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"What About Your Friends" is TLC's third single from their debut album, Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip. It reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the group's third consecutive top-ten single. The single was released in August 28, 1992.
"What About Your Friends" was written by Dallas Austin and TLC member Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, and features lead vocals by T-Boz. The song samples Blues & Pants by James Brown.
The main performance scenes of the video are the girls walking in an alley surrounded by backup dancers, underneath a bridge, on an outside staircase, on an apartment roof, in a slushie bar and wearing graffiti clothes in front of a graffiti-covered wall. Two versions of the video were made: one focuses on more of the performance shots of the girls and scenes of them infiltrating a stylish fashion show, while the other features scenes of a party in a big park where the girls are being very happy, dancing and having fun with their friends and some family members; including a scene of them reprising their roles as hillbillies from the "Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg" video at the end. Jermaine Dupri makes a cameo appearance.
The song reached number seven on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the group's third consecutive top ten single, and reached No. 2 on the Hot R&B Singles chart, behind "Games" by Chuckii Booker. The single was certified gold by the RIAA. In the United Kingdom, "What About Your Friends" peaked at No. 59.
Slave was an American Ohio-based funk band popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Trumpeter and multi-instrumentalist Steve Washington, born in New Jersey, attended East Orange High School, and was one of the first users of the "electric trumpet". He and Trombonist Floyd Miller formed the group in Dayton, Ohio in 1975.
During late 1975 and spring of 1976, trombonist Floyd Miller teamed with trumpeter Steve Washington to form Slave. The original line-up included Tom Lockett Jr. [tenor and alto sax], Carter Bradley [keyboards], Mark Adams [bass], Mark "Drac" Hicks [lead and rhythm guitar, background vocals], Danny Webster [rhythm and lead guitar, lead and background vocals], Orion "Bimmy" Wilhoite [alto and tenor sax] and Tim "Tiny" Dozier [drums]. They scored their first big hit with the single "Slide" in 1977 for Cotillion Records, which is the label they remained with until 1984. In 1978 Slave's sound changed slightly when drummer/percussionist Steve Arrington, along with vocalists Starleana Young, Curt Jones, and keyboardist Ray Turner joined the band. Arrington ultimately replaced Miller and Webster as lead vocalist. Other Top Ten R&B hits were "Just a Touch of Love" in 1979, "Watching You" in 1980, and "Snap Shot" in 1981. They added Charles Carter on sax and brother Sam Carter on keyboards. Starleana Young, Steve Washington, Curt Jones and Lockett departed to form Aurra in 1981. Slave added Roger Parker, Delbert Taylor, Jr., and Kevin Johnson as replacements. Arrington himself left in 1982 after the Showtime album. The band continued on, though not as successfully, into the mid 1990s. The group moved to Atlantic Records for one LP [New Plateau] in 1984, then switched to the Atlanta-based Ichiban Records the following year, releasing Unchained at Last in late 1985. Despite scoring a couple of minor hits on the R&B chart from this album the following year and another minor hit from their 1987 follow-up album, Make Believe, Slave could not recapture the commercial success they had enjoyed in their heyday. Rhino issued Stellar Fungk: The Best of Slave Featuring Steve Arrington, an anthology of their finest cuts, in 1994.
Myron Lavell Avant [born April 26, 1978], also known as Avant, is an American R&B singer, songwriter, and a stage-play actor, born in Cleveland, Ohio. He is known for his songs "Separated", "Read Your Mind", and "Makin' Good Love". He has produced three Platinum-selling albums. He has released 15 singles and 7 albums.
Avant has five siblings and he is the youngest of them all. He did not belong to a wealthy family and grew up watching his mother struggle to provide the best to her children. His mother encouraged him to improve his music skills by playing classic R&B artists like Smokey Robinson, The Supremes, and Marvin Gaye. He was passionate about music since his childhood. He pursued acting during his high school education at Cleveland School of the Arts. After graduating from high school, he worked a few factory jobs.
Avant began writing songs at the age of 14. He independently released his debut single "Separated" in 1998. It was a song based on a failed romantic relationship. The single created a buzz and was played on the radio. It helped him land a deal at Magic Johnson Music. In 2000, he released his debut album, My Thoughts, which sold more than 1.3 million copies in the United States and 4.4 million worldwide. It was released by MCA Records. His debut album featured a duet with the 1983 René & Angela ballad "My First Love". It reached the top 5 of the R&B charat and helped boost Wyatt's career. He released his second album, Ecstasy, in 2002. It featured another of his top ten hits, "Makin' Good Love". His third album, Private Room, was released in 2003, and reached number four on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. A track from the album, "Read Your Mind", was ranked 13th on the Hot 100. A remix featuring Snoop Dogg appeared on the promotional vinyl and was released on September 30, 2003. In 2006, Avant released his fourth album Director, which topped the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and debuted at number four on the Billboard 200. Its lead single, "When It Hurts", reached number 91 on the Hot 100. Avant was featured in the remix of Lloyd Banks' song "Karma" from the 2004 album The Hunger for More. He also made a cameo appearance in the 2004 feature film BarberShop 2: Back in Business. His self-titled fifth album, Avant, was released on December 9, 2008. Avant later signed to Verve Forecast and released his sixth studio album The Letter [formerly titled Wake Up] on December 21, 2010, featuring production from the likes of The Pentagon; Mike City; Marshall Leathers; and Kajun. Avant cites R. Kelly as his biggest influence and inspiration. His eighth album The VIII was released on September 25, 2015. In 2019, Avant returned with the single "Not Gone Lose" and signed a label deal to release the album Can We Fall in Love, which was released in July 2020.
Avant was nominated for Best R&B/Soul Single at the Soul Train Music Awards in 2001 for his debut single, "Separated". He was again nominated for Best R&B/Soul Single at the Soul Train Music Awards in 2007 for his single, "4 Minutes".
Avant suffers from lupus and has taken up a vegan diet to help manage its effects.
Ascending R&B talent Tiana Major9 welcomes us into her South London home with a band she assembled for her Tiny Desk [home] concert. Tiana gained the music world’s attention in August when Adele took to Instagram to call the song “Same Space?” “absolutely stunning!!” [The post was liked more than 430,000 times.] I was lucky enough to witness a private Tiana showcase in Los Angeles several months earlier, where I was moved by the refined nature of her voice. She begins her Tiny Desk with an ending of sorts: the devastating “Collide,” written for the final sequence of Lena Waithe’s critically acclaimed film Queen & Slim. Later, she shows off her range and timbre on “Think About You,” a stunning love song that infuses elements of jazz, alternative R&B and her Jamaican roots. The sweetness in its refrain “I need more hours in the day … just to think about you” feels like a blueprint for how to spend the third wave of quarantine. --- Courtesy: Abby O'Neill NPR Music
