How did Ernie feel about the Mr. Bigs character?

I really liked Down Low & love the video.. hell i like friend of mine, contagious & sort of like busted. But after that they way overdid with the bigs character...

And the album that is called The Isley Brothers featuring Mr. Bigs lawd.

The sole spotlight was on Ronald and i guess the song & video re-invented the brothers career he wanted to stick to it?

Do you feel this hurt or helped his career playing the bigs character?

It helped his career, but the music suffered in the process.

Granted, at least he can do whatever the hell he wants to do, at least we have their back catalog to fall back to.

But wish Erine could do more solo albums. Last time I saw them, he went MENTAL on the axe

No doubt, Ron Isley is a legendary singer and the Mr. Bigs thing was fun at first, but after a while he was looking more like the "older guy who's trying to mack all the young women". It got boring and irritating.

I think it helped put the Isley's back on the map during that time, but to keep going on and on with it, like I said, it got boring after a while.

He shat on his career with that nonsense imo.

rdhull said:

He shat on his career with that nonsense imo.

I'm inclined to agree with you. I think he shat on his legacy, not his career.

duccichucka said:

rdhull said:

He shat on his career with that nonsense imo.

I'm inclined to agree with you. I think he shat on his legacy, not his career.

That's what I meant, yeah, legacy.

From Fight The Power to ..Mr Biggs....Kelly turning him to a 60 year old gangsterpimp..gawd.

They looked and sounded a little different, but I liked the song.

It helped introduce them to a new audience but the music suffered

after Contagious. Ronald started to play himself with the character

too. What the fuck was he doing wearing a Celtics jersey with a mink

coat on in the Busted video. Notice when he did the solo album with

Burt Bacharach he dropped the Mr Bigs moniker. He know Burt wasn't

having that shit in the studio.

It was cool at first, but then it got pathetic.

He's in videos in Fur Coats and Basketball jerseys like some rapper.

phunkdaddy said:

It helped introduce them to a new audience but the music suffered

after Contagious. Ronald started to play himself with the character

too. What the fuck was he doing wearing a Celtics jersey with a mink

coat on in the Busted video. Notice when he did the solo album with

Burt Bacharach he dropped the Mr Bigs moniker. He know Burt wasn't

having that shit in the studio.

Harlepolis said:

It helped his career, but the music suffered in the process.

Granted, at least he can do whatever the hell he wants to do, at least we have their back catalog to fall back to.

But wish Erine could do more solo albums. Last time I saw them, he went MENTAL on the axe

I think it only helped it temporarily. If shit hop EVER finally goes out of style, when people look back at their entire body of work, that era is going to be talked about severely.

Actually, some of it has already started. I've been to an Isley Brothers concert at a casino a few hours away. I went with some friends and I drank in the back seat all the way up there and also up in the concert. After awhile, I had to piss and the restroom was clear on the other side of the casino. I finally got my chance when he started performing some of that Mr. Bigg bullshit. I went to the restroom and then up to the bar to get another drink. When I got to the bar, there was a line from HELL. Damn near everyone had waited for him to perform that shit so they could take a restroom break and get another drink. There was hardly anyone in the seating area. And when he ended the Mr. Bigg shit, everyone rushed back into the room like a stampede of cattle.

I doubt they complained. It made them popular with the kids, which is probably is what they wanted anyway. And money, can't forget that.

I think Ron's retired from the character though.

Ernie was all for it. Kellz told a story about how both Ron and Ernie came to his studio in Miami for a hit. They were literally begging him and Ernie was so adamant that he snapped at Kellz just because he said that he was busy at the moment. Kellz told Ernie and Ron to wait outside but they wanted that hit on the spot, lol. They just left and went to the airport to catch a flight and between that time frame Kellz penned 'Contagious.' Ron and Ernie drove back to the studio before boarding the flight and recorded the song.

I think the character helped Ron's career. Many people that didn't know him before became fans. Even till this day there are many who are fans because of that character. Also the fact that Ron was featured on a couple of Kellz songs in the early 90's started a new trend. Many R&B and Hip-Hop artists started to seek Ron to sing the hook in their songs. Diddy, UGK, Nas, 2Pac, etc.

Timmy84 said:

I doubt they complained. It made them popular with the kids, which is probably is what they wanted anyway. And money, can't forget that.

I think Ron's retired from the character though.

He was talking about how 'Mr. Biggs' was coming back soon in an interview last year.

phunkdaddy said:

It helped introduce them to a new audience but the music suffered

after Contagious. Ronald started to play himself with the character

too. What the fuck was he doing wearing a Celtics jersey with a mink

coat on in the Busted video. Notice when he did the solo album with

Burt Bacharach he dropped the Mr Bigs moniker. He know Burt wasn't

having that shit in the studio.

You make an excellent point, because that Burt Bacharach collaboration should've garnered much more impact one the music side of things and really put Ronald in a whole new dimension. It was different from what was expected of the Isleys in general. But, the whole "Mr. Biggs" moniker took its toll.

"Look at me........LOOK AT ME!!!!! IIIIIIIIIII did this to YOU!!!!!!!"- Mr. Biggs

Can't forget the Float On Remix with Lil Kim & Angela Winbush....

I did think he over did it though.