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BLACKstreet is an American R&B group founded in 1992 by Thomas R. Taliaferro Jr. and Teddy Riley, the inventor of New Jack Swing known for his work as a member of Guy. Chauncey Hannibal and Levi Little were signed under contract with Taliaferro and were merged with Joseph Stonestreet into what became Blackstreet featuring Teddy Riley. The current members are, Teddy Riley, Chauncey Hannibal, Dave Hollister, Mark Middleton, and Eric Williams. The original lineup released their first single in 1993 on the soundtrack to the movie CB4 starring Chris Rock titled "Baby Be Mine" produced by Teddy Riley. Stonestreet however left the group shortly after the single was released due to personal differences with Riley and was replaced by Dave Hollister.
Their debut album, BLACKstreet, was a moderate success due to the singles "Booti Call", "Before I Let You Go", and "Joy" - two of the three songs were Top 40 hits ("Before I Let You Go" hit the Top 10). The follow-up, 1996's Another Level (see 1996 in music) was a breakthrough success due to the top single "No Diggity" (with Dr. Dre), which was a #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1996, and won the 1998 Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, along with the Top 40 hit "Don't Leave Me". Another Level eventually went four times platinum in the United States and peaked at #3 on the Billboard chart. "No Diggity" is ranked at #91 on Rolling Stone and MTV: 100 Greatest Pop Songs, while BLACKstreet comes in at #214 of the Top 500 Pop Artists of the Past 25 Years
. The success of Another Level would also land them a spot on New Edition's 1997 Home Again reunion tour.
BLACKstreet has also collaborated with Jay-Z on his single "The City is Mine".
The first single from their third album, "Girlfriend/Boyfriend", a collaboration with Janet Jackson featuring Ja Rule and Eve - BLACKstreet finally had a top ten album with Finally. But personnel shifts wrecked the group and contributed to the relative failure of Finally (1999 in music) and BLACKstreet soon broke up. After rumors of legal action and a preemptive countersuit, the group re-banded and released Level II in 2003 (see 2003 in music).
In 2006 the group was a part of the New Jack Reunion Tour with Teddy Riley, Mark Middleton, Eric Williams, and new member J-Stylz who replaced Chauncey Hannibal who left the group to sign with Busta Rhymes label Flipmode Records as a solo artist.
J-Stylz left the group in 2008 and Chauncey returned marking the reunion of the Another Level lineup in late 2008 the Another Level lineup of Teddy Riley, Chauncey Hannibal, Mark Middleton, and Eric Williams have reunited and are working on a new album. Riley has also reunited his other group Guy with the Hall brothers Aaron Hall and Damion Hall and both groups are gonna tour together and release new albums. Dave Hollister rejoined the current lineup at the Core DJ's Event in Atlanta during a show given by both of Riley's groups he sang "Before I Let You Go" with the four current Blackstreet members and also performed No Diggity with them. Dave Hollister has returned to the group after a 13 year absence making the group a quintet of Teddy Riley, Chauncey Hannibal, Mark Middleton, Eric Williams, and Dave Hollister. Currently, Blackstreet is under the vocal direction of Romeo Johnson, an LA Vocal trainer.
Discography- Blackstreet (1994)
- Another Level (1996)
- Finally (1999)
- Level II (2003)
- No Diggity: The Very Best of Blackstreet (2003)
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