 | | The female R&B quartet Xscape debuted singing at producer Jermaine Dupri's birthday party in 1991, and were the recipients of a platinum album just two years later. |
 | | If Boyz II Men are portrayed as a clean-cut, wholesome R&B vocal group, then Jodeci's wild, sexual, bad-boy image represents the other side of the coin. |
 | | A star in the R&B world before she was even out of her teens, Aaliyah's promising career was tragically cut short by her death in a plane crash at age 22. |
 | | R&B producer/vocalist/multi-instrumentalist/songwriter R. Kelly and his supporting band Public Announcement began recording in 1992 at the tail-end of the new jack swing era, yet he was able to keep much of its sound alive while remaining commercially successful. |
 | | Featuring R.L. Huggar and brothers Terry "T-Low" Brown and Raphael "Tweet" Brown, contemporary R&B trio Next formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota after they were introduced by the Brown's uncle, a gospel choir director. |
 | | Brothers Dwayne and Raphael Wiggins and cousin Timothy Christian have proven themselves durable guardians of the soul and funk tradition, while also infusing their music with enough contemporary devices to remain popular. |
 | | When her debut album, What's the 411?, hit the street in 1992, critics and fans alike were floored by its powerful combination of modern R&B with an edgy rap sound that glanced off of the pain and grit of Mary J. |
 | | Atlanta R&B vocalist Monica debuted in 1995 with the platinum Top Ten singles "Don't Take It Personal (Just One of Dem Days)" and "Before You Walk Out of My Life. |
 | | Rough-but-smooth male vocal quartet Jagged Edge formed in Atlanta, Georgia, consisting of identical twin brothers Brandon "Case Dinero" Casey and Brian "Brasco" Casey, who had moved from their native Hartford, Connecticut; Kyle Norman (aka "Quick"), whom they'd met through church activities; and Richard Wingo (aka "Wingo Dollar"), a late addition to the group suggested by Xscape's Kandi Burruss, who took their demo to superproducer Jermaine Dupri. |
 | | R&B singer and actor Tyrese Gibson -- referred to as Tyrese -- began his career at the age of 14, performing in local talent shows around his home in Los Angeles' Watts section; his big break came when he starred in a commercial for Coca-Cola, followed shortly in 1998 by his self-titled debut album for RCA. |
 | | One of the top R&B vocal groups of the '90s, Blackstreet was founded by singer, producer, and new jack swing pioneer Teddy Riley after the breakup of his seminal trio Guy. |
 | | High-school friends Larry "Jazz" Anthony, Mark "Sisqó" Andrews, Tamir "Nokio" Ruffin, and James "Woody Rock" Green formed Dru Hill in 1992, named in honor of their Baltimore neighborhood, Druid Hill Park. |
 | | TLC were one of the biggest-selling female R&B groups of all time, riding a blend of pop, hip-hop, and urban soul to superstardom during the '90s. |
 | | Cedric and Joel Hailey comprise the romantic R&B duo K-Ci & JoJo, who were one of two pairs of brothers that made up the chart-topping '90s group Jodeci. |
 | | This '90s R&B vocal group should not be confused with the late-'70s Philadelphia band, which was a funk-oriented unit, or the vocal trio Silk from Los Angeles. |
 | | In spite of the fact that Faith Evans carved out a lengthy recording career in her own right, her name will forever remain linked in the minds of many to her late husband, the Notorious B. |
 | | Equally rooted in gospel, soul, and hip-hop, 112 were the first and most successful urban vocal group to emerge from Sean "Puffy" Combs' Bad Boy Records roster. |
 | | Ginuwine was one of R&B's preeminent love men during the '90s heyday of hip-hop soul. Initially teamed with Timbaland, the most innovative producer of the late '90s, Ginuwine's sultry, seductive crooning earned him a substantial female following and made him a regular presence on the R&B charts, even after the futuristic production he favored was eclipsed by the more organic, retro-leaning neo-soul movement. |
 | | Hailed as the "new voice of ghetto soul" and the first act signed to basketball great Magic Johnson's Magic Johnson Music, Cleveland native Avant (born Myron Avant) debuted in 1998 with the song "Separated," released on Payton Entertainment -- the label operated by his manager, Eric Payton. |
 | | Songwriter, producer, vocalist, and instrumentalist Jon B. brought a distinctive focus on smooth melodies to contemporary R&B. |
 | | Call Lauryn Hill the mother of hip-hop invention; with her 1998 solo debut The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, the Fugees' most vocal member not only established herself as creative force on her own, but also broke new ground by successfully integrating rap, soul, reggae, and R&B into her own sound. |
 | | Joe is an accomplished vocalist of smooth and sultry R&B productions with occasional hip-hop beats, and his extensive background in gospel music has allowed him to produce his albums as well as sing on them. |
 | | The female vocal quartet En Vogue was conceived and put together by the production team of Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy, both former members of Club Nouveau. |
