New Jack Reunion Tour

Last updated
New Jack Reunion Tour
Tour by Guy, BLACKstreet, Tony! Toni! Toné!, After 7, SWV
NewJackReunionTour.jpeg
Start dateFebruary 24, 2006
End dateNovember 18, 2006

The New Jack Reunion Tour, sometimes referred to as the New Jack Swing Reunion Tour, was a 2006 concert tour package that featured members of the 1990s music genre "new jack swing", the architect of which was Teddy Riley. [1]

The tour was organized by Riley and was intended as the springboard for a new jack swing revival. The tour also reflected, per the Cleveland Scene newspaper, some nostalgic interest in 1990s culture. [2] The performers of the New Jack Reunion Tour included the Riley-founded bands Guy and BLACKstreet, as well as Tony! Toni! Toné!, After 7, and SWV. [3] The new jack genre had been influential via the subsequent work of artists such as R. Kelly, Aaliyah, and Beyoncé, but the tour was considered a celebration of the original form of that form. [4] Mark Middleton of BLACKstreet stated that the goal of the tour was to appeal to a range of age groups, from teenagers to 40-year-olds, using the virtue of New Jack's musical foundations: "You have the younger artists doing R&B and hip-hop, but the level of musicianship and performance has gone down since '96. I think people want to hear good music and real singing [again]." [3]

The tour began on February 24 at the Atlanta Civic Center and concluded on November 18 at the Richmond Coliseum. In between, it played both theatres and arenas, including high-profile venues such as Madison Square Garden in New York City.

A review in The Philadelphia Inquirer of the tour's show at the Liacouras Center in North Philadelphia described the show as nostalgic but high in energy, with the "strong, soulful voices" of the various acts augmented by a "synth-heavy live band that was smooth without being slick." [1]

The tour was credited with reviving the commercial fortunes of Tony! Toni! Toné! [5] That group was featured on another New Jack Reunion Tour a year later, which had a revised artist lineup. [5]

Related Research Articles

Blackstreet is an American R&B group founded in 1991 by record producers Chauncey "Black" Hannibal, and Teddy "Street" Riley. The group has released four albums with Interscope Records until 2003. They achieved relative success leading up to the single "No Diggity", which peaked at number 1 for four weeks in November 1996.

New jack swing, new jack, or swingbeat is a fusion genre of the rhythms and production techniques of hip hop and dance-pop, and the urban contemporary sound of R&B. Spearheaded by producers Teddy Riley and Bernard Belle, new jack swing was most popular from the late-1980s to early-1990s. Its influence, along with hip hop, seeped into pop culture.

Guy is an American hip hop, R&B and soul group founded in 1987 by Teddy Riley, Aaron Hall, and Timmy Gatling. Hall's younger brother Damion Hall replaced Gatling after the recording of the group's self-titled debut album. The group released their debut album, which went on to sell over a million copies and was certified double platinum. In following their success, the group released their second album The Future in 1990, which also charted with successful singles and received platinum as well. Following their nearly decade long split, the group returned with their third album before the 2000s millennium, which charted with their hit single "Dancin'".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teddy Riley</span> American musician and record producer

Edward Theodore Riley is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer credited with the creation of the New Jack Swing genre. Riley credits Barry Michael Cooper with giving the genre its name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spectrum (arena)</span> Former indoor arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The Spectrum was an indoor arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Opened in September 1967 as part of what is now known as the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, after several expansions of its seating capacity it accommodated 18,168 for basketball and 17,380 for ice hockey, arena football, indoor soccer, and box lacrosse.

Before the advent of the Open era of tennis competitions in April 1968, only amateurs were allowed to compete in established tournaments, including the four majors. There was no prize money and players were compensated for travel expenses only. However many top tennis players turned professional to play legally for prize money in the years before the open era. They played in separate professional events, mostly on tours involving head-to-head competition, but also in professional tournaments as the biggest events on the pro tour. Professional tournaments, in particular the professional majors, usually only had a men's draw.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony! Toni! Toné!</span> American soul/R&B band

Tony! Toni! Toné! was an American soul/R&B band from Oakland, California, popular during the late 1980s and early to mid-1990s. During the band's heyday, it was composed of D'wayne Wiggins on lead vocals and guitar, his brother Raphael Saadiq on lead vocals and bass, and their cousin Timothy Christian Riley on drums, keyboards, and background vocals. Additional original founders are Choreographer/Bassist Elijah "EB" Baker, Songwriter/Producer/Keyboardist Antron "Ice Cream" Haile, and Producer/Jazz Guitarist John "Jubu" Smith. Originally, the band went by "Tony, Toni, Toné" as a joke, until they realized it "had a nice ring to it".

