Grammy-Award winning singer says the break from Teddy Riley was all about money
Written by: Neha Yahvi
February 16, 2014

The famed R&B group Blackstreet broke-up only to rekindle the fire more than five times over the past two decades. With recent lawsuits and former members publicly throwing shade to each other, fans are left feeling confused about the allegations and disbandment of the group.

Ultimately, Chauncey Hannibal a.k.a. Chauncey Black is not only the last standing member of the group, but also the CEO of Blackstreet Entertainment, Inc. and sole Trademark owner of the name Blackstreet.

According to Black, there were a lot of holes in the story in a recently published article about Music Producer and Blackstreet Founder Teddy Riley. When asked to explain, he responds directly to Riley’s comments:

TEDDY RILEY: “I’ve tried hard to be a friend and a big brother [to Hannibal]. When you’re being so sincere with things and someone else isn’t…his whole goal was to try and take what I owned. People can see that from the outside.”

CHAUNCEY BLACK: “I have to give credit to Teddy for finally telling part of the truth, which is; there is no more Blackstreet ‘for him’. He’s been misleading everyone for years.”

“Teddy let the Trademark expire in 2008 and it was just floating out there for over a year, anyone could have paid $300 to own [the name Blackstreet.”

CHAUNCEY BLACK: “A conference call with Teddy and another Manager peeked my curiosity; I called an 800 number and was shocked to find out this major [business] detail had been neglected for so long.

“Trademark owners are notified far in advance if a name is about to expire, so Teddy had to already know. He even had several months to appeal [my ownership] before it became valid! We continued working together as if nothing happened.”

“It’s all public information, check the U.S. Government site.”

We did…

Photo: United States Patent and Trademark Office. (n.d.). Retrieved February 15, 2014, from http://www.uspto.gov/

Four years later Riley says:

TEDDY RILEY (February 15, 2014): “I created Blackstreet, I funded Blackstreet, I did everything with Blackstreet. But all at a sudden, he came from under me and owned the name. It’s just so sad the way people treat you sometimes.”

CHAUNCEY BLACK -“That’s my first time hearing that I took the name from under him…I’d be embarrassed too if people knew I abandoned something I told the world I created. Maybe he forgot it’s all public info.”

“Being a great Producer doesn’t automatically make you good at doing business, and it surely doesn’t make you honest.”

CHAUNCEY BLACK: “We continued performing shows together for the next two-three years after I acquired the Trademark. He was cool with it as long as he was making all the money.”

Chauncey Black (Left), Teddy Riley (in baseball cap) as BLACKstreet in 2012 - four years after the Trademark swap. Photo credit: James Pray/Supreme Team Photography

CHAUNCEY BLACK: “I was in a slightly better position than most others, simply because Teddy liked me for a longer period of time. But I wasn’t above reproach, behind the scenes he was still making all the decisions.”

July 6, 2010 – Teddy Riley (left) and Chauncey Black (right) appear in YouTube video in an attempt to stop former members from performing under the name Blackstreet. A message directly to fans and promoters: “… There is no “Blackstreet” unless you see these two faces ‘together’.” Source: YouTube/Official NJE

CHAUNCEY BLACK: “As Teddy said, he was my ‘big brother/friend’, I followed his lead on almost everything. But the money wasn’t the same as it was in the 90s and when Teddy started taking advantage of me too…it was time to go.”

C-Black: Teddy Is The Problem!

TEDDY RILEY (February 15, 2014): “…You can’t make people have unity, you can’t make people be loyal and you can’t force people to have a good synergy with others.

“Sometimes it’s almost like dealing with kids; when you’re trying to make everybody get along but somebody doesn’t like someone else. That’s why I changed the members, because the chemistry of the previous line-up just wasn’t working.”

CHAUNCEY BLACK: “Whenever there’s dysfunction, it starts at the top.”

“Sure, we had our moments when egos got in the way but, the chemistry wasn’t right mainly because Teddy wasn’t paying people what he promised.”

March 1, 2010 – Former Blackstreet members Mark Middleton (left) and Eric Williams (right) explain: they only made a fraction of the money they were promised. Teddy Riley ousted Mark from the group after making several attempts to get his fair share. Photo/video source: Jenny Boom Boom Interview – Hot 93.7

CHAUNCEY BLACK: “Sure, I have regrets about going along with so many of Teddy’s choices, but just like [Teddy] said, he’s the leader. His decisions on the line-up and the money were final. It was always about money.”

