II D Extreme was an American

new jack swing New jack swing, new jack, or swingbeat is a fusion genre of the rhythms and production techniques of hip hop and dance-pop, and the urban contemporary sound of R&B. Spearheaded by producers Teddy Riley, Bernard Belle, Jimmy Jam and Te ...

R&B group from the early 1990s that included D'Extra Wiley, Randy Gill (

Johnny Gill Johnny Gill Jr. (born May 22, 1966) is an American singer and songwriter. He is the sixth and final member of the R&B/ pop group New Edition and was also a member of the supergroup called LSG, with Gerald Levert and Keith Sweat. Gill has rel ...

's brother) and Jermaine Mickey. They are known for the song "Cry No More", and their covers of " Up on the Roof" and the

Gap Band The Gap Band was an American R&B and funk band that rose to fame during the 1970s and 1980s. The band consisted of three brothers: Charlie, Ronnie, and Robert Wilson, along with other members; it was named after streets (Greenwood, Archer, a ...

's "

Outstanding "Outstanding" is a song originally performed by the Gap Band and written by member Raymond Calhoun. The song originally appeared on the group's platinum-selling 1982 album ''Gap Band IV''. It is one of their signature songs and biggest hits, rea ...

". Their personal manager was Freda Mays. Alex Henderson, writing for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, described their sophomore album as a fusion of "

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

-type production with a healthy appreciation of the 1970s

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

belting of

Donny Hathaway Donny Edward Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, backing vocalist, and arranger who ''Rolling Stone'' described as a "soul legend". His most popular songs include " The Ghetto" ...

and L.T.D. The album is more melodic than rap-focused with Two D Extreme "assert ngitself in the production style". Henderson characterized vocal delivery as "gospel-influenced". He summed up some of the songs on the record as not "terribly original or very distinctive", nevertheless "sincere and soulful". "Cry No More" charted in September 1993, peaking at No. 48 in ''

Billboard Charts The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ' ...

''.

History

Discography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2 D Extreme American hip-hop groups MCA Records artists Musical groups established in 1993 American contemporary R&B musical groups New jack swing music groups Musical groups disestablished in 1996 Musical groups from Washington, D.C.