Mista (band)
| Mista | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Atlanta, Georgia, USA |
| Genres | R&B |
| Years active | 1996-1997 |
| Labels | Elektra/EastWest |
| Members | |
| Darryl Allen Bobby "Valentino" Wilson Brandon Brown Byron Reeder |
|
Mista was an American R&B group in the mid-1990s from Atlanta, Georgia.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Mista is a R&B quartet who hit the scenes in 1996. Mista was a group of friends who were reportedly formed by a group of girls on their bus. According to Bobby Valentino, he says "I would always sing on the bus and one day somebody came up to me and said this dude wants you to sing with you, which was Byron." Byron in turn introduced Bobby to Darryl and Brandon. They tried out the sound of their harmony and banned together. Before Mista, Bobby expressed they'd called themselves Smooth. He continued that all the girls loved their voices and would comment on how angelic the guys' voices sounded. They did talent shows and performed all around their school and to any crowd.
In 1994, Bobby Wilson caught Rico Wade (a member of Organized Noize) and told him all about the group and how their looking forward to a deal. Supposedly they all met at Bobby's house and performed to Rico the harmony. Rico fell in love and now the group had been noticed. Tony Hightower, a manager over the East West Records, held auditions. Rico Wade phoned to him about Mista and raved on their potential. Somehow Tony found Mista's addresses and gathered them together and to audition they sang. According to Bobby: All the big time producers were there and of Elektra Records they had won their ears and earned a deal.
Mista was signed to East West/Elektra in 1995, and they recorded their soon-to-be-smash "Blackberry Molasses" hit. Inspired by the Atlanta crimes and the struggles of teenagers. The song hit airwaves May 13, it was the second most requested song on Hot97 and on WBDG, Mista also aired the video in Atlanta's streets. The highest chart number it rose to was no #7 on Hot Airplay. They created a tour called Earthjam going to high schools to promote their singles, from Dallas to New Orleans. The boys released their self-titled debut album, but just peaked at #37 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart. Mista received some pretty good criticism from Vibe and Jet. In November they released "Lady" which peaked at #67. They made many appearances on Teen Summit and on Soul Train.
Mista disbanded in 1998 due to them just wanting to do their own thing. Mista last recorded "About You" that had never rose to radio airplay, after Mista just called it quits. Bobby went on to a solo career having huge success when redebuting in 2005 with his single "Slow Down". Thus having 3 albums and many hit singles, he stated in an 2008 interview that there could be a possible Mista reunion.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Album
- Mista (1996)# 36 U.S R&B
[edit] Single
- Blackberry Molasses (1996)
- Lady (1996)
