Get ready to slow it down with
Mario, Pretty Ricky, Lloyd, B2K, Bobby Valentino, the Ying Yang Twins, and Chingy. The group will feature all of their hits
from the early 2000s and their current music on the radio now. So some of you
may not know who is Mario?, Who is Pretty Ricky?, who is Lloyd, and last but
certainly not least is B2K how where they found and how did they first get
started?
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| Omarion 21 album |
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| Collaboration with "Mr. 106 & Park" or Shad Moss aka "Bow Wow" ft. Omarion |
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| Illusion album |
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| Eighties Babies album |
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| Pretty Ricky's debut album |
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| Marcus Cooper's first solo project ft Under and Boyfriend #2 |
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| Mario "Turning Point" 2004 |
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| Go Album (2007) |
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| Mario's first debut album 2002 |
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| Dancing Shadows (2018) |
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| Lloyd's debut single "Southside" |
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| Lloyd's album King of Hearts (2010) |
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| Tru |
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| Lessons in Love |
About 18 years ago back in 2001 I attended the Scream Tour when I was just about fourteen years old actually. I went to the concert with some family friends. I have told you all I have been to over 30 concerts, live shows, Broadway, the Metropolitan opera, The Governor’s Ball, and many other performances I have seen like J-Lo, Puff Daddy aka Diddy or Brother Love and the Family, Outkast, Ciara, Aaliyah, Alicia Keys, J-Cole, Beyonce, and Jay-Z, and I plan on seeing as many shows as I my body, mind, and spirit will allow me to going forward. So back to these gentlemen. I remember seeing a bunch of boys it was actually Pretty Ricky, B2K, and Bow Wow on the stage going back and forth, dancing, grinding on the stage, and so much more.
I didn’t realize
what I was witnessing was that all of these men were going to become major
stars and they were going to take over in a big way. There is something very
special about watching African American men who just want to do something
positive in their community. They want to give back with their talents in a
huge way. They all have surpassed and done an incredible job as musicians and
artists. So who are these fine, handsome, multitalented, young men? Some of
them have grown up in a huge way they are now fathers, husbands, family men,
and adding executive and other roles to their resume then just singer and
musician.
Who is Mario
Barrett he is an award -winning musician who is from the tough streets of
Baltimore, Maryland. Mario was born September 3, 1986 he first earned his hit
of the 1990s classic “Just A Friend” by Biz Markie and they remixed the song 16
years later when he was just 16 and that was his debut single that came along
in 2002. He followed up with “Braid My Hair” and many other singles. When
television shows like 106 and Park on BET Network debuted and he took off
instantly with his songs and the girls went crazy for him. I know a lot about
Mario I had the pleasure of seeing him in person at one of his live shows. My
stepfather at the time was working with the A&R and Promotions &
Marketing team for J Records/Arista Records and he just so happened to be on
their label. He invited me one night to Mario’s listening party at a club down
in Chelsea. This was back in 2007 and I remember he walked in with a silver
puffer jacket, a scully, and was just grinning from ear to ear. I was taking
pictures of him on my silver T Mobile RAZR phone snapping away. I couldn’t
believe it but I was so excited I got to be apart of this. I have been able to
see a lot of my favorite musicians in person and this was a huge gift. So to
get an opportunity to write, see Mario just blossom and grow as a recording
artist and musician. It’s a beautiful gift to see as a fan, pop culture
blogger, writer, and lover of music. I couldn’t believe when I saw him this year in 2019 just a
couple of weeks ago Mario was featured on “Rent” the live performance on FOX
Network with his fellow cast members Vanessa Hudgens and more. I was so shocked
and happy for him because he just had a new album that dropped this year too.
So he has evolved as an artist. They say everything happens for a reason and
timing is everything. I would definitely say this is pretty perfect that he is
teaming up with his fellow R&B young musicians. R&B has been in a bit
of a comatose state a bit we need some artists to wake them up. I am not saying
music hasn’t been great it has been amazing. It’s not selling the way that it
used to with groups especially. We need more recording artists now. I would say
the last five years we have been lucky to see musicians like H.E.R, Ella Mai,
Alina Baraz, Kevin Ross, Daniel Caesar, and others who are breaking into the
industry now. We need more R&B music from more artists who can multi task
too. So to have an artist like him who can dance, sing, write, act. Remember
“Step Up”, “Freedom Writers” he was featured in the film and he was just
featured on “Empire” this past season so get ready to see more from Mario.
