In just three short years, Boyz II Men will have released their first album thirty years ago. Time flies when even now, they are the most commercially successful R&B vocal group of all time. They’ve somewhat fallen out of sorts with mainstream audiences but they haven’t stopped making music. They’ve continued to release albums, tour, and collaborate with other artists and make other appearances despite not carrying the global appeal that they used to. Though none of that is relevant, they’ll always be held in high esteem amongst music fans and their peers in the industry. From the moment they released II, this was destined to be.
1994 was the year the world would come to know the dynamic squad known as Boyz II Men. Full of soul, exceptional harmonies, rich lyricism, and memorable solos, the group came into the music scene with II to a warm reception from fans and musicians alike. The album was home to multiple hits that landed them at the top of the charts and off to a running start in their career. The album would result in them further dominating the 90s R&B genre with multiple hits, sell out tours, numerous follow up albums and critical acclaim from the industry’s most notable pundits. II was certainly the start of something wonderful that has only gotten better as time has gone by.
II to this day is a fierce album with very few flaws. It’s a blend of upbeat hip hop and smooth vocally led love tracks. Each song had a quality about it that made it stand out, but the album had three among the rest that qualified as major hits. I’ll Make Love To You is one such hit, a timeless love song. The group sings about sex in its purest form, absent the crass nature that much of hip hop would go on to use to describe sexuality in the years to come after. On Bended Knee rivals this track, powerfully vocally supported, the lyrics indicative of lost love and the hopes of rekindling it. Water Runs Dry graced radios as a stand-alone hit as well, differing from the two prior mentioned as the song is about trying to maintain love that’s already there, the primary focus on not letting the fire burn out. These three smashes set the tone for the group that would only go on to elevate them to new heights as musicians.
II along with the rest of their past and current collection is on Spotify and YouTube.
The saying “they just don’t make them like they used to” would accurately apply to Boyz II Men. There will always be pop stars, and vocal groups are a dime a dozen. There was just something they had that others have yet to produce in any sort of similarity. Their harmonies, falsettos, presence, even the way they carried themselves, their swagger; the group was and is truly one in a million. II along with the rest of their past and current collection is on Spotify and YouTube. Feel free to take a trip back in time.
