It comes on strong, relatively unknown and refreshing, like an undiscovered region many light years away. Venturing where only a precious few have dared before, each of our three co-pilots has honed his ability to soothe, groove, entice, and touch us with his simultaneously contemporary, down-to-earth, and unique world. Call it a close encounter of the most soulful and exciting kind. Though not quite like anything your senses have been stimulated by before, NextΓÇÖs crisp vocal sounds, mellifluous R&B flow, and gritty, hip-hop-infused edges strike with instantaneous familiarity. Yet it reaches our collective subconscious in the most dynamic and infectious way, as they greet us at the border of their own distinctive world. We watched them "go there"--in the form of a double-platinum debut (Rated Next), two platinum singles ("Butta Love" and "Too Close",) and a gold single ("I Still Love You")--and now you're invited to bear witness as they "take it all the way."
"It's like a place where not everything is all good or all bad," explains lead vocalist R.L. "It’s just our world, with our minds put together. We’ve put our brains together with Kay Gee’s and come up with our own planet. The first album was like our movie, and now this one is our world." "Let me ‘nextplain,’" T-Low jokingly adds. "Rated Next was the first one; now it’s time to welcome you to… Nextasy. We’re giving you the ‘nextended’ version."
Predominantly written and produced by group members T-Low, R.L., and Tweety, in conjunction with mentor Kay Gee (of Naughty By Nature fame), AllStar, and Delite, Welcome To Nextasy proves to be a worthwhile excursion, encompassing all the elements that have made them radio and video favorites thus far: chilled-out Twin Cities-styled harmonies, plush R&B arrangements, energized hip-hop party beats, all put down with the most suggestive of lyrics. "I wrote about eight or nine songs on the album," says R.L. "And I wrote one, and co-wrote another one," Tweety adds. "T-Low got three tracks of his on there. WeΓÇÖre all starting to find our niche and what we like to do most. R.L. loves to sing and he loves to write. In fact, he writes extremely fast. Like in 20 minutes, you've got a full song, ready to record and everything. And T-Low produces quickly, just as fast as R.L. writes. And IΓÇÖm a writer, but IΓÇÖm also like the entertainer/businessperson of the group." T-Low then sums up: "We all did something on this album, and weΓÇÖre just doinΓÇÖ our thing. We all work, we all have studios in our houses, and we all come together and make Next."
Mention their penchant for highly provocative, racy lyrics ("Too Close," "Sextitude," etc.) and R.L. counters with the distinction between sexual and sensual. "ThereΓÇÖs a difference between the two," he insists. "Sexual is like ΓÇÿLick me.ΓÇÖ Sensual is like ΓÇÿI want you to taste me.ΓÇÖ ItΓÇÖs just me being playful. There are things that I want to get out, and things that IΓÇÖd like to experience. A lot of people may think because weΓÇÖre artists and out on the road that we mess with a gang of women. But thatΓÇÖs not really true. A lot of times we just have to use our imaginations. IΓÇÖm thinking all the time. Sometimes it gets me in trouble, though. Once I get a pen and pad, it just all comes out. ItΓÇÖs just being a little creative, and the funny thing is to be able to walk the line and say things that everybody thinks. Music that sells is the music that people can relate to. I guess it may come from my rap background; I just flip things the way a rapper would."