Visit his website and look out for his album…….
Who is Lloyd?
Lloyd Polite Jr.
was born January 3, 1986 in New Orleans, Louisiana he was discovered in 2001 he
was initially in a boy band but the group disbanded after a short time and he
became a solo artist officially in 2003 he signed with Murder Inc. records
which was founded by Irv Gotti. He released his debut album on July 20, 2004
“Southside” was the title of his debut
and the first single off his album. He has had major success with hit
singles like “You”, “Get it Shawty”, “Girls Around the World”, and he was
featured on Young Money, Lil’ Wayne’s hit “Bedrock”. Lloyd came out with two
more albums, “King of Hearts”, and “Tru” was released after a few years in
2018.
Next is the group coming all the way from the south in the sizzling hot Miami, Florida, “Pretty Ricky” is made up of their four members : Marcus Ramone Cooper, Diamond Blue Smith, Spectacular Blue Smith, and Corey “Slick ‘em” Mathis. Who are all four of these men? The Pretty Ricky was formed while the group was attending high school. They used to dress flamboyantly and lavishly always attracting the ladies with their stylish ways. Eventually the girls starting calling them “Pretty Ricky” a name picked up from the sitcom show, “Martin” which starred Martin Lawrence. So the name is honor of the character “Pretty Ricky” who was featured on an episode of Martin when Martin goes back to his 10th high school reunion and he runs into his nemesis and other old high school classmates.
Next is the group coming all the way from the south in the sizzling hot Miami, Florida, “Pretty Ricky” is made up of their four members : Marcus Ramone Cooper, Diamond Blue Smith, Spectacular Blue Smith, and Corey “Slick ‘em” Mathis. Who are all four of these men? The Pretty Ricky was formed while the group was attending high school. They used to dress flamboyantly and lavishly always attracting the ladies with their stylish ways. Eventually the girls starting calling them “Pretty Ricky” a name picked up from the sitcom show, “Martin” which starred Martin Lawrence. So the name is honor of the character “Pretty Ricky” who was featured on an episode of Martin when Martin goes back to his 10th high school reunion and he runs into his nemesis and other old high school classmates.
Marcus Ramone
Cooper born December 27, 1984 is the only singer within Pretty Ricky he has
been singing with them all since 1997. He stands out with his vocals and has
already earned himself numerous Grammy nominations for his solo project which
came out in June of 2009 “Introducing Marcus Cooper”. His two hit songs
“Boyfriend #2” and “Under” were both featured on the Billboard charts when he
went solo. There was major controversy happening at that time and their fans
wanted to know why were they disbanding the group all together. There were
rumors that the other band members decided to kick him out of the group. When
actually he wanted to go solo as well. The groups success after they replaced
Marcus was not the same when he went solo. There other projects didn’t receive
the same critical success , the public response, and accolades from the music
industry and their fans. They decided after he put out his album that they
would rejoin with him. A few years later they did which now brings them to
their upcoming tour. The group will reunite together this spring for the
Millennium tour with all four members including Marcus as well.
Who is Diamond
Blue Smith…..
He was born in
Miami, Florida on August 13, 1985
and is also one of the founding members of Pretty Ricky. He is one of the hip
hop artists and rappers who is featured in the group.
Who is Spectacular
Blue Smith born September 7, 1986 Spectacular actually out of their group
members added many different roles as a businessman, entrepreneur, and author
aside from musician to the group. He actually discovered “Grumpy Cat” the cat
who was featured all around YouTube with his piercing ice blue eyes and
unchangeable facial expressions. He is loved by billions of people. Spectacular
was featured in Black Enterprise Magazine and has been featured in many well
known publications including Forbes Magazine for joining with social media.
Who is Corey
“Slick ‘em” Mathis…..?
“Slick ‘em” is
from Miami, Florida was born June 3, 1985 and is also one of the artists
featured on many of Pretty Ricky’s hits too.
Who is B2K?
Who is J-Boog?
Jarell Damonte Houston born August 11, 1985 is the first cousin of Marques
Houston he was born in Compton, California. He is not only a member of B2K but
he also is an actor, dancer, he was featured in the 2004 movie, “You Got
Served”.
Who is Raz-B you
know I notice RazB his birth given name is DeMario Monte Thornton born June 13,
1985 in Cleveland, Ohio actually
gets a lot of attention from the group actually people do not actually
realize it but it’s really funny though that behind the scenes you would be
surprised to see that he has been put in the spotlight a couple of times too.
He makes up for it with his music production he established his own production
company and he had a single “Fire” which was #2 on the Billboard charts too.
Who is Lil’Fizz?
Born Dreux Pierre Frederic November 26, 1985 in New Orleans, Louisiana is a
rapper, singer, songwriter, television personality who has been featured on
Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood and currently is on the reality television show
Marriage Boot camp which is featured on WETV.
B2K the name
stands for Boys of the Millennium there were not many African American boy
bands/ R&B groups after New Edition, Jodeci, Boyz 2 Men, Guy, 112 and many others after the 1990s and
especially the late 1990s there weren’t many who could step up and fulfill that
role. So when they arrived on the scene it was a great time for them to take
that place and fill the void. They first debuted with their group titled album,
“B2K”.
Who is Chingy?
Chingy is an artist born on March 3, 1980 Howard Bailey Jr. grew up in St. Louis, Missouri (Shout out to St.Louis my mom is from there and my family as well). Chingy broke out on to the scene with his first single, "Right Thurr" in 2003 I remember seeing this video all over BET's 106 and Park was huge back then. He was signed with Ludacris's Disturbing the Peace label. He has had many hits I am sure many of you know "Pullin' Me Back", "Dem Jeans", "Fly Like Me", and his most recent album Success and Failure came out in 2018 which he produced on his own. Chingy will also be on the tour with his fellow labelmate Bobby Valentino
Who is Bobby Valentino?
Bobby Valentino born Robert Wilson, February 27, 1980 in Jackson, Mississippi and was discovered in Atlanta, Georgia is the smooth talker I would definitely say. Bobby's definitely an artist who knows how to connect with the ladies. He was discovered in the nineties actually he was featured on a song called "Blackberry Molasses" which was produced by TLC's music production team. In 2005, Ludacris discovered Bobby and he was featured on Bobby Valentino's "Pimpin' All over the world" and Bobby released his self-titled album. I remember this album very well I still have it on my Ipod to this day. It brings back a lot of good memories cause I took the my ipod with me everywhere all around the world literally. I was in Italy chillin' with my best friend playing Bobby V. It was hilarious seeing her reaction when she heard some of the music. Priceless but I definitely know Bobby has some hits on his hands in his career. He followed up in 2007 with a few other singles from his sophomore album, "Special Occasion" which was on Island Def Jam. I remember he debuted "Anonymous" as the first single. I had just started doing an internship at this time for Island Def Jam so I remember this was a big year for music. A lot of hits were being pumped out like hotcakes fast, quick, and they were amazing. He followed up with five more albums, "The Rebirth" (2009), "Fly on the wall"(2011), "Dusk till dawn"(2012), "Hollywood Hearts"(2016), and "Electrik" (2018). He received a BMI Award for Song of the Year for "Slow Down", Vibe Awards, NAACP Awards, Soul Train, and Urban Music Awards.
Who are the Ying Yang Twins
They are known for crunk and hip hop hits that were made in the early 2000s "Salt Shaker", "Say I Yi Yi", "Wait", "The Whisper Song", and "Get Low". They
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| Dusk Till Dawn album |
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| Bobby V Special Ocacasion |
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| The Kings of Crunk and Southern Hip Hop Ying Yang Twins make you want to shake it and party |
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| St Louis Rapper Chingy |
So now that you
ladies and gentlemen have been informed on who these artists are has your
curiosity been settled on who are these accomplished and good looking men….Will
you all be attending their shows this spring when they hit the globe trotting
all across the country. Visit http://www.b2kofficial.com/tourdates
and follow them at twitter.com/b2k and instagram @b2k as well. Also follow
Pretty Ricky @prettyricky , Lloyd @curlyheadedblackboy , and Mario
@marioworldwide
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