''Blackstreet'' is the debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

from

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

R&B group

Blackstreet Blackstreet (often stylized as BLACKstreet) is an American R&B group founded in 1991 by record producers Chauncey "Black" Hannibal, and Teddy "Street" Riley. The group has released four albums with Interscope Records until 2003. They achieved ...

, released in 1994 on

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner ...

. The group was formed by Riley with Chauncey Hannibal after the dissolution of Teddy Riley's former group Guy. The other members of Blackstreet - Joseph Stonestreet and Levi Little - were session singers alongside Hannibal on

Bobby Brown Robert Barisford Brown (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Brown, alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, is noted as one of the pioneers of new jack swing: a fusion of hip hop and R&B. Brown started h ...

's third album ''

Bobby Bobby or Bobbie may refer to: People * Bobby (given name), a list of names * Bobby (actress), from Bangladesh * Bobby (rapper) (born 1995), from South Korea * Bobby (screenwriter) (born 1983), Indian screenwriter * Bobby, old slang for a constabl ...

'', an album that was mostly produced by Riley. They recorded one song for the soundtrack of the

Chris Rock Christopher Julius Rock (born February 7, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and filmmaker. Known for his work in comic film, television and stage, he has received multiple accolades, including three Grammy Awards for best come ...

film ''

CB4 ''CB4'' is a 1993 American satirical comedy film directed by Tamra Davis and starring Chris Rock. The film follows a fictional rap group named "CB4", named after the prison block in which the group was allegedly formed (Cell Block 4). The movie ...

'' called "Baby Be Mine". Before they could record an album, Stonestreet left the group and was replaced by former Force One Network singer Dave Hollister. When they re-recorded "Baby Be Mine" for their self-titled debut, Hollister's vocals were added on the album version of the song. Hip hop producer

Erick Sermon Erick Sermon (born November 25, 1968) is an American rapper, musician, and record producer. He is best known as one-third—alongside PMD & DJ Scratch—of 1980s/1990s hip hop group EPMD and for his production work. Career Sermon started prof ...

co-produced the first single "Booti Call", which was a response to the rape trial and conviction of professional boxer

Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "The Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson is con ...

at the time of the album's release. Riley, who was a close friend of Tyson, referenced his incarceration in the album's liner notes: ''and to our main man Mike Tyson "we can't wait"''.Blackstreet - Blackstreet (CD liner notes). Interscope Records. 92351-2 The song's opening was done by stand up comedian

Bill Bellamy William Bellamy (born April 7, 1965) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. Bellamy first gained national notoriety on HBO's Russell Simmons' ''Def Comedy Jam'', where he is credited for creating or coining the phrase "booty call", descri ...

, who popularized his infamous saying on an episode of Russell Simmons' ''

Def Comedy Jam ''Def Comedy Jam'' is an HBO television series produced by Russell Simmons. The series had its original run from March 7, 1992 to May 2, 1997. Simmons was inspired to make Def Comedy Jam by The Uptown Comedy Club in Harlem, New York and Jerry L ...

''. The second single "Before I Let You Go" was released with a music video that featured appearances by actors

Omar Epps Omar Hashim Epps (born July 20, 1973) is an American actor, rapper, and producer. He has been awarded nine NAACP Image Awards, two Teen Choice Awards, one MTV Movie Award, one Black Reel Award, and one Screen Actors Guild Award. Epps's film r ...

and

Shari Headley Shari Headley (born July 15, 1964) is an American actress and former model. She is best known for her role as Lisa McDowell in the 1988 box-office hit romantic comedy film ''Coming to America'' and its sequel '' Coming 2 America'' (2021). Headley ...

. Also on the album is former member of

The Sylvers The Sylvers were an American R&B family vocal group from Watts, Los Angeles, California. The Sylvers were a popular act during the 1970s, recording the hit singles "Fool's Paradise", " Boogie Fever", and " Hot Line". Prior to becoming the Syl ...

songwriter and producer

Leon Sylvers III Leon Frank Sylvers III (born March 7, 1953, Memphis, Tennessee) is an American singer, songwriter, disc-jockey, record producer and multi-instrumentalist. He was a member of the family group The Sylvers and became one of the most successful pr ...

, who collaborated with Riley on the writing and production of several songs on the album. Riley's proteges

The Neptunes The Neptunes are an American songwriting and production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provides additional vocals on records and appears in the duo's music videos ...

make one of their earliest appearances on ''Blackstreet'' as well, with Pharrell Williams and

Chad Hugo Charles Edward Hugo (born February 24, 1974) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter. With close friend Pharrell Williams, he formed the production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he has prod ...

receiving a co-writing and assistant producer credit on the song " Tonight's the Night", while Hugo plays the

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

on the ballad "Happy Home". Singer

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

helped with the composition of "Joy"- a song that was originally intended for Jackson's 1991 album ''

Dangerous Dangerous may refer to: Film and television * ''Dangerous'' (1935 film), an American film starring Bette Davis * '' Dangerous: The Short Films'', a 1993 collection of music videos by Michael Jackson * ''Dangerous'' (2021 film), a Canadian-Ameri ...

''. ''Blackstreet'' would be the first and last album with members Hollister and Little, who left the group at the end of 1995. 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 Sabrina may refer to: * Sabrina (given name), a feminine given name, including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name People * Sabrina (actress), stage name of Norma Ann Sykes (1936–2016), a British glamour model and actres ...

'', but it does not appear on the film's soundtrack.

Release and reception

The album peaked at fifty-two on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 and reached the seventh spot on the

R&B Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated J ...

chart. The album was certified platinum by April 1995. While Stanton Swihart of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

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."

Track listing

* Songwriting and production credits adapted from liner notes.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Singles

"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Personnel

Information taken from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

. *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

References

External links

* *
Blackstreet
' at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the ...

{{Authority control 1994 debut albums Albums produced by Erick Sermon Albums produced by Teddy Riley Blackstreet albums Interscope Records albums