Bell Biv Devoe

As members of the teenage R&B vocal group New Edition [see entry], Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, and Ronnie DeVoe kept fairly low profiles, leaving the limelight to singers Ralph Tresvant and Bobby Brown, and later Johnny Gill. But when Brown went solo in 1986, Bell, Bivins, and DeVoe began thinking about pursuing their own separate paths together. Two years later - with some prodding from prominent hip-hop producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis - Bell Biv DeVoe was born, and the fierce, provocative pop funk it eventually unleashed on the charts marked a dramatic departure from New Edition's wholesome image.

On New Edition’s last studio album, 1988’s Heartbreak, Bell, Bivins, and DeVoe had worked with Jam and Lewis, who had crafted for them a harder-edged, more urban sound. As a subsequent tour wrapped, the producers approached the three singers with the idea for Bell Biv DeVoe. The trio then enlisted various hip-hop savants - including Public Enemy producers Hank and Keith Shocklee - to write and produce material for its debut album. Released in 1990, Poison featured streetsmart, rap-tinged arrangements and sexually suggestive lyrics. Its title track, a slamming slice of misogyny, topped the R&B chart and became a #3 pop hit. The album itself shot to #5 pop and #1 R&B that year and included “Do Me!” (#3 pop, #4 R&B), “B.B.D. (I Thought It Was Me)” (#1 R&B), and “When Will I See You Smile Again?” (#3 R&B).

In 1991 the group had a #9 R&B single, “She’s Dope!” Later that year Bell Biv DeVoe released WBBD-Bootcity! The Remix Album (#18 pop and R&B). In 1992 the trio reappeared on the singles chart with “Gangsta” (#21 pop, #22 R&B, 1993), an unlikely collaboration with smooth soul singer Luther Vandross. Bell Biv DeVoe released its third album, Hootie Mack, in 1993 (#19 pop, #6 R&B), which yielded the single “Something in Your Eyes” (#38 pop, #6 R&B, 1993).

from The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001)