 | | Keith Sweat, a Harlem-born R&B singer/songwriter known for his distinctive "whining" vocal style, co-produced 1984/1985 singles by GQ and Roberta Gilliam and issued independent singles of his own ("Lucky Seven" and "My Mind Is Made Up"), but he didn't release his debut full-length, Make It Last Forever, until November 1987. |
 | | A multi-talented artist, Jaheim is most famous for his R&B vocals, although he has also rapped, modeled, and acted, and appeared in Source and other hip-hop publications. |
 | | R&B singer Kelly Price spent her early years in the music business behind the scenes, lending backing vocals to records from stars including Mariah Carey, Aretha Franklin, Faith Evans, and Brian McKnight. |
 | | A native of Canada, contemporary R&B singer and songwriter Tamia got an early start in the music industry, singing on the Rod Temperton-penned "You Put a Move on My Heart," the first single from Quincy Jones' 1994 hit album Q's Jook Joint, when she was only a teenager. |
 | | Beginning with his 1996 album My Heart, singer/songwriter/producer Donell Jones recorded a jazzy and soulful style of urban pop for LaFace Records and scored a few modest singles in the process. |
 | | A native of Toronto, Deborah Cox began singing for TV commercials at age 12, also entering various talent shows with her mother's help. |
 | | This seminal R&B trio was the first group to sport the new jack swing sound, essentially traditional soul vocals melded to hip-hop beats, with credit for the genre's invention going to founder, multi-instrumentalist, and super-producer Teddy Riley. |
 | | D'Angelo was one of the founding fathers and leading lights of the neo-soul movement of the mid- to late '90s, which aimed to bring the organic flavor of classic R&B back to the hip-hop age. |
 | | A native New Yorker, Case got his start in the music biz in the '90s, singing backup on albums by several renowned R&B artists (such as Usher). |
 | | Formed in the early '80s in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Mint Condition began as lead singer Stokley Williams, guitarist Homer O'Dell, keyboardist Larry Waddell, keyboardist/saxophonist Jeff Allen, keyboardist/guitarist Keri Lewis, and guitarist/bassist Rick Kinchen. |
 | | Toni Braxton was one of the most popular and commercially successful female R&B singers of the '90s, thanks to her ability to straddle seemingly opposite worlds. |
 | | One of the more genuine urban songstresses to emerge in the 2000s, Keyshia Cole worked her way up the industry ladder diligently yet quickly, making her major-label debut in 2004 at age 21. |
 | | Fantasia Barrino may have won the third season of American Idol with "I Believe," but it was her passionate take on George Gershwin's "Summertime" that had everyone talking for weeks. |
 | | Philadelphia-born Taalib Johnson, aka R&B artist Musiq (Soulchild), grew up the oldest of nine children. |
 | | One of the most consistent and versatile adult contemporary R&B artists, Brian McKnight placed seven albums across 15 years -- from the early '90s through the first decade of the 2000s -- within the Top Ten of Billboard's R&B albums chart. |
 | | Whether she was singing pop-friendly urban soul or acting in her own family-oriented sitcom, Brandy's winningly wholesome persona helped catapult her to stardom during her teenage years. |
 | | LSG is Gerald Levert, Keith Sweat and Johnny Gill, a trio of urban R&B stars who have collected thirty number one R&B hits and album sales of more than thirty million between themselves. |
 | | According to no less an authority than the RIAA, Boyz II Men are the most commercially successful R&B group of all time. |
 | | New Edition's early, Jackson 5-inspired material made them the forerunners of two generations of teen pop (most of which was geared to white audiences). |
 | | Changing Faces is a New York-based urban soul vocal duo much in the vein of similar all-female bands like TLC and SWV. |
 | | With hitmaker Irv Gotti at the helm, Ashanti blasted into the urban music scene in 2002, topping the charts with multiple singles at once. |
 | | Mya is a dancer turned smooth urban R&B vocalist who released her eponymous debut in the spring of 1998, when she was just 18 years old. |
 | | She grew up listening to '70s soul and '80s hip-hop, but Erykah Badu drew more comparisons to Billie Holiday upon her breakout in 1997, after the release of her first album, Baduizm. |
 | | Discovered by Michael Bivins of New Edition, 702 is a teenage trio -- Irish, Kameelah, and Lemisha -- who made their recorded debut singing on Subway's hit single "This Lil' Game We Play. |
 | | Not that he'd wish it on anyone, but it was during his ten-year sentence in prison that Lyfe Jennings developed his honest sound, thanks to isolation and Erykah Badu. |
 | | Along with fellow founders D'Angelo and Erykah Badu, Maxwell was enormously important in defining and shaping the neo-soul movement that rose to prominence over the latter half of the '90s. |
 | | A soul singer who drew comparisons to such classic vocalists as Bill Withers and Bobby Womack, Anthony Hamilton struggled for the better part of the 1990s as two of his albums went unreleased. |
![Greatest Hits [Simitar] Album Cover](http://images.slacker.com/isv1/album/v1/276021/aol/1/center/5,0/70.jpg "Greatest Hits [Simitar] Album Cover")
