Bobby Brown was the heart and soul of it. Bobby Brown gave it – along with what Teddy Riley was doing, Bobby Brown gave it its motor, its heart. By the time Don’t Be Cruel had done 8, 9 million copies, that and the movie New Jack City made NJS THE music of its age. That was it. Bobby Brown and his performances – he was selling out arenas in an hour. And by the time he did "My Prerogative," - I saw him in Chicago on the Heart Break tour - by the time he got to "My Prerogative" it would be ridiculous. You couldn’t even hear the song at that point. It was really crazy.

I remember doing a piece on him for Spin Magazine, and I went around with him and we were at George’s Music Room – it was actually Regina Daniels' husband - George and Regina Daniels are the defacto managers of R. Kelly. He had a place called George’s Music Room somewhere on the South Side of Chicago. Bobby was there to sign autographs. They had about 10 cops out in front of this place. And in less than 20 minutes, and I’m not exaggerating, about 800 fans showed up. It scared me. It was frightening, because I was in the limo with Bobby and they started rocking the limo. The cops had to pull these girls off the car. It was really scary man. This guy was the Rolling Stones, he was The Beatles, he was, all of that wrapped up into one performer and he exemplified NJS like nobody else.

Teddy Riley and Guy definitely. But Bobby gave it a face, he gave it a heart, and he gave it that "umph" that was just crazy. He was like Elvis. He really was. That’s who I can compare him too. He was the Rolling Stones, he was The Beatles, he was Elvis all wrapped up into one. And he made New Jack Swing what it was at that time. You didn’t think about no other music. Hip-hop had to look to NJS. Pop had to look to NJS. R&B definitely had to look to NJS. Because of Bobby Brown. It was nuts man. So those were the people that I considered best represented NJS.

That interview was crazy. I really saw how complex this guy was. I interviewed him in New York. It was around the time of the Dirty Mind album, and I had just see him a few months to a year before at a place called The Bottom Line in the Village right across the street from New York University. And he came out with the long hair, and some cheetah-print bikini drawers, and his band did too. That’s when Dez Dickerson and Andre Cymone were in the band with him, and it was nuts man. He killed it.

And I remember the guy who was his opening act was Keenan Ivory Wayans. I’ll never forget that. And he almost looked like, and I hate to say this because he’ll probably snap on me later, but this is when he was going bald at the time, he almost looked like a tall, Bozo with a short afro, it was crazy. He was mad funny though. He did this whole joke about a Puerto Rican Soul Train, and had the whole audience doubled over, including myself.

So he opens for Prince, and Prince kills it, so I remember going to the Voice, pitching the a piece about it to them, but I think they had assigned it to Greg Tate, so I went to Soho News Weekly, and they wanted me to start doing some writing for them anyway. They gave me the assignment it was called "Prince of Darkness," and I’ll never forget the piece. When the story ran, they had cut out certain parts to make him look almost sinister, but he’s not that at all. Prince is a funny dude, he was really comical. I remember he was wearing the raincoat, and he had a very serious look on his face when I asked him,

"On one of your songs, "Sister," are you talking about having sex with your own sister?"

So he answers with a gasface/scewface on, "maybe that voice came from the other side."

So I busted out laughing in his face. And he said, turn the tape recorder off. And he fell on the floor and rolled with laughter. Then he says, "don’t ever tell anybody I did that," and then he said, "cut the tape back on."

And then he went back to the gas face/screwface on.

So it was an act, that was his shtick, being this weird guy. But he was a normal dude man, and so nice and gracious. That’s an interview that stuck out. And I gave him one of these small Bibles, it had Psalms, Proverbs, and the New Testament and he said, "wow, thank you," and shook my hand so tight. I’ll never forget that.

And then Nelson George – we’ve been friends for a long time – he came to me about two weeks later, and said "you know there’s a guy doing a book on Prince and he wants to talk to you."

And I said, “oh really?” and he told me that Prince has asked about me.

"What about that fat guy with the glasses?" Prince asked the writer backstage during his first appearance on Saturday Night Live. "I like that guy, what’s his name again?"

"What about that fat guy with the glasses?"

Nice article.


