TB: Who did you listen to growing up?
BNW: We grew up listening to heavy gospel artist like Commissioned, Clark sisters, John p. Kee , the list goes on. Also we were very influenced by soul singers al green Bobby Womack earth wind and fire. Just heavy soul music. We would group up traveling the whole east coast at church conventions and doing weddings everywhere we could perform. Even got requested many times to sing at people's funerals.
TB: How did ya'll get the name Black-N-Wild?
BNW: Black N Wild came from branson( the real king of New York) and Devante. We used to always smoke black n milds. One day Branson walked in the studio and said we should call y'all Black N Wild. Devante screamed out that's it. And that became the groups name. We were called Pure Image before then..
TB: How did you meet DeVante of Jodeci?
BNW: We met Devante when Jodeci came to Rochester New York recording the show after party n hotel. We were at the time one of the best groups in the town so eventually we would run into basement artist. Genuine boogie playa. So the word basically got spread back to Devante that there is a dope group in the town. We were actually going to sign w clowning records which was mr. Dalvin and kc's label. Stevie j had kinda walked us in he thought we were dope so he kinda got things rolling and boogie pushed for us a lot. We was trying to get on so one day we just went up to the studio and asked if we could perform. I actually remember asking missy Elliot should we perform a original or Jodeci song. Missy told me original is always better so we performed for Stevie j and dalvin they was like y'all dope. At this time we never met Devante we were just around bassment artist. Trying to get on..till one day we got the call Devante wanted us to come sing for him. Him timberland and a bunch of other bassment producers were in the conference room and we had them flipping over tables like they was like y'all dope so that was it Devante asked us do we want him to just get us a deal or do we want to be down with his label we said we wanted both that officially became our way of getting in..
TB: How was it working with DeVante?
BNW: Working with Devante just made us better all the way round he's a genius so anytime you have a person like that being involved with your talent we just got better and better. Then being around all the other talent and other artist just allowed us to hone our own unique sound!!
TB: Did you know Stevie J before Da Bassment?
BNW: yes Stevie j is my dude he actually kinda walked us into the scene. They actually threw a New Year's Eve party and only invited ladies. Jodeci thing right so we had like 10 girls take our demo to the party. Stevie j prob was trying to smash. But our demo got into his hands and there it Began.. He heard us sing over the phone and told us to come down to the studio. We got down there security was like who the f are y'all see we was smart we always rolled w girls because we knew that would get us in the door. They was like these them same b's that was at the party the other day they ain't giving up no --- si I flipped like nigga u ain't gone talk my peeps like that they laughed but respected us cause we was hard. K ci walked outside and we performed for him and Stevie j and that was like the beginning of us getting down!!
TB: What was your best memory of Static Major?
BNW: We considered playa always like brothers they actually made us want to be better cause they was dope at first it was kinda awkward of having another male group around they had seniority over us cause they was down the longest. So we eventually bonded w them and we became closer .. One of my favorite memories of Static Major was his whistle. Like he could whistle better than most soul singers could sing. Like riffs n all that was unique.
TB: Tell me about Black-N- Wild's sound ..because you guy have a unique sound?
BNW: Black N Wild's sound was like the four winds of the earth coming in and blending together .. north south east west winds of the earth forming... I mean all of us are lead vocalists.. I can't remember to many quartets that have all lead singers. So to us it was just like a cypha. We could just pass the mic around and everyone one of us had our own unique style. We were like a male Clark sisters. The sound just came together as we grew together. We've been together for 20 years ..we're a band, we all produce and write.. We never did backgrounds for Jodeci even tho we have recorded w kc jojo and dalvin.. A lot of times we would just be in the studio working or Devante could be working on something and he would probably just have us reference or we could be in studio working on our own and kci would come around and he might be like that's dope.. that kinda thing.
TB: Tell me about Black-N- Wild's sound ..because you guy have a unique sound?
BNW: Black N Wild's sound was like the four winds of the earth coming in and blending together .. north south east west winds of the earth forming... I mean all of us are lead vocalists.. I can't remember to many quartets that have all lead singers. So to us it was just like a cypha. We could just pass the mic around and everyone one of us had our own unique style. We were like a male Clark sisters. The sound just came together as we grew together. We've been together for 20 years ..we're a band, we all produce and write.. We never did backgrounds for Jodeci even tho we have recorded w kc jojo and dalvin.. A lot of times we would just be in the studio working or Devante could be working on something and he would probably just have us reference or we could be in studio working on our own and kci would come around and he might be like that's dope.. that kinda thing.
