Release Date: January 27, 2017
Track Listing
- Ready (feat. Doug E. Fresh)
- Find a Way
- I’m Betta
- Hot Damn
- Run
- All Dat There
- Don’t go
- Finally (feat. SWV)
- One More Try (feat. Boyz II Men)
- Incredible
Review
In the 1990s, Bell Biv DeVoe came out of the shadows of being backing players in New Edition to becoming one of the pioneers of the New Jack Swing sound with their debut album Poison.
While they never quite hit the heights of their debut in the years since, they stayed together, performing as a group and with New Edition during their reunion tours. After 16 years, Bell Biv DeVoe return with their fourth studio album Three Stripes.
It features the single Run and collaborations with fellow 90’s throwbacks SWV and Boyz II Men.
Run is the one song that most will immediately turn up simply because it heavily samples The Notorious BIG’s Hypnotize. That track and Hot Damn are about as close as you get to old-school BBD on this album. They capture the spirit of their heyday while bringing the group into the modern era of R&B and Hip-Hop.
When it comes to the slower moments on the album, there isn’t much that comes close to their strongest ballads. Don’t Go, and the collaboration with Boyz II Men (One More Try) is about as good as it gets. The latter is a nice slice of 70’s soul that brings just the right amount of that classic R&B feel. The closing track, Incredible, is worth giving a spin, even if it’s not as strong as the two previously mentioned songs.
What I find funny is that throughout this album, the tried and true BBD template is still mostly followed to a tee. Ricky Bell takes on most of the singing, while Michael Bivins and Ronnie DeVoe take on rapping and harmonies.
Of course, it’s not all good. Biv and DeVoe still have a ’90s flow to their raps, and it’s embarrassing to hear almost 50-year-old men dropping lines that a 20-something-year-old would say if you are willing to bypass that for nostalgia. More power to you.
In the end, Three Stripes is not the grand comeback of New Jack Swing or anything like that. If you had high expectations for BBD’s comeback, you might want to scale back your enthusiasm. Instead, think of Three Stripes as a decent return to active duty for one of the more popular acts of the 1990s. If you grew up during that time or had a thing for groups of that time, you might want to give this ago.
Otherwise, pass.
