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The Future (Guy album)

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The Future
Studio album by
Guy
ReleasedNovember 13, 1990
Recorded1989–1990
GenreNew jack swing[1]
Length72:02
Label
ProducerGuy, Teddy Riley, Bernard Belle, Aqil Davidson, Brandon Mitchell
Guy chronology
Guy
(1988) 		The Future
(1990) 		Guy III
(2000)
Singles from The Future
  1. "Wanna Get with U"
    Released: October 5, 1990
  2. "Let's Chill"
    Released: February 18, 1991
  3. "Do Me Right"
    Released: April 24, 1991
  4. "D-O-G Me Out"
    Released: August 6, 1991
  5. "Her"
    Released: September 24, 1991
  6. "Let's Stay Together"
    Released: January 14, 1992

The Future is the second studio album by American R&B group Guy, released in November 13, 1990 on Uptown Records and MCA Records, also internationally on Warner Bros. Records. It would be their last album before their reunion a decade later.

Background

The Future had a much darker tone in stark contrast to their debut. Most of it had to do with things going on behind the scenes. A year after the release of their debut album, they fired their manager Gene Griffin - who they claimed allocated funds from the group.[2][3] This revelation angered all of the members, and particularly infuriated lead singer Aaron Hall - so much so that he didn't sing on half of the album. Hall revealed:

"There came a time where I just did not want to sing a single note. To be honest, it was the money. It just became too depressing. We were the biggest group in the world and we were flat broke. It took its toll".[4]

As a result, Teddy Riley assumed the duties of lead vocals for the remainder of The Future.

Also on a tour with their MCA labelmates New Edition, things got out of hand between the two acts.[4] Although New Edition were headliners, Guy happened to upstage them a few dates into the tour. This created a rivalry backstage that turned deadly. One of New Edition's production managers Ronald Boyd shot and killed Anthony Bee - a member of Guy's security detail.[4][5][6] Guy would dedicate the song "Long Gone" to the memory of Bee- as well as Wrecks-N-Effect member Brandon Mitchell, who was also killed in the same year.[7][4] The Future contained songs where they attacked their former manager Gene Griffin and his then-proteges, Motown Records recording group Basic Black.[7] By the time they released the fifth single "Let's Stay Together" in early 1992, Guy called it quits and embarked on separate endeavors, with Aaron and Damion Hall releasing solo albums and Riley starting the group Blackstreet.[2][4]

Covers

A couple of the songs from The Future have been covered. Priority Records singer Toni Estes covered the song "Let's Chill" from her 2000 debut Two Eleven.[8] Singer Charlie Wilson also covered "Let's Chill" from his 2005 album Charlie, Last Name Wilson.[9] R&B singer Case covered the song "Smile" on his 2009 album The Rose Experience.[10]

Release and reception

The Future peaked at sixteen on the U.S. Billboard 200 and reached number one on the R&B Albums chart. By January 1991, it was certified platinum in sales by the RIAA after sales exceeding one million copies in the United States.

Although Alex Henderson of AllMusic felt The Future was not as strong an album as its predecessor, he still gave a positive note to the work, calling it "one of the more appealing – and certainly more authentic – examples of "new jack swing."[1]

Track listing

No.TitleMusicLength
1."Her"Davidson, Hall, Riley3:53
2."Wanna Get with U"Davidson, Hall, Riley4:47
3."Do Me Right" (featuring Heavy D)Heavy D, Riley, Way4:23
4."Teddy's Jam 2"Hall, Riley4:19
5."Let's Chill"Belle, Riley5:23
6."Tease Me Tonite"Hall, Riley, Way5:08
7."D-O-G Me Out"Hall, Riley, Way4:23
8."Total Control"Davidson, Riley3:00
9."Gotta Be a Leader" (featuring Wreckx-N-Effect)Davidson, Riley4:28
10."The Future"Hall, Hall, Riley, Way4:12
11."Let's Stay Together"Hall, Riley4:01
12."Where Did the Love Go"Hall, Hall, Riley1:15
13."Yearning for Your Love"Scott, Wilson4:35
14."Smile"Hall, Hall, Riley4:25
15."Long Gone"Belle, Riley5:52
16."Wanna Get with U [Club Version]"Davidson, Hall, Riley7:58
  • "Where Did The Love Go", "Yearning for Your Love" and "Smile" are not available on the vinyl release of The Future.
  • "Wanna Get With U" [Club Version] is not available on the cassette release of The Future.

