To coincide with the installments of BET’s The New Edition Story miniseries this week, Bell Biv DeVoe released Three Stripes, their first album with new content in nearly 16 years. Yet the band’s attempt to create a sound appropriate for both old and new fans alike results in an inauthentic blend of the past and today’s styles.
Successfully emulating popular music trends while also retaining originality is a task most dated musicians can’t overcome. The moments where Three Stripes truly shine are the ones in which autotune and synths are thoughtfully combined with saxophones and breakbeats. The only problem is these moments rarely happen.
“Ready,” featuring Human Beat Box Doug E. Fresh, opens the album, allowing for a rare, funky display. However, once the unimaginative beats of the second track, “Find A Way,” are heard, it becomes clear that the quality of album is inconsistent throughout.
Unfortunately, the album’s lead single, “Run,” is the best song among the ten tracks on Three Stripes. The single borrows the cadence of Notorious B.I.G’s “Hypnotize” while interpolating the 1963 hit “Da Doo Ron Ron” by The Crystals to create momentous rhythms. This kind of creativity is nice, but it’s stifled on other songs as even the distinct harmonies of the boy band are overshadowed by messy overproduction.
Listening to the album, it’s not quite clear what sound Bell Biv Devoe was hoping to accomplish. “Hot Damn,” with its choruses showered in annoying chants, has a melody reminiscent of Bruno Mars, but it’s clear they do not possess Mars’ effortless ability to create mainstream R&B hits.
The group, who still performed together in their time off, still retains their cohesion and ability to combine their vocals into one cohesive melody. But what allowed for Bell Biv Devoe to successfully break off from New Edition and produce party bangers in the 1990s was their ability to create music that pioneered the new jack swing movement.
Three Stripes could have been the album that reestablished Bell Biv Devoe’s relevancy, but unfortunately the group could not prevent the same habits that allowed their popularity to wane years ago. Moments of creative, somewhat brilliant sampling are overshadowed by the unoriginal and uncharismatic beats. Even with the support of this week’s docu-series, Three Stripes does little to help Bell Biv Devoe make their mark on today’s music scene.
