"Word to the Mutha!" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Bell Biv DeVoe featuring Bobby Brown, Ralph Tresvant and Johnny Gill | ||||
from the album WBBD-Bootcity!: The Remix Album | ||||
Released | 1991 | |||
Recorded | 1990 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 6:38 (WBBD-Bootcity! Version) 5:00 (Video Mix/Radio Edit) | |||
Label | MCA | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) |
| |||
Bell Biv DeVoe singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Bobby Brown singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Johnny Gill singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Ralph Tresvant singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"Word to the Mutha!" on YouTube |
"Word to the Mutha!" is a song co-written [1] and performed by American contemporary R&B group Bell Biv DeVoe and co-written and produced by Wolf &Epic (Richard Wolf and Bret "Epic" Mazur). [1] It originally appeared on their debut studio album Poison under the title "Ronnie,Bobby,Ricky,Mike,Ralph and Johnny (Word to the Mutha)!", [3] but the title was shortened and a remixed version of the song was issued as the only official single from the group's remix album WBBD-Bootcity!:The Remix Album . The song features vocals from Bobby Brown,Ralph Tresvant and Johnny Gill. It was the first recorded song to feature all six members of New Edition. [4] Brown,Tresvant and Gill are credited separately on the single,rather than collectively as New Edition. [5]
The song samples "A Star in the Ghetto" by Average White Band and "The Jam" by Graham Central Station. [6]
A music video was filmed in and around the Orchard Park Housing Projects,in the Roxbury section of Boston,where five of the six (excluding Johnny Gill) New Edition members grew up.
Chart (1991-1992) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [7] | 151 |
New Zealand (RIANZ) [8] | 11 |
US Hot 100 Airplay ( Billboard ) [9] | 37 |
Bobby Barisford Brown Sr. is an American singer,songwriter,rapper,and dancer. Brown,alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley,is noted as one of the pioneers of new jack swing:a fusion of hip hop and R&B. Brown started his career in the R&B and pop group New Edition,from its inception in 1978 until his exit from the group in December 1985.
Bell Biv DeVoe,also known as BBD,is an American music group from Boston,Massachusetts,formed from members of New Edition,consisting of Ricky Bell,Michael Bivins and Ronnie DeVoe.
New Edition is an American R&B/pop group from the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston,Massachusetts,formed in 1978 by singer/rapper Bobby Brown. Their name is taken to mean a new edition of the Jackson 5. The group reached its height of popularity in the 1980s and is considered the blueprint for what would become the modern boy band. The lineup originally consisted of Ricky Bell,Michael Bivins,Ronnie DeVoe,Bobby Brown,and Ralph Tresvant. Brown left the group in late 1985 to begin a successful solo career,and they continued as a quartet for one album,before adding Johnny Gill to the lineup in 1987. Early hits included "Candy Girl","Cool It Now",and "Mr. Telephone Man". Tresvant was the lead singer on most of the songs. In 1990,both Gill and Tresvant released their own solo albums,while the remaining three members formed the trio Bell Biv DeVoe;the group ceased to work together for the first half of the 1990s.
Ralph Edward Tresvant is an American singer,songwriter,and record producer,best known as the lead singer of R&B group New Edition. As a solo artist,Tresvant released his double platinum-selling debut album Ralph Tresvant (1990). In 2008,he began touring with Bobby Brown and Johnny Gill in a new group named Heads of State. On February 3,2023,Tresvant became host of the syndicated radio show Love and R&B,heard on WOSF.
"Poison" is the debut single of American vocal group Bell Biv DeVoe,released as the first single from their debut album of the same name. The song,in the style of new jack swing,a late-1980s/early-1990s hybrid of R&B,hip hop and swing,was the group's most successful.
Home Again is the sixth studio album by American R&B/pop group New Edition. Released on September 10,1996,it is the only album to date to feature all six members of New Edition—Bobby Brown,who had left the group in 1985,rejoined the lineup—and was their final recording for MCA Records. Highly anticipated,and being their first album since,Heart Break (1988),the album debuted on the US Billboard 200 at number one,becoming the group's first album to open at number one,selling 227,000 in its first week sales. It also topped the Irish Albums Chart,and the US Billboard R&B Albums Chart as the group's first album in twelve years to do so since their self titled album in 1984. The album's success spawned four singles that collectively received moderate Billboard chart success. It was certified double platinum by the RIAA,for sales and shipments of over two million copies on February 4,1997.
Ralph Tresvant is the debut solo studio album by American singer Ralph Tresvant. The album was released by MCA Records on November 20,1990,in the United States. It went to number one on the Irish Albums Chart for 12 weeks,and on the US Top R&B Albums chart for two weeks and peaked into the top 20 on the US Billboard 200 chart. It features the number one single,"Sensitivity" along with two more top five R&B hits:"Do What I Gotta Do" and "Stone Cold Gentleman",which featured labelmate Bobby Brown,and has been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) within its first year of release,and achieved double-platinum status a few years after.
Richard "Wolfie" Wolf is an American Emmy Award-winning film and television composer,multi-platinum-selling music producer,songwriter,remixer,and author.
Poison is the debut studio album from American R&B/hip hop group Bell Biv DeVoe,released March 20,1990,on MCA Records.
WBBD - Bootcity!:The Remix Album is a remix album released by R&B group Bell Biv DeVoe. It was released on August 27,1991 via MCA Records,and was composed of remixes of songs from the group's debut album Poison. The album reached No. 18 on the Billboard 200. It was certified gold on October 23,1991.
"I'm Still in Love with You" is the second single from American R&B/pop group New Edition as a sextet from their sixth studio album,Home Again (1996) written by Johnny Gill. The song was released on October 22,1996 as the album's second single by MCA. Ralph Tresvant and Ricky Bell sing lead vocals;all six members sing background vocals throughout the song. The video for "I'm Still in Love with You" was shot at Villa Vizcaya in Miami,and once again featured all six members. The song was a big success on the US Billboard Hot 100,peaking at number seven,and was the second single to be certified gold from the Home Again project.
Elliot Straite,also known by his pseudonym Dr. Freeze,is an American singer,songwriter and record producer. His songs are mostly in the new jack swing style.
Mo' Money:Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the 1992 film of the same name. It was released June 23,1992,on Perspective Records. The soundtrack peaked at six on the Billboard 200 chart. By September 1992,it was certified platinum in sales by the RIAA,after sales exceeding 1,000,000 copies in the United States.
The 1991 Soul Train Music Awards aired live on March 12,1991,honoring the best in R&B,soul,rap,jazz,and gospel music from the previous year. The show was held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles,California and was hosted by Patti LaBelle,Luther Vandross and Dionne Warwick.
"She's Dope!" is a song performed by American contemporary R&B group Bell Biv DeVoe. It is the opening track on the group's debut studio album Poison and serves as the album's fifth single. In early pressings of Poison,the song was simply titled "Dope!",but the title was changed due to the increasing drug epidemic among children at the time. The song peaked at #9 on the Billboard R&B chart in 1991. The EPOD Mix version of the song is the version used in the music video &released as a single.
"Stone Cold Gentleman" is a song performed by American contemporary R&B singer Ralph Tresvant,issued as the second single from his eponymous debut album. It originally appeared on the album under the title "Stone Cold Gentleman (Rizz's Interlude)",but the title was shortened for commercial release. The song features a rap from fellow New Edition member Bobby Brown. It peaked at number 34 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1991.
"Gangsta" is a song performed by American contemporary R&B group Bell Biv DeVoe,issued as a stand-alone single in 1993 via MCA Records. The song peaked at #21 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was also featured on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air during the group's guest appearance in the Season 2 episode "The Butler Did It".
"Above the Rim" is a song co-written and performed by American contemporary R&B group Bell Biv DeVoe,issued as the official lead single from the group's second studio album Hootie Mack. The song contains a sample of "South Bronx" by Boogie Down Productions and "Blind Alley" by The Emotions. and it peaked at #81 on the Billboard R&B chart in 1993.
The New Edition Story is an American biographical three-part miniseries about the R&B group New Edition,from their rise to fame as a boy band from the Orchard Park Projects of Roxbury,Massachusetts,to becoming a successful adult act. It was originally broadcast on BET from January 24 through January 26,2017,becoming the network's first scripted miniseries. All six members of New Edition served as co-producers.
Ricardo Bell is an American singer best known as one of the founding members of R&B/pop group New Edition,and the lead singer of Bell Biv DeVoe. As a solo artist,Bell released the album Ricardo Campana in 2000.