Biography

New jack swing and pop-rap group Another Bad Creation scored their biggest hit with their debut single. Written by Michael Bivins -- the New Edition/Bell Biv DeVoe member who discovered and managed the group -- and producer Dallas Austin, "Iesha" entered Billboard's Hot R&B Singles chart in November 1990 and eventually peaked at number six. Almost unavoidable for a period on commercial U.S. radio, the song, which also featured fellow East Coast Family members Boyz II Men on background vocals, also crossed into the Top Ten of the Hot 100. Though ABC were patterned after the bubblegum R&B groups before them, including the Jackson 5 and New Edition, they put a hip-hop spin on the form, and certainly were more street-oriented than their closest contemporaries and Motown labelmates the Boys. Sustained by follow-up single "Playground," Chris Sellers, Marliss "Mark" Pugh, Demetrius "Red" Pugh, David Shelton, and Romell "RoRo" Chapman became certified platinum artists through Coolin' at the Playground Ya Know!, their first album. They released their second album in 1993, just after the group made an appearance in Robert Townsend's The Meteor Man. Titled as a jab at fellow Atlantans Kriss Kross, It Ain't What U Wear, It's How U Play It featured productions from Tim Kelley and Bob Robinson (aka Tim & Bob), Nathan Morris and Shawn Stockman (of Boyz II Men), and Busta Rhymes, among others. None of its singles charted, and the group subsequently disappeared from the public eye. Some members, including Mark and RoRo, continued to record into the 2010s. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi