In its original form, 702 was comprised of the Grinstead sisters, LeMisha, Irish and Orish. While students at Cheyenne High School in Las Vegas, the girls would go to the lobby of Caesars Palace during boxing matches and...

Aaliyah Haughton was born in 1979 in Brooklyn, New York and was raised in Detroit. Aaliyah, which means “Highest Most Exalted,” was the daughter of Michael and Diane Haughton and was very close to her older brother Rasha...

Aaron Hall was born in 1964 in The Bronx, New York. He first established himself in the music industry as a member of the group Guy. The group was comprised of Hall, Teddy riley and Timmy Gatling and later on, Hall's bro...

Albert Joseph Brown III, known to the music world as Al B. Sure! was born in 1969 in Boston, Massachusetts. Growing up in Mount Vernon, New York, he made his first musical appearance with a friend on a soundtrack for Ses...

The preteen group Another Bad Creation was formed by Michael Bivins of New Edition and Bell Biv Devoe. The group formed out of Atlanta, Georgia and comprised of members Chris Sellers, Dave Shelton, Romell Chapman, Marlis...

Atlantic Starr started in the early 1970s. At that time, the three Lewis brothers, David, Jonathan, and Wayne were leading their own bands - Newban, Exact Change, and Unchained Youth. The three brothers brought their ban...

Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds was born in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1958. He is the 5th in a family of six sons and attended North Central High School.

Babyface got his nickname when playing in a funk band with Boots...

Bell Biv DeVoe formed from the members Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins and Ronnie DeVoe of the group New Edition. The group began to form after Bobby Brown left New Edition and became a separate entity after the Heart Break t...

The group Blaque is comprised of Natina Reed (born 1979), Shamari Fears (born 1981) and Brandi Williams (born 1982). The group's name stands for Believing in Life and Achieving a Quest for Unity in Everything, and was or...

Bobby Brown was born in 1969 in Boston, Massachusetts. He started singing with schoolmates Michael Bivins and Ricky Bell in 1980 and eventually, they brought Ralph Tresvant and Ronnie DeVoe into their group. The group be...

The Philadelphia quartet, Boyz II Men also seen as Boyz 2 Men, Boys II Men and Boys 2 Men, formed at the High School of the Creative and Performing Arts in 1988. It star...

Brandy Norwood was born in 1979 in McComb, Mississippi. Her family had strong musical ties as her father, Willie Norwood was a pastor, choir director and former R&B singer and her mother was a cousin of blues singer Bo D...

Brian McKnight was born in Buffalo, New York. He had strong musical roots, singing in the church choir and acting as a bandleader in high school. While in his early teens, he began penning instrumentals. He formed his ow...

Chante Moore was born in 1967 in San Francisco, California. Her father was a gospel minister and so Moore spent a lot of time singing in the church.

In high school, Moore decided she wanted to be a singer after...

Jonathan Arthur 'Chico' DeBarge was born in 1966 in Grand rapids, Michigan. He was a member of the musical DeBarge family that spawned the groups DeBarge and Switch, as well as the successful solo career of El Debarge.

Troy Christopher Williams was born in 1967 in The Bronx, New York. Signed to Uptown Records, Williams first appeared on the scene in the late 1980s.

In 1989, Williams released his first album, Adventures in Par...

Color Me Badd came out of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in the early 1990s and was comprised of members Bryan Abrams, Mark Calderon, Kevin Thornton and Sam Watters. The group was discovered by Kool & The Gang's Robert Bell in ...

Michael 'D'Angelo' Archer was born in 1974 in Richmond, Virginia. He released his debut album, Brown Sugar, in 1995. The album slowly generated sales, only proving popular after the hit single 'Lady' began receiving a lo...

The group Damian Dame was comprised of Debra Jean 'Deah Dame' Hurd, born in 1958 and Bruce Edward 'Damian' Broadus, born in 1966. The duo was the first act signed to LaFace Records. Within the group, Damian handled most ...

Dave Hollister, cousin of music act K-Ci and JoJo, started developing fame as a musician in the early 1990s. Some of his biggest early appearances were with 2Pac on tracks like 'Brenda's Got A Baby.'

His next b...

Deborah Cox was born in 1974 in Toronto, Ontario. Her parents are Guyanese but she has never met her biological father.

Deborah Cox got her start in the music industry as a backup vocalist for Celine Dion and get...

The group Destiny's Child has changed immensely over the years, beginning as a duo, eventualy becoming a quartet and later shrinking back down to a trio. The group formed in 1990 in Houston, Texas. It initially was compr...

Dru Hill was founded by Tamir 'Nokio' Ruffin in Baltimore in 1992. The group consisted of himself, lead singer Mark 'Sisqo' Andrews, Larry 'Jazz' Anthony and James 'Woody' Green. The group got their chance at success in ...

En Vogue formed in 1988 in Oakland, California. The members of the group were former Miss Black California Cindy Herron, Maxine Jones, Dawn Robinson and Terry Ellis. The group formed when producers denzil Foster and Thom...

Erica 'Erykah Badu' Wright was born in 1971 in Texas. Badu was a dance student at Booker T. Washington High in Dallas where she received the nickname “MC Apples” and was a member of a freestyle female rap duo.

...

Faith Renee Evans was born in 1973 in Lakeland, Florida. Her father left the family when she was very young and so Evans was raised by her mother and aunt in Newark, New Jersey. Her mother was eighteen w...

Freddie Jackson was born in October of 1956 in Harlem, New York. As Jackson grew up, he sang as a gospel singer at White Rock Baptist Church. At the church, he met Paul Laurence who would become his record producer.

Freddie...

Elgin Baylor Lumpkin, known as Ginuwine, was born in 1970 in Washington, DC. He went to Prince Georges Community College in Largo, Maryland and got a paralegal degree.

His first break into the music industry wa...

The group Groove Theory formed in 1991 when singer Amel Larrieux met rapper Bryce Wilson through a mutual friend. Forming in New York, the two found themselves perfect for each other as both were upset with the direction...

At the front of the New Jack movement was the group, Guy, who appeared on the scenes in 1987. The first incarnation of the group was made up of Aaron Hall and Timmy Gatling, both students at HBCU Virginia State Universit...

H-Town formed in Houston, Texas and consists of members Keven 'Dino' Conner, his fraternal twin Shazam and their friend Darryl 'G.I.' Jackson. For a long time, H-Town failed to find a break. They performed all kinds of g...

Hi-Five formed in 1990 in Waco, Texas and was comprised of members Tony Thompson, Roderick Clark, marcus Sanders, Russell Neal, and Toriano Easley. They were signed to Jive Records who helped them release their first alb...

Immature was created by record producer Chris Stokes. Its members were Marques 'Batman' Houston, Jerome 'Young Rome' Jones, and Kelton 'LDB' Kessee. All three of the group's members were born in 1981 and are native of Lo...

Jagged Edge formed in Atlanta, Georgia. The group is comprised of identical twins Brandon and Brian Casey, Kyle Norman and Richard Wingo, who was added by recommendation of Kandi Burruss of Xscape. Kandi took the group's...

The bad boy group Jodeci was made up of two sets of brothers: Cedric 'K-Ci' and Joel 'Jo Jo' Hailey and Dalvin and Donald 'DeVante Swing' DeGrate. All four members of the group had strong ties with the Pentecostal church...

Johnny Gill was born on May 22, 1966 in Washington, D.C. The son of a minister, Gill sang in a family gospel group at the age of five.

Gill began his solo career in 1983 when his friend, Stacy Lattisaw convince...

Jonathan 'Jon B' Buck was born in Rhode Island but raised in Pasadena, California. His grandparents owned a record store which guaranteed his immersion in music. He found himself especially listening to The Bee Gees, Ear...

