By 1989, New Edition was effectively on ice, post-Heart Break. Former member Bobby Brown had gone from a seeming has-been to a legitimate challenger to Michael Jackson's pop throne overnight, newcomer Johnny Gill's tenure in the group revived his solo career, and Ralph Tresvant was also preparing his own solo debut; leaving Ricky Bell, Mike Bivins, and Ronnie DeVoe to their own devices. Then came a chance suggestion from super-producers Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis to form their own group, and create their own distinct sound.
Thus began Bell Biv DeVoe, the most successful spinoff act from New Edition next to Bobby Brown. Signing on with longtime New Edition label MCA, the group hit the ground running with their debut album Poison in 1990. With the help of Public Enemy's famed "Bomb Squad", Timmy Gatling, Dr. Freeze, and many others, the album introduced a rawer, denser, and more hip-hop slanted take on New Jack Swing, preceding Jodeci's own Hip Hop Soul sound by a year. The album reached the top five of the Billboard 200, and quickly went quadruple platinum; spinning off several successful singles on the Hot 100, including the title track. The next year, the group released WBBD-Bootcity!: The Remix Album, which contained "Word to the Mutha!", a posse cut that reunited New Edition on record; including Bobby Brown, who was kicked out the group five years prior.
In-between BBD's success, Mike Bivins began managing other R&B acts, and groomed them into international superstars; most notably Boyz II Men. Bivins' success would lead to him forming the record label Biv 10 Records with Motown as a joint venture, and BBD would quickly become a part of it.
After Poison, BBD would switch out Dr. Freeze and the Bomb Squad as producers for Babyface, L.A. Reid, Chris Stokes, and numerous others for their 1993 follow-up, Hootie Mack. A more Gangsta Rap-influenced album than their debut, the album was a commercial failure in comparison to their debut, only going Gold, and it put the brakes on BBD's momentum. In 1996, the group reunited with the rest of New Edition for a new album and tour, but nobody was on the same page, thanks to everyone's individual successes going to their heads, and both Bell and Brown struggling with drug problems. By 1997, tensions within New Edtion had reached a point to where Brown and Ronnie DeVoe got into an onstage fistfight in New Mexico, leading to the show getting shut down after their security guards escalated the situation by pulling guns out. Bivins would leave the tour not long after, though Bell and DeVoe would finish the tour with Gil and Tresvant.
in 2001, BBD reunited, and released their third self-titled album. A commercial and chart failure, the group was dropped from Universal Records, and would rejoin New Edition a couple years later. In 2016, the group would make a grand return on record with a new single, "Run", before releasing Three Stripes the next year. Currently, BBD continues to tour as a part of New Edition. The rise of BBD is chronicled in the third episode of The New Edition Story miniseries.
Discography:
- Poison (1990)
- Hootie Mack (1993)
- BBD (2001)
- Three Stripes (2017)
Songs of Note:
- "Poison"
- "Do Me!"
- "B.B.D. (I Thought It was Me?)"
- "When Will I See You Smile Again?"
- "Dope!" (aka "She's Dope!)
- "Word to the Mutha!" (a New Edition reunion posse cut)
- "The Best Things in Life Are Free" (With Janet Jackson, Luther Vandross, and Ralph Tresvant)
- "Gangsta"
- "Above the Rim"
- "Something in Your Eyes"
- "Da Hot Shit"
- "Run"
- "Finally"
- "I'm Betta"
- "Outta My Mind" (with Busta Rhymes)
These tropes are poison:
- Gold Digger: The unnamed woman in "Poison" is a very pointed example. Producer Dr. Freeze wrote the song about an ex-girlfriend of his at the time who took advantage of him.
- Impossibly Tacky Clothes: In the video for "Poison", Ronnie openly asks who gave him a goofy-print shirt to wear during a fourth-wall breaking segment, and goes off to complain to the director.
- Misogyny Song: "Poison". As mentioned above, the song's writer and producer made it after a rather nasty breakup, and it shows; especially in the rap bridges:
- "Poison, deadly, movin' in slow
Lookin for a mellow fellow like DeVoe
Gettin paid, laid, so better lay low
Schemin' on house, money, and the whole show
The low pro ho should be cut like an Afro
So what'cha sayin', huh? she's a winner to you
But I know she's a loser (How do you know?)
Me and the crew used to do her!"
- New Jack Swing: What made BBD stand out among others in the genre was their heavier rap slant, using beats that wouldn't be out of place on a Public Enemy album; though it helped that Poison actually had PE's Bomb Squad on board.
- "The time was 6 o'clock on the Swatch watch
No time to chill, got a date
Can't be late
Hey, the girl is gonna do me
Move to the jacuzzi
Ooh that booty
Smack it up, flip it, rub it down, oh no..."
