Bell Biv DeVoe on Tour
Since their days as members of the groundbreaking boy band New Edition, Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins and Ronnie DeVoe have known how to command an audience with soulful harmonies and fierce moves. As Bell Biv DeVoe, the trio specializes in what they call "hip-hop, smoothed out on the R&B tip with a pop feel (appeal) to it," and they bring that concept to the stage during their high-energy shows.
Bell Biv DeVoe in Concert
In the '80s, childhood friends Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins and Ronnie DeVoe exploded out of Roxbury, Massachusetts, as part of New Edition, the boy band that laid down the template for later acts like New Kids on the Block, the Backstreet Boys and One Direction. When New Edition went on hiatus in 1990, new jack swing pioneers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who had worked with the group on hits like "If It Isn't Love," encouraged the three to splinter off and form their own act. Bell Biv DeVoe's first album, 1990's slick yet hard-edged Poison, was a smash, spawning videos that ruled MTV and singles that topped the United States' R&B charts. In 1993 they released their second album, Hootie Mack, which featured the Boogie Down Productions–sampling "Above the Rim" and the sultry slow jam "Something in Your Eyes." The trio took a break from releasing music until 2001, when they released BBD, which leaned into West Coast hip-hop influences while still showcasing the group's sensitive side on songs like "I Ain't Going Nowhere." In the years that followed, Bell, Bivins and DeVoe toured as part of New Edition's reunion tours, performing Bell Biv DeVoe sets as part of the show. 2017's Three Stripes, BBD's fourth album, showed off the trio's grown and sexy side as well as its appreciation of modern R&B trends.