Kut Klose was an R&B trio that formed in Atlanta, Georgia. The three females that made up the group were Athena Cage, Lavonn Battle and Tabitha Duncan. The girls were discovered by Keith Sweat who heavily produced their ...

Lauryn Hill was born in 1975 in New Jersey. She attended Columbus High School and was an active student, performing in talent shows. She acted in the TV show As The World Turns when sixteen, and had a role in Sister Act ...

LSG, short for LeVert, Sweat, Gill was an R&B trio comprised of Gerald LeVert, Keith Sweat and Johnny Gill. The group took three big names in R&B and merged them together into one. In order to get an idea of the impressiveness of the gro...

Luther Vandross Jr. was born in 1951 on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York. When Vandross was eight, his father died of diabetes. At thirteen, Vandross and his family moved to the Bronx. At roughly the same time,...

Mariah Carey was born in Long Island, New York to the former opera singer Patricia Hickey and Alfred Roy Carey. Her mother is Irish American and her father is of African-American and Venezuelan descent. The third and you...

Mario Winans was born in Orangeburg, South Carolina. He grew up in Detroit and is part of gospel music's Winan Family. Mario is the son of Marvin Winans and Vickie Winans and is the nephew of BeBe and CeCe Winans.

Mary J Blige was born in 1971 in the Bronx, New York. Mary's father left her family when she was only four years old, leaving her, her sister and their mother to fend for themselves. The family moved to Yonkers a few yea...

Maxwell is an R&B neo-soul singer who was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1973. Maxwell is actually the singer's middle name, but he has kept his first and last name private in order to protect his family. His father died ...

Michel'le Toussaint was born in 1970 and is most well-known for her hit single, 'No More Lies.' Michel'le is of Louisiana Creole heritage and got her start in the music industry when she was signed to Eazy-E's Ruthless R...

MoKenSef was a female R&B trio from Los Angeles, California. The group's name was based on the first syllables of each member's name: Monifa, Kenya and Stephanie.

The girls released a single album, Azz Izz in 1...

Monifah was raised in Spanish Harlem in Manhattan. Her family had a rich musical background and thus, encouraged her musical pursuits from an early age. Her mother would take her to audition for roles in musical theaters...

Next is comprised of R.L. Huggar, and brothers T-Low and Tweety and foremd in Minneapolis, Minnesota. R.L. met the brothers through their uncle who directed a gospel choir.

The group's debut album Rated Next wa...

Shirley Murdock started her career as a gospel singer in her birthplace, Toledo, Ohio. Her career started changing direction however as singer Roger Troutman hired Murdock as a backing singer for his family's band, Zapp....

Silk came out on the scene in 1992 and is comprised of members Timothy Cameron, Jimmy Gates Jr., Jonathen Rasboro, Gary Jenkins and Gary Glenn. The popular singer, Keith Sweat had been the one to discover the group.

Mark 'Sisqo' Andrews was born in Baltimore, Maryland and formed a group with friends that became known as Dru Hill. The group released two platinum LPs in the late 90s, in large part to the lead singer Sisqo's presentati...

Soul For Real formed in 1992 and was comprised of brothers Brian, Chris, Dre, and Jason Dalyrimple. Despite the time of the group's formation, the brothers had grown up singing together in church their entire life.

Special Generation was a quintet that started up as back-up singers for M.C. Hammer. After working with him on several recordings, they were signed to his Bust It Record label.

In 1990, the group released their...

Surface slowly formed over a long period of time as the group members met one another. Bernard Jackson moved from Stamford, Connecticut to live in New York with his cousin to pursue a music career. While touring the city...

SWV, or Sisters With Voices formed in 1990 as a group of three school friends. The group consisted of members Cheryl 'Coko' Gamble-Clemons (born 1974), Tamara 'Taj' Johnson-George (1974) and Leanne 'Lele...

Take 6 slowly took shape throughout the early to mid 1980s. It first began when Claude McKnight formed an a capella quartet, The Gentlemen's Estate Quartet, at Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama in 1980. The group be...

