New Jack Swinging With Hennessy Down South

If you're of a certain age, it doesn't matter what albums you were buying at the time, the fact is you were listening to Boyz II Men on a regular basis. From the inevitable "MotownPhilly" roof raiser at the school dance, to the song that must have been a part of 94% of all high school graduations that year, "End Of The Road."

But I have to admit, it had been awhile since I'd thought about it -- until this past weekend that is, thanks to the fine folks at Hennessy and everyone involved in their fantastic Hennessy Artistry series. Curated by Common and The Roots, with the latter as the backing band, the series is all about the concept of blending -- performances and collaborations, and a blend of musical, artistic, cultural (not to mention flavorful) experiences.

Saturday night's event in Atlanta was action packed, with sets by Amerie and Anjulie as well as solo turns by Common and The Roots. But if I had to pick the one part that's been etched in my eardrums for two days now, it actually happened early in the afternoon when we went over during soundcheck. Walking into the venue I heard the familiar groove of "MotownPhilly" at full volume through the soundsystem, and proceeded to take a leisurely look around to check out the space, thinking I was listening to a CD being played by the soundman. It wasn't until I was almost on top of the stage when I glanced up and saw Ahmir in full force on the drums that I realized it was the real thing. Man, that is one ludicrously tight band.

And keeping to the blending theme, I realized in restrospect just how perfectly matched they were to the series. At the time the first New Jack Swing artists broke through, what now seems obvious -- that hip hop and R&B are a natural blend -- wasn't the consensus at all. Those two genres were often kept in their own little niches, and it took guys like Teddy Riley, Atlanta's own Babyface, among others, to knock down a wall that Boyz II Men came through in a big way.

Have to give Hennessy credit for pulling this one together, it was pretty special to be just a few feet away when they brought the house down later that night. Here's a little taste of what that was like:


Oh and keeping to the high school theme I discovered that not only are Boyz II Men and The Roots both well known as Philly natives, but they were in fact high school classmates as well at the School for the Performing Arts, and in fact if you look closely at the original video, that's Ahmir on drums too.

I guess it all comes back around if the blend is right.