TB: Tell me a little about the Knockerz album..
BNW: This Knockerz album is just letting the world here Black N Wild. We always gave the label a dope album. A lot of people like these songs..it should still get put out so we just gone let them vibe on these old records.. still good music. We were signed to a&m, Interscope and universal. Like jimmy Iovine gave me the most money I ever had in my life at one time. So these are the records and bangers from them times. We ended up just getting caught between sour business ventures but we always gave people just dope music. We are the sound of the future so if you don't want to be stuck in the past keep up with Black N Wild. That's what these songs are about!!!!
TB: I didn't know "Body Parts" was an old song...
BNW: " Body Parts" was originally our record off the Universal album.. we had Devante produce like half the album .. We got all the way till our video ..getting ready to premiere it to the world and the whole deal just froze. To this day we really don't know what happened. We just want the world to know that it's never been us, we always gave the label a hot album. We're like the singing hot boys!!! Lol ..So when the deal went bad ,Devante knew and still knew where the true sound of game is going and headed there. Shit ,he helped pioneer it so he decided to use "Body Parts " on Jodeci's The Past, Present and Future album..our vocals is still all over that record..
TB: What's in the future for Black -N-Wild (songs, albums etc..)?
BNW: Right now we still in the studio working taking care of our families. We want our own production label we have the gutta luv clique which is like a wu-tang rnb click from different parts of the country that we are working on. We just staying out doing shows staying relevant .. Real music will re surface back in due time ...so when it's gods time to reflect the light on us we just wanna be ready, humble, and just let the world see what 20 plus years of a group being together is like. We are not a put together product Enoch,Marcus ,Willis,Devron are brothers. And the world will hear our music!!
***BONUS QUESTION*** You and Sugah are still tight..are there any plans to reunite Da Bassment for any future collabs?
BNW: Yes yes sugah my sisters for life. Them ladies have taught me a lot of strong values in life even to the point of how to treat woman!!! When Da Bassment fell apart ..Sugah and us became the front groups so we got to bond throughout all these years. And we are working on putting a Bassment compilation reunion together as we speak. So let's get at these investors and labels so we can make this story come to life.. Because it is a beautiful story ,we can even do our own shows and books. Everything..you know what I mean ,it's coming.
KNOCKERZ album review:
Hmmm... what can i say about this album. The words smooth, melodic, baby making, sensual, masterpiece, and timeless come to mind. This album would've been on Interscope if the deal didn't go south. Black N Wild could have reached platinum numbers if it was released. A group like this sounds like nobody i've ever heard in the industry. They have a very unique sound and that's what make them stand out the most. DeVante of Jodeci produced half of the album..So here is a review of my top 5 favorite songs of theirs.
1. " Let's Do The Damn Thing" Feat Aaron Hall: If you're a winner, you'll like this track..Very bragadocious about sippin Mo, gettin your etc.. Aaron compliments this track like an ol timey OG. Young bucks today could learn a thing or two from this...
2. "Body Parts" People will automatically know this track when the hear it. It was redone on Jodeci's The Past, Present, Future album. This song got me like " You're diggin on me, I'm diggin on you, Your body got me goin crazy ..i think i want you to have my baby..oooh your Body Parts, your body body" See , it's got me writin lyrics already..
3. "It's On Tonight"- If you want to get your partner in the mood.. this is the song to put on. It describes the emotions you feel when you see someones body for the first..or all the time. Remember, communication is the spice of a relationship..physically and mentally . So go ahead, tell your partner how their body makes you feel. Say all the things that turn you on about your lover..You can whisper it, scream it, kiss it etc...
4. "Counsellor"- I can do what your ex can't do. I can hold your hand, look in your eyes, treat you right and make sweet love. Another track to put on after "It's On Tonight"..Let the freak out gurl and put it all over me.
5. " Sneak On" - I tried hearing the words to this but it was such low quality. The beat is amazing ..reminds me of a track that Ginuwine didn't get..You can play this song today and it still sounds brand new...
Overall rating: Knockerz is a timeless classic that was shelved.