Tamia Washington-Hill was born in 1975 in Ontario, Canada. At the age of six, she began singing in church and by ten, had signed up to take vocal lessons. She aspired to be a vocal coach but during a chance trip to Los A...

Tevin Campbell was born in 1976 in Dallas, Texas. He first appeared on the scene in the hit single 'Tommorow (A Better You Better Me)' which was released in 1989 and reached #1 on the R&B charts in 1990. The single was t...

The Boys were comprised of the four Abdulsamad brothers, Khiry (born in 1973), Tajh (born in 1976), Hakim (born in 1975) and Bilal (born in 1978). The group started out singing in Carson, California. It initially was com...

The Good Girls formed in the late 80s in Los Angeles, California and was comprised of Joyce Tolbert, Shireen Crutchfield, and DeMonica Santiago. The group was signed to Motown Records and were groomed to be a new version...

The Rude Boys were comprised of Larry Marcus, Melvin Sephus, and brothers Edward Lee Banks and Joe Little III. The group was a new jack swing quartet that LeVert helped bring to public attention.

The group's fi...

TLC formed in 1991 and was originally called 2nd Nature. The group originated in Atlanta, Georgia and was originally comprised of Tionne 'T-Boz' Watkins, Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes and Crystal Jones.

In 1991, Jones ...

Today formed in 1988 as Motown's attempt at promoting a new Four Tops. The group was comprised of Frederick Lee 'Bubba' Drakeford, Larry Singletary, Wesley Adams and Larry McCain, childhood friends from Englewood, New Je...

Toni Braxton was born in 1966 in Severn, Maryland. She is the oldest of six children and went to Glen Burnie High School. Her father was a clergyman, and as such, Braxton's first experience was singing with a church choi...

Tony Thompson was born on September 2nd, 1975 in Waco, Texas. He grew up in Oklahoma City where he sang in the local church choir, doing solos by the age of eight.

Thompson eventually caught the attention of a ...

Tony! Toni! Tone! formed in Oakland, California and was composed of D'Wayne Wiggins on lead vocals and guitar, his brother Raphael Wiggins (Rapael Saadiq) on lead vocals and bass and cousin Timothy Christian on drums.

Total was an R&B trio comprised of members JaKima Raynor, Keisha Spivey and Pamela Long. The group was a part of Sean 'Puffy' Combs Bad Boy Records.

The groups first work together was backing Notorious B.I.G. T...

Tracie Spencer was born in 1976 in Waterloo, Iowa. She got her start in 1986 when she won the CBS television show Star Search. In the show, she sang Whitney Houston's 'How Will I Know.'

After winning the contes...

Troop formed in the late 80s in Pasadena, California. The group is comprised of childhood friends Steve russell, Allen McNeil, John Harreld, Rodney Benford and Reggie Warren. They got their first break into the industry ...

Usher Raymond IV was born in 1978 to parents Usher Raymond III and Jonetta Patton in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Raised by his mother, he moved to Atlanta Georgia as a child. Getting his start in the church choir, Usher bega...

Vesta Williams, known by most as Vesta, was born in 1963 in Coshocton, Ohio. Vesta is the daughter ofa disc jockey and so, got involved in music at an early age. She worked as a stand-up comic and as a...

The Whitehead Brothers are two brothers from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and are the sons of '70s singer John Whitehead. The group released their debut album Serious, in 1994 on Motown. The album scored hits with 'Your Lo...

Whitney Houston was born in 1963 in New Jersey. Her mother, first cousin (Dionne Warwick) and godmother (Aretha Franklin) were all established Gospel/R&B/Soul singers. At the age of eleven, Houston began performing as a ...

The group Xscape formed in the early 1990s and was composed of sisters LaTocha 'Meatball' (born in 1973) and Tamika 'Juicy' (1975) Scott, as well as Kandi Burruss (1976) and Tameka 'Tiny' Cottle (1975). The Scott sister'...