Chart history

Album

Chart (1990)[11] Peak
position
U.S. Billboard 200 16
U.S. R&B Albums 1

Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions[12]
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 U.S. Dance Music/Club Play Singles U.S. Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks
1990 "Wanna Get with U" 50 27 12 4
1991 "Let's Chill" 41 — 10 3
"Do Me Right" — 47 18 2
"D-O-G Me Out" — — 15 8
"Her" — — 16 58
1992 "Let's Stay Together" — — 39 16

"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Personnel

Information taken from AllMusic.[13]

  • Jeanne Bradshaw – art direction, design
  • Stuart Watson – artwork
  • Scott Canto – assistant engineer
  • Michael Fossenkemper – assistant engineer
  • Rich July – assistant engineer
  • Kevin Kelly – assistant engineer
  • Jim Kvoriac – assistant engineer
  • Dave Lebowitz – assistant engineer
  • Dave Way – engineer, mixing
  • Aaron Hall – keyboards, producer
  • Herb Powers – mastering
  • Chris Trevett – mixing
  • Dave Way – mixing
  • Todd Gray – photography
  • Stuart Watson – photography
  • Bernard Belle – producer
  • Aqil Davidson – producer, backing vocals
  • Guy – producer, backing vocals
  • Aaron Hall – producer, vocals, backing vocals
  • Brandon Mitchell – producer, backing vocals
  • Markell Riley – producer, backing vocals
  • Teddy Riley – producer, vocals
  • Heavy D – rapper
  • David Wynn – scratching
  • Damion Hall – vocals
  • Bernard Belle
  • Mary Brown – backing vocals
  • Tammy Lucas – backing voals
  • Marsha McClurkin – backing vocals

Notes

  1. ^ a b Henderson, Alex. "allmusic ((( The Future > Review )))". AllMusic. Retrieved 2010-06-30.
  2. ^ a b Neal, Mark Anthony. "Blackstreet Level II (review)". popmatters.com. PopMatters Media, Inc. Retrieved 2015-10-05.
  3. ^ Herrmann, Brenda. "The King Of New Jack Swing". article. chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2014-05-06.
  4. ^ a b c d e hampton, dream (February 2000). Hard Rock: Nas, Eve and Sisqo Take it to the New Millennium. Vibe Magazine.
  5. ^ "allhiphop.com". interview. allhiphop.com. Retrieved 2014-05-06.
  6. ^ Wilker, Deborah. "Violence On- And Offstage A Bitter Blow To R&b Tour". article. articles.sun-sentinel.com. Retrieved 2014-05-06.
  7. ^ a b Coleman, Mark. "POP MUSIC : New Jack Swingman : Guy's leading guy, Teddy Riley, draws from rap, R&B, gospel and funk as he designs pop's hippest, hottest sound". latimes.com. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2015-01-10.
  8. ^ "Let's Chill – Toni Estes". whosampled.com. WhoSampled. Retrieved 2015-01-10.
  9. ^ "Let's Chill – Charlie Wilson". whosampled.com. WhoSampled. Retrieved 2015-01-10.
  10. ^ "Smile – Guy". whosampled.com. WhoSampled. Retrieved 2015-01-10.
  11. ^ "allmusic ((( The Future > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". AllMusic. Retrieved 2010-06-30.
  12. ^ "allmusic ((( The Future > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))". AllMusic. Retrieved 2010-06-30.
  13. ^ "allmusic ((( The Future > Credits )))". AllMusic. Retrieved 2010-06-30.

See also

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