Portrait is an American R&B and

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- ...

vocal quartet, consisting of members Michael Angelo Saulsberry, Irving Washington III, Eric Kirkland and Philip Johnson. The quartet group's music sound was influenced by the

new jack swing New jack swing, new jack, or swingbeat is a fusion genre of the rhythms and production techniques of hip hop and dance-pop, and the urban contemporary sound of R&B. Spearheaded by producers Teddy Riley, Bernard Belle, Jimmy Jam and Te ...

style of the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Career

The group, which hailed from

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

debuted in 1992 with a self-titled

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

riding on the end of the

era. Their debut single " Here We Go Again!", which sampled Michael Jackson's ''

Off the Wall ''Off the Wall'' is the fifth studio album by the American singer Michael Jackson, released on August 10, 1979, by Epic Records. It was Jackson's first album released through Epic Records, and the first produced by Quincy Jones, whom he met ...

'' track "I Can't Help It", reached #11 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #3 on the

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

in early 1993, and the second single "Honey Dip" also reached the R&B top 20. The group was featured in an episode of '' Family Matters'', titled "Stormy Weather", performing " Here We Go Again!". In that episode, they were performing at a high school prom, where Waldo mentions that he got them to do it because one of the members happens to be his cousin—Waldo adds that his cousin says he'll do whatever Waldo asks him to do as long as he doesn't tell people that they're related. Although Steve Urkel ends up correctly guessing which of the members is Waldo's cousin. Throughout 1993 and 1994, Portrait could be heard lending their voices to various projects, appearing on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

s to the

movies A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, since ...

, '' Addams Family Values'' and '' Blankman'', as well as singing on the

Black Men United Black Men United (B.M.U.) was a collaboration of many African-American male R&B, neo soul and soul music artists. Their only song " U Will Know", written by a young D'Angelo, was released in 1994. It was featured in the film ''Jason's Lyric'', a ...

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

, "U Will Know" for the '' Jason's Lyric Soundtrack''. Portrait also provided

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

on the

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and bandleader. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received List of awards and nominations re ...

single "Slow Jams", which featured Babyface and

Tamia Tamia Marilyn Washington Hill (born May 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Windsor, Ontario, Tamia performed in various singing and dancing competitions as a child. In 1994, after signing a development deal with War ...

on lead vocals, in 1995. The song reached #68 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Also in 1995, the group released their second album, '' All That Matters''. The album had a few minor hits, with "I Can Call You" reaching #22 on the R&B charts and " How Deep Is Your Love", a cover of the

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in ...

song, briefly appearing on the Hot 100. In 2018, the group returned as a trio consisting of Michael Angelo Saulsberry, Phillip Johnson, and new member Ruben "R.C." Monge (former lead singer of R&B band ''Po' Broke 'N Lonely?'') with a new single entitled "In The Moment" off of their forthcoming project entitled "Beach Music" which landed them opportunities to tour in Germany and the United Kingdom respectively.

Discography

Albums

Compilation albums

Singles

Featured singles

References

External links

Portrait BioBillboard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Portrait (group) American contemporary R&B musical groups American boy bands Musical groups from Los Angeles Musical groups established in 1991 New jack swing music groups