“ Teddy funded Blackstreet over the years-that’s true, but trust me he made all that back and then some!

“We wanted to keep the original Blackstreet together but, greed and ego kept Teddy from forming a new partnership with me.”

It seems Teddy Riley left the group Guy in an eerily similar situation; Lead singer Aaron Hall had a mouthful:

AARON HALL (August 12, 2013): “This is what I want to tell the Guy fans, the original Guy fans from 1988. I own 100% of Guy.”

“So being that I started it and everybody thinks its Teddy, what person leaves a group that the fans are saying they want to hear to do Blackstreet number 19…”

“And he left Blackstreet, Chauncey and everybody like 100 times. Now he got Blackstreet number two with Dave and whoever else.” Source: WZAKCleveland.com

CHAUNCEY BLACK: “Teddy Riley is no ‘victim’. He wasn’t the victim dealing with Guy and he’s definitely not the victim now.”

Will The ‘Real’ Blackstreet Please Stand Up

TEDDY RILEY (February 15, 2014): “Now, I wish those guys the best and I don’t care if they use the name Blackstreet, because I don’t wanna use the name Blackstreet – because there is no more Blackstreet.”

This is not a good look! Riley continues to mislead fans and promoters by using the name Blackstreet. If there’s no more Blackstreet and if Riley doesn’t want to use the name, why does everyone keep calling the new group Blackstreet?

Maybe this is why:

TEDDY RILEY: “If you’re not getting a combination of the old members, it’s not Blackstreet. So if anyone’s going to perform as Blackstreet, they should at least say who’s coming so audiences aren’t misled!”

CHAUNCEY BLACK: “Yeah, that’s what my attorney said too.”

Teddy Riley and new band members calling themselves Blackstreet at “R&B Superstars” Valentine Show- Wembley Arena, London. Saturday, February 15, 2014 - Listen WTH?

Part of Riley’s own claim-to-fame is having “made” Guy and Blackstreet. It’s rumored that the Super-producer has seen his heyday and can’t seem to gain momentum for the new group BS2. He’s resorted to spelling out B-L-A-C-K-S-T-R-E-E-T before the #2 in order to book shows.

CHAUNCEY BLACK: “It’s hard to be humble and move on when the whole story had never been told. All I’ll say is, you can’t keep breaking the law without repercussions.”

New Beginnings: Chauncey Black maintains a relationship with Guy; Damien and Aaron Hall as well as former Blackstreet members, Mark Middleton and Eric Williams.

As for his solo career, Black continues to intrigue die-hard fans while acquiring new ones. A recent endorsement by JCPenney in partnership with the US Olympic Committee, has breathed new life into the 90’s hit single “No Diggity”.

Black sings lead in the remake entitled “Go Ligety” in support of U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist, Ted Ligety. Go Ligety beat out several top-notched Super Bowl ads and won Commercial of the Week (Adweekmedia.com, January 24, 2014).

JCPenney is more than benefiting from the star-power of C-Black, receiving rave reviews from Fox Sports, The Bethanny Frankel Show and NBC OlympicTalk.

What’s next?

CHAUNCEY BLACK: ”Let’s just say, new opportunities have expanded far beyond the music industry.”

For more information and booking, visit www.MaltorieuxPR.com
Follow C. Black on Twitter: @Blackstreet_ent

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Source: T. Riley direct quotes from; The Voice (UK) - http://voice-online.co.uk...lackstreet

this is a never-ending drama.

considering all the drama that he's had with these two groups throughout the years,I wonder if Teddy wishes that he had done the solo thing from the beginning He should have been a hitmaking producer who occasionally does solo records (like Pharrell does now)

What a mess: such potential in the "Another Level" line-up. Teddy's lack of business sense and lack of clarity does him no favours.

SoulAlive said:

this is a never-ending drama.

Tell me about it. The whole soap opera is bananas!

phunkdaddy said:

The common thread between the Guy-Blackstreet dramas Teddy Riley. Extremely messy. You don't even know who the hell is in Blackstreet know. Funny listening to Aaron Hall say Teddy is on his 19th lineup of Blackstreet.

Teddy Riley is not an asshole on the level of Axl Roses or Eddie Van Halen. But he's in the Top 5!