Blaque

The R&B trio Blaque (an acronym for "Believe, Life, Achieving, Quest, Unity and Everything") comprised singers Shamari, Natina and Brandi. Discovered by TLC's Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, their self-titled debut LP was released on Columbia's Trackmasters imprint in mid-1999. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide

Blacktop Mourning

Chicago's Blacktop Mourning features Max Steger (songwriter/guitar), Joe Levand (bass), Jon Meredith (drums), and Marty James Abezetian (vocals). The punk-pop outfit formed in 2004. For the next two years, Blacktop Mourning honed their infectious and melodic rock sound, playing shows in and around Chicago, and writing material for their debut album. Guitarist Shawn Nystrand joined the group during this time, adding to the band's energetic live show. Blacktop Mourning's eponymous debut, produced by Doug McBride (Fall Out Boy, Veruca Salt, Rachael Yamagata), was self-released in early 2006. Songs such as "Another Day," "As Time Crawls By," and "Hardly Recognize" were also featured in an episode of MTV's Meet the Barkers, a reality show following the family life of blink-182's Travis Barker and wife Shanna Moakler.

Blackstreet

One of the top R&B vocal groups of the '90s, Blackstreet was founded by singer, producer, and new jack swing pioneer Teddy Riley after the breakup of his seminal trio Guy. Riley had taken a few years to concentrate on his booming production career, which saw him working with Wreckx-N-Effect, Bobby Brown, Michael Jackson, and SWV, among others. His itch to get back in the performing arena resulted in the formation of Blackstreet in 1994, which included singers Chauncey "Black" Hannibal, Levi Little, and Joe Stonestreet in addition to Riley. Stonestreet was replaced by Dave Hollister prior to the recording of the group's self-titled debut album, which appeared in the spring of 1994. On the strength of "Before I Let You Go," a Top Five hit on the R&B charts, Blackstreet was a platinum-selling hit even without much crossover exposure. Two more singles from the album, "Booti Call" and "Joy," were minor hits as well.

Hollister subsequently left for a solo career and Little exited as well; their replacements were Mark Middleton and Eric Williams. The new additions helped set the stage for Blackstreet's pop breakthrough with 1996's Another Level. More specifically, it was the inescapable smash single "No Diggity," which featured special guest Dr. Dre, that put them over the top. "No Diggity" reigned for four weeks on top of the pop charts and won a Grammy for Best R&B Vocal by a Duo or Group; it also pushed sales of Another Level past the four million mark. The follow-up single, "Don't Leave Me," was a decent-sized hit in 1997, and the group later made a guest appearance on Jay-Z's "The City Is Mine" and teamed with Mya and Mase for the hit "Take Me There" from the Rugrats soundtrack. More personnel shifts had ensued following their blockbuster success, however: Middleton left for his own solo career and was replaced by Terrell Phillips.

Blackstreet's third album, Finally, was released in early 1999, and though it contained "Take Me There" (and a bevy of guest cameos), it spent only one week in the Top Ten. The group's commercial momentum had slowed in the intervening years, and Finally struggled to go gold. Tensions within the group and with their label, Interscope, ran high, and a rift between Hannibal and Riley spelled the end of the road for Blackstreet before the year was even out. Reports surfaced in early 2000 that Hannibal had sued Riley for two million dollars, but after Riley filed a countersuit, Hannibal denied that he had ever taken legal action and the matter was dropped. Riley recorded a reunion album with Guy in 2000, and subsequently began working on material for his first solo record. However, he had second thoughts about disbanding Blackstreet, and patched things up with Hannibal; Middleton and Williams returned to restore the Another Level lineup, and Riley's solo project became a Blackstreet reunion. The resulting album, Level II, was released in early 2003. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide

The Blackout Pact

Hailing from Denver, Colorado, The Blackout Pact formed in early summer of 2003 as a response to most of its members being kicked out of their former bands. Drawing from influences as diverse as Hot Water Music, Small Brown Bike, Alkaline Trio, The Lawrence Arms and Murder City Devils, The Blackout Pact play uncompromising, melodic and gritty rock 'n' roll. The six-piece consists of singer Mike Herrera, drummer Wisam Alshaibi, bassist Billy Jo Bailey, guitarists Joe Ramirez and Ian Johnsen, as well as tour manager and "spiritual advisor" Seth Piracci.

In March of 2004, the group moved to New York City with the hopes of signing to a major label. After hard times, the band came upon a chance meeting with Geoff Rickly, frontman of revered post-hardcore quartet Thursday. Rickly was so impressed with their brand of raw, powerful rock music that he offered to produce their debut album. As a result, The Blackout Pact signed with Astromagnetics in October 2004, and their full-length debut Hello Sailor was released in September 2005.

Blackalicious

Like a few other West Coast rap acts, including the Pharcyde and Jurassic 5, Blackalicious has generally favored what hip-hoppers call the "positive tip"; in other words, its lyrics have often been spiritual and uplifting rather than violent or misogynous. Like a lot of experimental alternative rappers, Blackalicious can be quirky and eccentric; nonetheless, spirituality is a big part of the group's music. Although Blackalicious wasn't formed until the early '90s, its members had known each other since the late '80s. Founding members Gift of Gab (Timothy Parker) and Chief Xcel (Xavier Mosley) first met in Sacramento, CA, in 1987 when they were students at John F. Kennedy High School. Neither of them was originally from Sacramento; DJ/producer Xcel (who was going by DJ IceSki at the time) was a native of the San Francisco Bay Area, while rapper Gift of Gab was from Los Angeles' suburban San Fernando Valley.

The two went their separate ways after Gift of Gab (also known as Gabby T) graduated from Kennedy High in 1989, but they were reunited in Davis, CA, in 1992. By that time, Xcel had become a student at the University of California at Davis and the Gift of Gab had moved to Davis to form Blackalicious with him. UC Davis was where Xcel had started working with a hip-hop crew named SoleSides, whose members included DJ Shadow, Lateef the Truth Speaker, and Lyrics Born. SoleSides Records was the name of the SoleSides Crew's Northern California record company and in 1994, that label released Blackalicious' debut single "Swan Lake." Although not a triple-platinum smash, the single was a small underground hit that fared well among alternative rap audiences. The following year, SoleSides Records released a Blackalicious EP titled Melodica. By late 1997, SoleSides Records had transformed into Quannum Records, and in 1999, Quannum put out another Blackalicious EP, A2G.

In 2000, Quannum released the group's full-length debut Nia (whose title is the Swahili word for purpose). After being together eight years, Blackalicious finally signed with a major label when, in late 2000, the Californians were added by MCA. In April 2002, Quannum/MCA released Blazing Arrow, which boasted guest appearances ranging from vocalist Zack de la Rocha (of Rage Against the Machine) to the Roots' ?uestlove to veteran soul singer Gil Scott-Heron. After the requisite tour, both Xcel and Gab began developing solo material; Quannum released both Maroons' Ambush (Chief Xcel with Latyrx's Lateef the Truth Speaker) as well as a Gift of Gab solo LP, Fourth Dimensional Rocketships Going Up. The pair returned in 2005 for their third album, The Craft, with a contract in hand from the Anti- label. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide