Blackstreet's 1996's Another Level album was a breakthrough success due to the top single "No Diggity" (with Dr. Dre), which was a #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1996, and won the 1998 Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, along with the Top 40 hit "Don't Leave Me". Another Level eventually went four times platinum in the United States and peaked at #3 on the Billboard chart. "No Diggity" is ranked at #91 on Rolling Stone and MTV: 100 Greatest Pop Songs, while Blackstreet comes in at #214 of the Top 500 Pop Artists of the Past 25 Years.

Johnny Gill is an American R&B musician, songwriter and singer best known as a successful solo recording artist and as lead singer of platinum-selling boy band New Edition. Johnny Gill also contained four singles that powered onto the R&B and Pop Singles charts: "My, My, My," a signature Gill ballad that reached No. 1 on the R&B chart and the Top 10 on the Pop chart; "Wrap My Body Tight"; "Fairweather Friend" and "Rub You the Right Way."

After 7 emerged in the '90s as a solid contemporary ensemble able to perform creditably in either vintage soul or modern new jack and urban styles. The Indianapolis trio includes brothers Melvin and Kevin Edmonds (the brothers of producer/performer Babyface) and Keith Mitchell (cousin of Babyface's longtime partner L.A. Reid). They signed with Virgin in 1989 and had immediate success with their LP After 7. Such songs as "Can't Stop" and "Heat of the Moment" were major winners on the urban and quiet storm circuit.

Total is an American R&B girl group and one of the signature acts of Sean Combs' Bad Boy Records imprint during the 1990s. Total is best known for their hits "What You Want" (Featuring Mase), "Kissing You", "Can't You See" (featuring The Notorious B.I.G.), and "What About Us?" & "Trippin'", both featuring Missy Elliott. Long also featured on The Notorious B.I.G.'s hit song "Hypnotize", singing the chorus.