during the New Jack Era. It was 1991, and from his album ‘Father’s Day’, the singles “I’ll Do 4 U”, “Treat ‘Em Like (They Want To Be Treated)”, and “Lisa Baby” were hot among urban audiences.
In 1992, Father M.C. changed his name to Father. From the ‘Close To You’ album, Father released two successful singles, “One Night Stand”, and his biggest hit, “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” – with generous background vocals by Jodeci over a sample of Chic’s “Good Times”. After 1993, Father wasn’t heard from again until 1999’s ‘No Secrets’, released to little fanfare. Father MC was a charismatic participant of the New Jack Swing era, who seemed to fuse elements of Bobby Brown and Big Daddy Kane into his own work at the time.
Five Star
This UK-based group featuring five siblings (three women, two men) made noise with “Let Me Be The One”, their biggest hit in the mid 80s. In the spring of 1991, they made noise again with “Treat Me Like A Lady”. They’re still recording, albeit in relative obscurity.
Force M.D.'s
Force M.D.’s turned heads in a major way when the exquisitely beautiful Jam & Lewis produced “Tender Love” was featured on the 1986 Krush Groove soundtrack. In 1987, Force M.D.’s triumphed again with “Love Is A House”, and remained a solid presence in Black music throughout the rest of the New Jack Era. In the following years, the group would be struck by tragedy when two members passed away: Antoine “TCD” Lundy from Lou Gherig’s disease, and Charles “Mercury” Nelson of a heart attack.
Full Force
This Brooklyn-based act was a full-fledged pop/R&B band. Their first hit was producing “Roxanne Roxanne” for fellow Brooklynites, UTFO. Known for their 80s pop productions (Lisa Lisa, Samantha Fox), turned out notable appearances in the House Party movies, particularly the original in 1990. Nearly a decade later, Full Force would make noise again, producing “All I Have To Give” for the Backstreet Boys.
The Good Girls
The Good Girls were supposedly Motown’s ‘90s answer to the Supremes. Comprised of three attractive *California* teenagers (Shirleen Cutherfield, Joyce Tolbert, and DeMonica Santiago) the Good Girls debuted in 1989, during Motown’s “New Wave of Young Talent. Other Motown acts from this era including The Boys, Johnny Gill, Rich Nice, Milira, and MC Trouble. The trio released their debut, ‘All For Your Love’, in 1989. The album was full of fresh and funky New Jack Swing beats with a ‘sass’ appeal to it. One of the singles from ‘All For Your Love’ was a remake of The Supremes’ 1966 classic “Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart” as well as “Your Sweetness”. The Good Girls followed up their debut with 1992’s ‘Just Call Me’ which produced a hit in it’s title track. Around the same time, the Good Girls also supplied backing vocals to West Coast rapstress YoYo’s 1992 album, Black Pearl. Since then, the Good Girls have quietly disappeared from the music scene.
*Highlights of their brief career included a performance during Motown's 1990 Revue and a stint of New Kids On The Block's 1991 "No More Games" Tour.
Good Girls bio written for NJS-4-Ever by the Capricorn One.
Additional reporting by Jabar Robbins
Gerardo
Before Gerado Mejia made hearts flutter with 1991’s Spanglish pop-rap single “Rico Suave”, he played supporting roles in late 80s films like “Can’t Buy Me Love” and “Colors”. But in 1990, Gerardo was one of the first artists signed to then newly formed Interscope Records – and his debut album ‘Mo Ritmo’ went gold on the strength of the hits “Rico Suave” and the George Clinton remake, “We Want The Funk”.
When the New Jack Era ended in 1992, so did Gerardo’s chances at a commercially successful follow-up to Mo’Ritmo. However, Gerardo managed to maintain a respectable presence among Latino/a audiences with a few more albums, and also served as head of A&R for Interscope’s Dance Music division. Gerardo has been working with artists such as Bubba Sparxxx and Enrique Inglesias to name a few…