I always suspected most of Prince's early persona was a put on.
There's no way they'd let a weird Black man run around loose without being...



...properly attired.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

Damn, so Keene was out touring before Damon. I thought it was the other way around, since Damon was on Saturday Night Live in the mid 80's.

LittleBLUECorvette said:

Keenan is the oldest and got the rest started in the biz.

How are they talking about B. Brown being the heart and soul for the 80s and then along with R Kelly and Teddy for the 80s, when they bascially blew it up for the 90s?

How are they talking about B. Brown being the heart and soul for the 80s and then along with R Kelly and Teddy for the 80s, when they bascially blew it up for the 90s?

LittleBLUECorvette said:

Keenan is the oldest and got the rest started in the biz.

StoneCrib said:

Hey man, you changed your avatar. I'm gonna miss that bare ass jumping out at me whenever MJ's being slagged off.

StoneCrib said:

he not talking about the 80's he is saying Bobby Brown was the heart N Soul of New Jack Swing

krazykid18 said:

Oh ok, so the excerpt you posted had nothing to do with 80s music.

And the heart & soul of NJS was Guy, Bobby Brown only had 1 real NJS song. Guy introduced us to the many nuances of NJS, not B. Brown.

StoneCrib said:

Bobby Brown was the face of the movement, and the Superstar who brought it to the masses, Stonecrib did you read the article

krazykid18 said:

No, I didnt read the article, just the excerpt, and B Brown wasn't the face of New Jack Swing, if that's what the writer is suggesting. The face & superstar of NJS was Teddy Riley/Guy. In fact, the argument can be made that the face of NJS was Al B., Johnny Kemp, and Keith Sweat before you can say Bobby Brown.
[Edited 5/31/06 16:15pm]

StoneCrib said:

Keith Sweat was the voice, but Bobby was the one who got a big #1 pop hit out of the sound,and many people started getting into the music of NJS when bobby blew up

krazykid18 said:

Well, we'll have to definitely disagree there then, especially when "I Want Her" was a smash hit for Keith Sweat in 1987...a full year before before B Brown was back on the scene in a relevant way.

StoneCrib said:

we cant agree to diagree, we have to keep argueing

but yeah probably right, i was only 2 in 1988, so i shouldn't talk, but Barry Michael Cooper is probably saying like how big Bobby was in 89, was crazy

krazykid18 said:

Damn, did he just say "2" LOL! Now I feel older than Keith Richards!

StoneCrib said:

but aslong as u dont look like keith richard, who looks older than dirt, than your good

TotalAlisa said:

LOL, he spoke the truth about Bobby Brown thats why, but what is good my hamster loving friend

krazykid18 said:

No, I didnt read the article, just the excerpt, and B Brown wasn't the face of New Jack Swing, if that's what the writer is suggesting. The face & superstar of NJS was Teddy Riley/Guy. In fact, the argument can be made that the face of NJS was Al B., Johnny Kemp, and Keith Sweat before you can say Bobby Brown.
[Edited 5/31/06 16:15pm]

StoneCrib said:

You should read the article. I'm a huge Guy fan, but I'm going to agree with Barry Michael Cooper (the man who coined the term "new jack swing"). He's not trying to take anything away from Teddy.

AlexdeParis said:

Ok, I read it....

I also want a verification that HE coined the phrase "New Jack Swing." If it's in that article I missed it.

But he's going off his own recollections and the fact that he COMPLETELY omitted Keith Sweat from his list of New Jack Artists let's me know he was just poppin' yang because someone found him relevant. There's no way B. Brown was the face of New Jack Swing. Never. When you think of New Jack Swing, Teddy Riley is the FIRST and ONLY face that comes to mind. BMC is blowin' bullshit.

At long last, NJS4E is very proud to present the conclusion of our interview with Barry Michael Cooper, the man who coined the term "New Jack Swing," co-wrote the screenplay to New Jack City, and is coming back with a biography on Uptown Records Founder & CEO Andre Harrell.

Keith Sweat absolutely. Keith Sweat was the voice of New Jack Swing. In addition to Aaron Hall, Keith Sweat was the first voice that we heard in terms of bringing New Jack Swing to the forefront.