Hip hop soul is a subgenre of contemporary R&B music, most popular during the early and mid 1990s, which fuses R&B or soul singing with hip hop musical production. The subgenre had evolved from a previous R&B subgenre, new jack swing, which had incorporated hip-hop influences into R&B music. By contrast, hip hop soul is, as described in The Encyclopedia of African American Music, "quite literally soul singing over hip hop grooves".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liacouras Center</span> Arena in Pennsylvania, United States

The Liacouras Center is a 10,000-seat multi-purpose venue which opened in 1997 and was originally named "The Apollo of Temple". The arena was renamed in 2000 for Temple University President, Peter J. Liacouras. It is part of a $107 million, four-building complex along North Broad Street on the Temple University campus in North Philadelphia. The Liacouras Center is the largest indoor, public assembly venue in Philadelphia north of City Hall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No Diggity</span> 1996 single by Blackstreet

"No Diggity" is a song by American R&B group Blackstreet as the first single for their second studio album, Another Level (1996), featuring Dr. Dre and Queen Pen. Released on July 29, 1996, the song reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and in Iceland and New Zealand. "No Diggity" ended "Macarena"'s 14-week reign atop the Billboard Hot 100. In the United Kingdom, the song peaked at number nine. "No Diggity" was the final number-one single of Cash Box magazine. The track sold 1.6 million copies in 1996 and won the 1998 Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. It uses samples from Bill Withers's "Grandma's Hands".

The U.S. Pro Tennis Championships was the oldest professional tennis tournament played until its final year of 1999 and is considered to have been a professional major from 1927–1967 until the advent of Open Era. In 1953, 1955, 1956, and 1960, the Cleveland World Pro had a women's draw, with Pauline Betz winning the first three of these, and defeating the reigning U.S. women's champion Doris Hart in the 1956 final. Althea Gibson defeated Pauline Betz in the 1960 women's final.

<i>Who?</i> (album) 1988 studio album by Tony! Toni! Toné

Who? is the debut album by American R&B band Tony! Toni! Toné! It was released on April 18, 1988, by Wing Records and produced by Foster & McElroy, friends of the band from their hometown of Oakland, California. The album was recorded at Moon Studios in Sacramento.

<i>The Revival</i> (Tony! Toni! Toné! album) 1990 studio album by Tony! Toni! Toné!

The Revival is the second studio album by American R&B band Tony! Toni! Toné!, released on May 8, 1990, by Wing Records. It was produced and arranged primarily by the band, although they were assisted on a few songs by the production duo Foster & McElroy, who had produced their first album, Who? (1988). The band recorded at several studios in California with the assistance of the Synclavier, an early music workstation.

<i>Sons of Soul</i> 1993 studio album by Tony! Toni! Toné!

Sons of Soul is the third album by American R&B band Tony! Toni! Toné!, released on June 22, 1993, by Wing Records and Mercury Records. It follows the success of their 1990 album The Revival, which had extended their popularity beyond R&B audiences and into the mainstream.

<i>House of Music</i> 1996 studio album by Tony! Toni! Toné!

House of Music is the fourth and final album by American R&B band Tony! Toni! Toné!, released on November 19, 1996, by Mercury Records. It follows the success of the band's 1993 album Sons of Soul and a hiatus during which each member pursued individual musical projects.

<i>The Future</i> (Guy album) 1990 studio album by Guy

The Future is the second studio album by American R&B group Guy, released in November 13, 1990, on Uptown Records. It was their last album before their reunion a decade later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">D'wayne Wiggins</span> American musical artist (born 1963)

D'wayne Patrice Wiggins is an American singer, guitarist, and record producer best known as the founding member of the 1990s soul/R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné!

<span class="mw-page-title-main">If I Had No Loot</span> 1993 single by Tony! Toni! Toné!

"If I Had No Loot" is a song by American R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné! It was released on June 1, 1993, as the lead single from their 1993 album, Sons of Soul. The song was produced by Tony! Toni! Toné! and co-written by group member Raphael Wiggins, who said that it is about fair-weather friends. It has a new jack swing beat, pronounced guitar licks, and vocal samples from Boogie Down Productions' 1987 song "Remix for P Is Free" and Ice Cube's 1991 song "The Wrong Nigga to Fuck Wit".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timothy Christian Riley</span> American musical artist (born 1965)

Timothy Christian Riley is an American drummer, keyboardist, and singer best known for being a member of the multiplatinum 1990s soul/R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné!

References

  1. 1 2 Harris, Keith (May 15, 2006). "'80s nostalgia galore as New Jack Swing reunion plays Liacouras". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. C10 via Newspapers.com.
  2. LeRoy, Dan (March 15, 2006). "Blackstreet". Cleveland Scene.
  3. 1 2 Devores, Courtney (November 17, 2006). "New jack swings into Cricket Arena tonight". The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on January 8, 2007.
  4. Miers, Jeff (October 27, 2006). "New Jack is back". The Buffalo News.
  5. 1 2 Thrasher, Don (November 9, 2007). "New Jack Swing". Dayton Daily News. p. 4 via Newspapers.com.