Portrait is an American R&B and hip hop

vocal quartet In music, a quartet or quartette (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers; or a musical composition for four voices and instruments. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations ...

, consisting of members Michael Angelo Saulsberry, Irving Washington III, Eric Kirkland and Philip Johnson. The quartet group's music sound was influenced by the

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 and Bernard Belle, new jack swing was mos ...

style of the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Career

The group, which hailed from

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

debuted in 1992 with a self-titled

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

riding on the end of the

era. Their debut single "Here We Go Again!", which sampled Michael Jackson's ''

Off the Wall ''Off the Wall'' is the fifth studio album by American singer Michael Jackson, released on August 10, 1979, by Epic Records. It was Jackson's first album released through Epic Records, the label he recorded under until his death in 2009, and t ...

'' track "I Can't Help It", reached #11 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #3 on the

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

in early 1993, and the second single "Honey Dip" also reached the R&B top 20. The group was featured in an episode of ''

Family Matters ''Family Matters'' is an American television sitcom that debuted on ABC on September 22, 1989, and ended on May 9, 1997. However it moved to CBS, where it was shown from September 19, 1997, to July 17, 1998. A spin-off of '' Perfect Strangers ...

'', titled "Stormy Weather", performing "

Here We Go Again! ''Here We Go Again!'' is an album by American folk music group the Kingston Trio, released in 1959 (see 1959 in music). It was one of the four the Trio would have simultaneously in Billboard's Top 10 albums during the year. It spent eight weeks at ...

". In that episode, they were performing at a high school prom, where Waldo mentions that he got them to do it because one of the members happens to be his cousin—Waldo adds that his cousin says he'll do whatever Waldo asks him to do as long as he doesn't tell people that they're related. Although

Steve Urkel Steven Quincy Urkel is a fictional character on the American ABC/ CBS sitcom ''Family Matters'', portrayed by Jaleel White. Originally slated to be a one-time-only character on the show, he broke out to be its most popular character and gradual ...

ends up correctly guessing which of the members is Waldo's cousin. Throughout 1993 and 1994, Portrait could be heard lending their voices to various projects, appearing on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

s to the

movies A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

, ''

Addams Family Values ''Addams Family Values'' is a 1993 American supernatural black comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and written by Paul Rudnick, based on the characters created by Charles Addams. It is the sequel to '' The Addams Family'' (1991). The fil ...

'' and ''

Blankman ''Blankman'' is a 1994 American superhero comedy parody film directed by Mike Binder and starring Damon Wayans and David Alan Grier. It was written by Wayans and J. F. Lawton. Plot As kids, Darryl and Kevin Walker grew up as fans of the te ...

'', as well as singing on the

Black Men United Black Men United (B.M.U.) was a collaboration of many African-American male contemporary R&B, R&B, neo soul and soul music artists. Their only song "U Will Know", written by a young D'Angelo, was released in 1994. It was featured in the film ''Jas ...

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

, "U Will Know" for the '' Jason's Lyric Soundtrack''. Portrait also provided

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

on the

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

single "Slow Jams", which featured

Babyface Babyface or Baby Face can refer to: Nicknames * Lester Joseph Gillis a.k.a. Baby Face Nelson, an infamous 1930s bank robber * Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette (1933–1971), an American hard bop and soul-jazz musician * "Baby Face", Jimmy McLarnin ...

and

Tamia Tamia Marilyn Washington Hill (born May 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and producer. Born and raised in Windsor, Ontario, Tamia performed in various singing and dancing competitions as a child. In 1994, after signing a development de ...

on lead vocals, in 1995. The song reached #68 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Also in 1995, the group released their second album, '' All That Matters''. The album had a few minor hits, with "I Can Call You" reaching #22 on the R&B charts and " How Deep Is Your Love", a

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

of the

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the disco music era in ...

song, briefly appearing on the Hot 100. In 2018, the group returned as a trio consisting of Michael Angelo Saulsberry, Phillip Johnson, and new member Ruben "R.C." Monge (former lead singer of R&B band ''Po' Broke 'N Lonely?'') with a new single entitled "In The Moment" off of their forthcoming project entitled "Beach Music" which landed them opportunities to tour in Germany and the United Kingdom respectively.

Discography

Albums

Compilation albums

Singles

Featured singles

References

External links

Portrait BioBillboard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Portrait (group) American contemporary R&B musical groups American boy bands Musical groups from Los Angeles Musical groups established in 1991 New jack swing music groups