Blackstreet (album)

Blackstreet is the debut studio album from American R&B group Blackstreet, released in 1994 on Interscope Records. The group was formed by Riley with Chauncey Hannibal after the dissolution of Teddy Riley's former group Guy.^[3] The other members of Blackstreet - Joseph Stonestreet and Levi Little - were session singers alongside Hannibal on Bobby Brown's third album Bobby, an album that was mostly produced by Riley.^[4] They recorded one song for the soundtrack of the Chris Rock film CB4 called "Baby Be Mine".^[5] Before they could record an album, Stonestreet left the group^[3] and was replaced by former Force One Network singer Dave Hollister.^[6] When they re-recorded "Baby Be Mine" for their self-titled debut, Hollister's vocals were added on the album version of the song.

Blackstreet
Studio album by Blackstreet
Released	June 21, 1994
Recorded	1993–94
Studio	Future Recording Studios (Virginia Beach, Virginia, U.S.)
Genre	R&B[1] new jack swing[2]
Length	73:06
Label	Interscope
Producer	Teddy Riley (also exec.) John McClain (exec.) Michael Concepcion (exec.) Michael "Flip" Barber Markell Riley Erick Sermon Lil' Chris Smith Leon Sylvers III
Blackstreet chronology
Blackstreet (1994) Another Level (1996)
Singles from Blackstreet
"Baby Be Mine" Released: February 23, 1993 "Booti Call" Released: July 28, 1994 "Before I Let You Go" Released: November 22, 1994 "U Blow My Mind" Released: December 28, 1994 "Joy" Released: March 21, 1995 "Tonight's the Night" Released: August 1, 1995

Hip hop producer Erick Sermon co-produced the first single "Booti Call",^[3] which was a response to the rape trial and conviction of professional boxer Mike Tyson at the time of the album's release.^[7] Riley, who was a close friend of Tyson,^[7] referenced his incarceration in the album's liner notes: and to our main man Mike Tyson "we can't wait".^[8] The song's opening was done by stand up comedian Bill Bellamy, who popularized his infamous saying on an episode of Russell Simmons' Def Comedy Jam.^[9] The second single "Before I Let You Go" was released with a music video that featured appearances by actors Omar Epps^[10][11] and Shari Headley.^[12]

Also on the album is former member of The Sylvers songwriter and producer Leon Sylvers III, who collaborated with Riley on the writing and production of several songs on the album. Riley's proteges The Neptunes make one of their earliest appearances on Blackstreet as well, with Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo receiving a co-writing and assistant producer credit on the song "Tonight's the Night",^[3][13] while Hugo plays the saxophone on the ballad "Happy Home".^[14] Singer Michael Jackson helped with the composition of "Joy"- a song that was originally intended for Jackson's 1991 album Dangerous.^[3][15] Blackstreet would be the first and last album with members Hollister and Little, who left the group at the end of 1995.^[16][17]

The album peaked at number fifty-two on the Billboard 200 chart. By April 1995, it was certified platinum in sales by the RIAA, after sales exceeding 1,000,000 copies in the United States. Blackstreet's cover of the Stevie Wonder song "Love's in Need of Love Today" was featured in the 1995 Harrison Ford film Sabrina, but it does not appear on the film's soundtrack.^[18]

Release and reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Q	[1]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[19]
The Source	(favorable)[1]

The album peaked at fifty-two on the U.S. Billboard 200 and reached the seventh spot on the R&B Albums chart.^[20] The album was certified platinum by April 1995.^[21]

While Stanton Swihart of Allmusic commented that some of the songs weren't fully formed and others sounded like new jack retreads, he did remark that the work included "some brilliantly catchy R&B tracks, songs that easily stood out in the mid-'90s urban soul crowd."^[2]

Track listing

• Songwriting and production credits adapted from liner notes.^[8]

No.	Title	Music	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro (Blackstreet Philosophy) [Interlude]"	Riley, "Lil" Chris Smith	Teddy Riley, "Lil" Chris Smith	0:56
2.	"Baby Be Mine"	Iverson, Riley, Stonestreet, Williams, "Lil" Chris Smith	Teddy Riley	3:02
3.	"U Blow My Mind"	Hannibal, Hollister, Riley, Smith	Teddy Riley, "Lil" Chris Smith	3:49
4.	"Hey Love (Keep It Real) [Interlude]"	Dickey, Riley, Sylvers	Teddy Riley, Leon Sylvers III	1:11
5.	"I Like the Way You Work"	Graham, Hannibal, Little, Riley, Riley, Smith	Teddy Riley, Markell Riley	4:44
6.	"Good Life"	Brown, Callis, Linzer, Riley, Wynn	Teddy Riley, David Wynn	4:04
7.	"Physical Thing"	Drakeford, Hannibal, Little, Riley, Riley, Tex, Williams, Smith	Teddy Riley, Markell Riley	4:38
8.	"Make U Wet"	Barber, Davidson, Hannibal, Riley, Sylvers	Teddy Riley, Michael "Flip" Barber	4:59
9.	"Booti Call"	Clinton, Dickey, Riley, Riley, Sermon, Shider, Spradley, Sylvers, Troutman	Teddy Riley, Markell Riley, Erick Sermon	4:26
10.	"Love's in Need"	Wonder	Teddy Riley	4:41
11.	"Joy"	Riley, Lucas, Jackson	Teddy Riley	4:55
12.	"Before I Let You Go"	Hannibal, Hollister, Riley, Riley, Sylvers	Teddy Riley	4:59
13.	"Confession [Interlude]"	Hollister, Riley, Riley, Williams	Teddy Riley, Markell Riley	0:54
14.	"Falling in Love Again"	Hannibal, Hollister, Little, Riley, Riley	Teddy Riley, Markell Riley	4:34
15.	"Candlelight Night [Interlude]"	Taliaferro, Riley	Teddy Riley	0:54
16.	"Tonight's the Night"	Hugo, Lucas, Riley, Riley, Williams	Teddy Riley, Markell Riley	4:18
17.	"Happy Home"	Davis, Hannibal, Riley, Riley	Teddy Riley, Markell Riley	5:38
18.	"Wanna Make Love"	Riley, Stonestreet, Watkins	Teddy Riley	5:00
19.	"Once in a Lifetime [Interlude]"	Taliaferro, Riley	Teddy Riley, Markell Riley	1:02
20.	"Givin' You All My Lovin'"	Riley, Riley, Smith, Sylvers	Teddy Riley, Leon Sylvers III	4:12

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1994) Peak position US Billboard 200[22] 52 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[23] 7

Year-end charts Chart (1994) Position US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[24] 32 Chart (1995) Position US Billboard 200[25] 127 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[26] 25

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions[27]
		U.S. Billboard Hot 100	U.S. Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales	U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	U.S. Rhythmic Top 40
1993	"Baby Be Mine"	—	20	—	—
1994	"Booti Call"	34	3	14	19
	"Before I Let You Go"	7	7	2	2
1995	"Joy"	43	13	12	23
	""Tonight's the Night" (Blackstreet song)"	80	12	27	—

"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[28]	Silver	60,000^
United States (RIAA)[29]	Platinum	1,000,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Personnel

Information taken from AllMusic.^[30]

• assistant engineering – Serban Ghenea, George Mayers, Kimberly Smith, Sprague Williams
• assistant executive production – Mike Concepcion, John McClain
• associate production – Chad Hugo, "Lil" Chris Smith, Markell Riley, Leon F. Sylvers III, Thomas Taliaferro, Sprague Williams
• design – Eric Altenburger
• engineering – Serban Ghenea, John Hanes, George Mayers, Herb Powers, Kimberly Smith
• guitar – Serban Ghenea, Thomas Taliaferro
• mastering – Herb Powers
• mixing – John Hanes, George Mayers, Teddy Riley
• performing – Tammy Lucas
• photography – Gerhard Yurkovic
• production – Michael Barber, Markell Riley, Teddy Riley, Erick Sermon, "Lil" Chris Smith, Leon F. Sylvers III
• project coordination – Dan O'Leary
• rapping – Idris Davidson, Antwone Dickey, Markell Riley, Menton Smith, David Roland Williams
• saxophone – Chad Hugo
• stylist – Kareen Linton
• vocal coach – Kenny Hicks
• vocals – Chauncey Hannibal, Dave Hollister, Levi Little, Teddy Riley, Joseph Stonestreet

References

1. "Blackstreet CD Album". CD Universe. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
2. Swihart, Stanton. "Blackstreet - Blackstreet". AllMusic. Retrieved August 11, 2010.
3. Ivory. "SoulBounce's Class Of 1994: Blackstreet 'Blackstreet'". soulbounce.com. Soul Bounce. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
4. Brown, Bobby. "Bobby". studio album credits. discogs. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
5. "CB4". soundtrack. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
6. Huey, Steve. "Blackstreet". biography. allmusic.com. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
7. "Radio Scope". Newspaper. No. Page B4. Hoosier State Chronicles. The Indianapolis Recorder. August 27, 1994. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
8. Blackstreet - Blackstreet (CD liner notes). Interscope Records. 92351-2
9. Williams, Stereo. "Drake wants money for 'YOLO;' should other celebs be paid for slang?". rollingout.com. Rolling Out. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
10. "Hollywood Leading Men In Music Videos". BET. BET Interactive LLC. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
11. "Omar Epps - biography". tv.com. TV Guide Digital Network. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
12. Shari Headley [@shariheadley] (June 16, 2011). "@PimpDaddii : Blackstreet/"Before I Let You Go"-It's on You Tube!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
13. Bassil, Ryan. "THE EVOLUTION OF THE NEPTUNES". noisey.vice.com. Vice Media, LLC. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
14. Williams, Chris. "Interview: Teddy Riley on His Virginia Years". redbullmusicacademy.com. Red Bull Music Academy. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
15. Allah, Dasun. "When Heaven Can Wait: Teddy Riley Remembers Michael Jackson". hiphopwired.com. Retrieved September 12, 2012.
16. "Blackstreet". biography. answers.com. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
17. Neal, Mark Anthony. "Blackstreet Level II (review)". popmatters.com. PopMatters Media, Inc. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
18. "Sabrina (1995)- Soundtracks". imdb.com. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
19. Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City, New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 80. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. rolling stone blackstreet album guide.
20. "Blackstreet". Allmusic. Retrieved August 11, 2010.
21. "RIAA - Gold & Platinum - August 11, 2010 : Search Results - Blackstreet". RIAA. Archived from the original on February 1, 2013. Retrieved August 11, 2010.
22. "Blackstreet Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
23. "Blackstreet Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
24. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1994". Billboard. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
25. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1995". Billboard. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
26. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1995". Billboard. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
27. "allmusic (((Blackstreet > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles)))". Allmusic. Retrieved August 11, 2010.
28. "British album certifications – Blackstreet – Blackstreet". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
29. "American album certifications – Blackstreet – Blackstreet". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
30. "allmusic (((Blackstreet > Credits)))". AllMusic. Retrieved August 11, 2010.

External links

• Blackstreet at AllMusic
• Blackstreet at Discogs