Full Force is an American music group of

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

and R&B singers, songwriters and producers from

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Members

*B-Fine (Brian George) –

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

s and drum programming, backing vocals *Shy Shy (Hugh Junior Clark) –

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

, backing vocals *Paul Anthony (Paul Anthony George) – vocals *Bow-Legged Lou (Lucien George Jr.) – vocals *Curt-T-T (Curt Bedeau) –

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

, backing vocals *Baby Gerry (Gerry Charles) – keyboards,

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

s, backing vocals.

History

Production and songwriting

The group produced and wrote music for numerous artists including UTFO, Doctor Ice,

Samantha Fox Samantha Karen Fox (born 15 April 1966) is an English pop singer and former glamour model from Crouch End in North London. She has appeared on reality television shows and has occasionally worked as a television presenter and actress. Fox beg ...

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American Rhythm and blues, R&B singer and actress. She has been referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godmother of Soul". LaBelle began ...

, The Force M.D.s,

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam were a United States urban contemporary band and one of the first freestyle music groups to emerge from New York City in the 1980s. Cult Jam consisted of vocalist Lisa Lisa, born Lisa Velez, guitarist/ bassist Alex "Sp ...

Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson (musician), Kevin Richardson. The band formed in 1993 in Orlando, Flori ...

, 'N Sync, Wild Orchid, Cheryl Pepsii Riley, and

Lil' Kim Kimberly Denise Jones (born July 11, 1974), Those giving 1974 include: * * * * * better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper. She was born and raised in New York City and lived much of her adolescent life on the streets after ...

. Full Force's breakthrough hit was UTFO's " Roxanne, Roxanne" (1984), a record that led to several answer records, most notably one by

Roxanne Shanté Lolita Shante Gooden (born November 9, 1969), better known by her stage name Roxanne Shante, is an American rapper. She first gained attention in 1984 through the Roxanne Wars, and was part of the Juice Crew. The 2017 film ''Roxanne Roxanne'' ...

. Through the 80s the group produced a string of major hits for

, including " I Wonder If I Take You Home", " All Cried Out", and "

Head to Toe Head to Toe may refer to: * ''Head to Toe'' (EP), a 1994 EP by the Breeders * "Head to Toe" (Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam song), 1987 * "Head to Toe" (Bill Anderson song), 1977 {{dab ...

". They also scored hits for

, including " Naughty Girls (Need Love Too)" and " I Wanna Have Some Fun" and R&B singer Cheryl Pepsii Riley including US R&B number one " Thanks for My Child". Their 1988 single " I'm Real" for

gave the legendary singer his biggest hit for 14 years, peaking at US R&B number two. Additionally, the group wrote and produced most of the singles from La Toya Jackson's fifth studio album '' La Toya'', including " You're Gonna Get Rocked!" and " You Blew," as well as

's track "I Got It Like That", for which they also provided prominent background vocals from her 1989 album '' Be Yourself''. Full Force also provided backing vocals on two

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

songs recorded during sessions for ''

Infidels An infidel (literally "unfaithful") is a person who is accused of disbelief in the central tenets of one's own religion, such as members of another religion, or irreligion, irreligious people. Infidel is an Ecclesiology, ecclesiastical term in Ch ...

'': "Death Is Not the End" (released on '' Down in the Groove'' (1988) and "Tell Me" (released on '' The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961-1991''). Full Force's biggest hit from the 1990s was the Backstreet Boys' 1998 US top 5/UK number 2 hit single " All I Have to Give". Full Force also worked with

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

's ex-wife Mayté on her 1995 album ''Child of the Sun'', however the tracks remain unreleased. Full Force also contributed to the production on

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's 2002 unreleased album, '' Blaque Out'' and

's 2003 release, '' La Bella Mafia'', on her song "Can't Fuck with Queen Bee." The group produced

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's "That La, La, La," which appears on her 2005 debut album ''

Music of the Sun ''Music of the Sun'' is the debut studio album by Barbadian singer Rihanna. It was released on August 29, 2005, by Def Jam Recordings. Prior to signing with Def Jam, Rihanna was discovered by record producer Evan Rogers in Barbados, who helped ...

'', and wrote the worldwide hit " Don't Phunk with My Heart" by Black Eyed Peas that same year.

Recording

In addition to their production résumé, the group have also released their own albums and music. Their 1985 single "Alice, I Want You Just for Me!" became a Top 10 hit in the UK in January 1986. They placed several hit singles under their own name on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' R&B

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphics, graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can repres ...

during the latter half of the 1980s. Tracks such as "Unselfish Lover" (from their self-titled debut) and "Temporary Love Thing" (from their follow-up album, ''Full Force Get Busy 1 Time!'') received substantial airplay. "All in My Mind" became the group's first and only single to date to reach the R&B Top Ten in 1988. In 2001 Thump Records, a label known for its freestyle compilations, released the group's first greatest hits compilation ''Ahead of Their Time! Full Force's Greatest Hits''. In 2007, on its Columbia release ''Legendary'', the group has a song dedicated to

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954) is an American television presenter, talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show' ...

titled "We're Feeling You, Oprah." It was inspired by the related members' mother's love for Winfrey.

Acting

They appeared in the 1990 comedy film ''

House Party A house party is a type of party held at the home of the party's host. Organization A house party might be organized several months or just a few hours in advance. News of a party may be spread by personal invitations, word of mouth, pos ...

'' and its first sequel as the bullies of

Kid 'n Play Kid 'n Play is an American hip-hop duo from New York City who were most popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It is composed of Christopher Reid ("Kid") and Christopher Martin ("Play") working alongside their DJ, Mark "DJ Wiz" Eastmond. B ...

. (Although not included on ''House Partys official soundtrack album, Full Force's "Ain't My Type of Hype" was used in the film's dance-battle scene.) Bowlegged Lou also acted in '' Who's the Man?'' (1993) and played Lord Primus in the 2013 sci-fi TV series ''Body Jumpers''. Full Force also appeared in the pool scene as karaoke judges in Longshot (2001).

Discography

Albums

Singles

As producers

Filmography

* 1985: '' Krush Groove'' * 1990: ''

'' * 1991: ''

House Party 2 ''House Party 2'' is a 1991 American comedy film and the second installment of the House_Party_(franchise)#Films, ''House Party'' film series. Kid 'n Play, Full Force, Tisha Campbell, and Martin Lawrence reprise their roles from the first film ...

'' * 1993: '' Who's the Man?'' * 2001: '' Longshot (film)''

References

External links

* * * * * {{Authority control African-American record producers American hip-hop record producers American contemporary R&B musical groups Capitol Records artists Columbia Records artists New jack swing music groups Record production teams Songwriters from New York (state) TVT Records artists Musical groups from Brooklyn 1976 establishments in New York City