AccuRadio Song Of The Day-112

Artist:112

Song:Cupid

Album:112

The R&B vocal group 112 (pronounced one twelve) had success mostly on the R&B charts in the late 90s on Sean "Puffy" Combs' label Bad Boy. They will certainly remind you of Boyz II Men but they weren't as successful. They met while attending high school in Atlanta. It started with Daron Jones, Michael Keith and Reginald Finley. Then they added Aldon Lagon and Marvin Scandrick. They called themselves Forte. The production team of Tim & Bob (Tim Kelley, Bob Robinson) spotted them and tried to get them a deal with Dallas Austin's new label Rowdy Records. Producer Kevin Wales got them to audition for Combs and they signed with Bad Boy. The name 112 is Club 112 in Atlanta where they auditioned. They moved to New York to record the 1996 album 112. Most of the album was produced either by Tim & Bob or Combs. Cupid reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the R&B Singles chart. The producer was Arnold Hennings who had previously worked with Jermaine Stewart and Hi-Five. 112 co-wrote and co-produced Cupid and other songs on the album. Garcelle Beauvais from NYPD Blue appeared in the video. The 1998 album Room 112 was also successful. The singles Love Me and Anywhere were top five R&B hits. The big thing is 112 got to write and produce several songs including Anywhere. They scored their two biggest hits from the 2001 album Part III. It's Over Now reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Peaches & Cream reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Combs and Mario Winans produced Peaches & Cream and Jones and 112 produced It's Over Now. They produced a lot of the album. But it didn't sell as well as previous albums and 112 wanted to leave Bad Boy for DefJam's DefSoul label. The 2003 album Hot & Wet was released by both labels and the 2005 album Pleasure & Pain was on DefSoul. Pleasure & Pain was certified Gold and the single U Already Know was a top five R&B hit. But it wasn't enough and Def Soul dropped 112. There is no 112 comp but all albums are available as digital downloads. 112 is still around. They released an album on their own label in 2017. Scandrick and Keith lead a touring version of 112 and the others have released solo  albums. But considering the high powered folks behind 112, they should have been more successful. Here's the video for Cupid by 112.