Even first-time exposure to Welcome To Nextasy reveals that the Twin Cities natives are in rare form, letting loose a multitude of flavors. It seems they've taken everything we loved so much from Rated Next and musically expounded upon those ideas. "We've got a couple of up-tempos, a couple of mid-tempos, a couple of hard ghetto ballads, and a couple of pop-style ballads," T-Low declares. Fearlessly leading us into Nextasy are hit-bound selections like "Wifey" and "Beauty Queen," which T-Low acknowledges are follow-ups to "Too Close" and "Butta Love," respectively. The former, which features Elektra's Lil Mo on guest vocals, lets loose a supremely melodic urban groove; the latter song evokes earthy feelings over a beat-ballad flow, produced by newcomer Black Bonez. Where there's a party, there's sure to be a dose of nextasy in the mix, as it gets no more hard-hittin' than "The Jerk," which features rapper
50 Cent. A boomin' bassline and reggae/dancehall-fashioned chants drive the roused rhythms of "Oh No No." There's nothing but mad bounce and a theme of total dedication to the rubbery, beat-riddled "Shorty," and there's the downright gritty, street-soaked "Underdog," on which R.L. lets loose his hidden talent for rapping. "R.L. had a [record] deal for rhyming when he was 15," Tweety says. "He always wanted to rhyme and never got a chance. He's rhyming on ΓÇÿUnderdog,' which explains to everybody that we'll never break up. You might see us doing other things, but that's because we have more than one talent. We're multi-talented."
Nowhere is that more evident than on their alluring and charming way with smooth, slow material. Surely audiences recall their most-chilled "I Still Love You," in addition to R.L.'s collaborations with Deborah Cox (the smash "We Can't Be Friends") and Ginuwine, Case, and Tyrese ("The Best Man"). A "ghetto ballad," according to the group, the dramatic arrangement of Welcome To Nextasy's "When We Kiss," a musical equivalent to what happens when love at first sight proves successful, bears ultra-slick harmonies and an overall bright, lush feel. On the other hand, they bring love matters well into the age of technology, saying things like "download all over me" and "I want your PC," to the slinky, steamy grind of "Cybersex." "We're really talking about the computer," assures R.L. with a sly grin."We're really in a technology-driven state of mind right now. You can be in touch with your emotional self and your spiritual self, but on a whole other level. We try to touch that."
Indeed, Welcome To Nextasy seems to be a galaxy or two away from their local talent competition days in Minnesota, breeding ground for well-known talent like Prince, the Time, and super-producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. It's been eight years since T-Low and Tweety's choir director uncle first introduced the two to R.L., which eventually led to time spent being managed and trained by T-Low's godmother, Sounds Of Blackness lead vocalist Ann Nesby. Anyone who knows their story has heard of their 1994 performance at Minneapolis' noted Juneteenth celebration, where they made the acquaintance of Prof T and Lance of the group Low Key. "They saw us," recalls Tweety, "and we started working with them and put a few songs on tape. Shortly after that, we went to a Naughty By Nature concert, we spoke to one of the road managers, and he asked us for a tape." Within weeks they were in New Jersey meeting with Naughty By Nature producer Kay Gee, who immediately expressed interest in signing the talented, street-wise trio to his then-new Divine Mill imprint (distributed by Arista Records). Everyone knows the outcome of the story: Paying dues singing at Minneapolis/St. PaulΓÇÖs Sabathani Community Center and Arnelia's more than paid off.
Ask what their goals are and all three chime one word: recognition. Though they amassed an impressive eight Billboard Music Awards and a Soul Train Music Award, they didn't feel they were fairly credited. "We don't feel we got that recognition during the first album," R.L. candidly states. "Hopefully, Welcome To Nextasy will force them to give us more awards, because there are awards that we should have gotten. Like we didn't get nominated for a Grammy. I ain't bitter, but I'm just keepin' it real, son."
Confident yet not at all cocky, the three are quick to point out what distinguishes them from the multitude of guy groups, and what will ultimately make Welcome To Nextasy another astounding success. "There's other groups that can have good up-tempo songs," R.L.says. "But are they known to be able to rock it slow and fast? See, we love the women; we get up there and do what we gotta do. But you know you've got that respect from the guys, too, when you're rollin in your joint, with your 10- or 15-inch rims, and they're bumpin' some Next. You'll bump our R&B with your women, but you'll bump us with your homeboys too, 'cause we've got that real stuff." Now they're bringing it to you straight, no chaser.
