Babyface gives Az Yet the edge

Az Yet, Boyz II Men and All-4-One all belong to the R & B school of music that appeals to young, screaming women. But Az Yet have something none of the others have: Babyface - one of the most talented and well-known R & B musicians today. With a string of hits to his credit and a multi-million-dollar record company with Antonio Reid - LaFace records - Kenny 'Babyface' Edmonds is one of the leaders of the contemporary R & B industry. Aside from pursuing his solo singing career and working with some of America's top R & B artists, including Whitney Houston, Babyface wrote and produced most of the songs on Az Yet's debut self-titled album. Their first hit, Last Night, was featured on The Nutty Professor soundtrack and peaked at number one on the Billboard R & B chart. The original members of this Philadelphia-based group were Shawn Rivera and Dion Allen. In 1991 they met Kenneth Terry in a Philadelphia hotel; they heard him sing and soon asked him to join the band. 'When we met him we didn't know what type of turn our career was going to take. We knew we wanted someone but we weren't necessarily looking for a bass. At the time we were just looking for a great singer,' said Rivera on a trip to the territory this week. The group pride themselves on their distinctive style - the album is a combination of R & B, jazz, soul and hip-hop - as well as their vocal ranges and harmonies; hence the name. 'Az Yet Untitled was the name we used to describe the style we wanted. We wanted to draw from all music styles, and funnel it through this vocal juggernaut called Az Yet,' Rivera said. 'As we developed our style we couldn't find a name that described everything we did. So now, we just call ourselves Az Yet because we have yet to achieve the goals we have set; to be the best, keep developing our craft and putting out our music.' The variety of influences on the album stem from their own respective musical influences and favourites, including Manhattan Transfer, Stevie Wonder, Faith Evans and Notorious BIG. A definitive point in their career came when they were able to open for Babyface. 'It was overwhelming,' Rivera said. 'When you're on stage, a lot is going through your mind because this is a milestone in your career. This is Az Yet and we're up on stage with The Man. 'There aren't too many people who can say they've shared the stage with him, let alone as much time as we have in the studio recording.' Like so many other bands, Az Yet's rise to pseudo stardom was not instantaneous. Prior to being discovered by Jacqueline McQuarn, their manager who is also Babyface's mother-in-law, Az Yet spent six years hoping for a record deal. A time they found to be enormously frustrating. 'You learn quickly that it's not what you know, it's who you know. When you're sitting on the outside looking in, knowing that you're capable of doing exactly what's being done, you get irritated,' said the newest member, Marc Nelson. Rivera is thankful for having this time to work on their music. 'We did a lot of talent shows, any type of show featuring artists and groups. Philly had so much talent that there were talent shows every week. There wasn't a time that we spent more than two weeks apart.' Being discovered though is only the first hurdle. The market for young, R & B male singers has been flooded since the early 1990s. Most have been one-hit wonders who rapidly disappeared from the scene. This group of young men, all still in their 20s, are optimistic they will not fall into the same trap. 'We have a great company behind us, who believe in developing us down the long haul. They encourage us to look at our mistakes and learn from them. A lot of record companies were working with groups to get one hit, they weren't expecting to hold on to them. Nine times out of 10 that first hit was luck,' said Nelson. Being natives of Philadelphia - a city that has become synonymous in the R & B industry for producing the mammothly popular Boyz II Men - is another contributor to their anticipated staying power. 'It's a great thing to be in the company of a great band. We're all homeboys from Philly, we have similar musical roots,' said Rivera. Allen added: 'There are so many great singers in Philly, that pushes you harder.' There is also no doubt their sugary sweet love songs and being five fairly attractive young men will keep them popular with young women. 'The sheer debonair and distinguished looks of all five members, the different flavours, these other things help,' said Nelson. One would hope this arrogance is feigned, but unfortunately it appears a few members of Az Yet have become wrapped up with the money and the women the industry is known for. Considering their album cover includes personal biographies listing favourite foods and qualities looked for in a woman, perhaps this is not surprising. Adulating fans in Asia has been one of their favourite aspects of being here. Having already visited Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, they have been thrilled by the response. 'First and foremost, they let you know that they love the group, they point out who they care for the most. Each one of us has our own set of fans,' said Terry. Nelson added: 'Fending off groupies means we're getting the job done.' Rivera offered a much more innocent reason for enjoying meeting fans worldwide. 'We love to get opinions from people, to see what folk have to say about the album. They're the people we need to keep in touch with.' Nevertheless, they are a talented group of musicians, two of whom - Nelson and Rivera - co-wrote and co-produced some of the tracks on the album. 'It was great to have the opportunity to direct our vocals, it was a thrill for me. I produce records quite a bit and Az Yet is the first group of people I've worked with where the record came back sounding exactly how I wanted it to sound,' Nelson said. The group is looking forward to remaining in the industry for some time to come. 'We want to expand, do a whole lot of other things, incorporate different styles and genres of music. Explore our creativity to the fullest,' said Darryl Anthony. They also want to continue performing live. 'If we give you a show, we're going to give you more than you bargained for. Our best work is live. The studio work, the creative process is one thing that we enjoy, to actually bring it to life before your eyes; that's the icing on the cake,' said Terry. Discussing performing 'live' again brought the conversation back to women. 'We want to remain sexy and youthful so all the women can come out and get freaky,' said Nelson. 'We love women, all kinds of women, I want to sing to you every night and talk about what we did last night.' The blatant sexuality of Nelson, however, is countered by Rivera. 'This album is for lovers of all ages, because you're never too old to be in love'. This contradiction between overt sensuality and innocent sweetness is perhaps what will give this band staying power; overlaying sexually charged lyrics over sweetly soppy melodies; striking a balance between All-4-One and R Kelly. It is working so far: at their showcase at O'Briens this week, the room was packed with young women. Several scantily-clad groupies were waiting around after the show in the hopes of spending some time with the group. They must be doing something right. The entertainment pages are edited by Winnie Chung.