” However, both albums, with regards to For The Record … ” Mint Condition returned in 1993 with From the Mint Factory, which yielded another hit single that reached number two on Billboard ’s Hot R&B chart entitled “U Send Me Swingin ’. In 1991, the sextet debuted with Meant to Be Mint, an album containing the hit songs “Breakin ’ My Heart (Pretty Brown Eyes), ” which rose to number one on the Billboard R&B chart, and “Forever in Your Eyes. They are actually starting to have bands and they are actually helping a lot of the old bands to come back out just by using their samples and reviving the whole sound. “We see a lot of changes even within the hip-hop community. However, Williams does admit that there are some positive signs emerging from the rap scene. Mint Condition viewed this as an important mission, Williams said, given the fact that so many public schools have cut music programs out of the curriculum altogether, leaving many musically inclined youngsters to become either rappers or DJs as outsets for musical self-expression. ” After signing a record deal, Mint Condition set about their dream of revitalizing the live band sound. ![]() “After they came out to see us at a live show, they told us we had a deal. “There was definitely a kinship there, ” Williams told Jones, adding that Mint Condition received a lot of useful advice from the production duo. ” This sense of musicianship, note many critics, lacks in much of the hip-hop and producer-driven vocal acts that dominated the R&B scene throughout the 1990s.įormed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1989, Mint Condition started out performing in local clubs before attracting the attention of producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis of Perspective Records, a subsidiary of A&M Records. “On a lot of the songs we just set up and played in a circle and recorded mistakes and all because that ’s what musicianship and real music is about -the element of surprise. “We came up listening to all those bands from the ’70s -Cameo, Funkadelic, Led Zeppelin, a bit of everything, ” Williams recalled in an interview with USA Today ’s Steve Jones upon the release of the group ’s 1996 album Definition of a Band. ![]() Mint Condition, who dabble in funk, jazz, and rock in addition to R&B, admire and pay tribute to a myriad of artists from the past as well as the present. Not only do they remain respectful and indebted to the rich African American musical tradition, but they also recognize the countless varieties of expression from around the world. The products of a similar musical environment, the members of Mint Condition also shared a musical sensibility that transcended cultural and generational boundaries. Before joining forces as Mint Condition, all the band members played in various bands and backed singers around the Minneapolis- St. All of the members, excluding Kinchen, who came to the group from Chicago, graduated from Central High School in St. The members of Mint Condition include Larry Waddell on keyboards, Homer O ’Dell on guitar, Stokley Williams on lead vocals and drums, Jeff Allen on saxophone and keyboards, Kerri Lewis on keyboards, and Ricky Kinchen on bass. Their 1999 album, Life ’s Aquarium, a collection of songs that centers on life experiences, continued to showcase Mint Condition ’s unique dedication to an ideology that was conceived a full decade prior. For this reason, Mint Condition stand apart from their peers, courageously resisting the temptation to implement formula over function. ![]() Whereas many contemporary R&B and soul-inspired groups arrive on the musical landscape solely as an “album act, ” Mint Condition, a union of dedicated musicians who believe that playing their own instruments helps to vocalize their art, have always preferred to “keep it real, ” usually opting to record in a live studio. Taking cues from groups before them like the Gap Band and Earth, Wind, and Fire, Mint Condition remained one of the genre ’s few acts that play as a self-contained live band -a rare occurrence in today ’s market-driven music industry. The Minneapolis sextet built a fanbase the old-fashioned way: through live performances. Mint Condition, known for ballads such as the gold singles “Swingin ” ’ and “Breakin ’ My Heart (Pretty Brown Eyes), ” arrived on the music scene in 1991 with Meant to Be Mint, progressively carving a niche for themselves in the world of rhythm and blues over the years that followed.
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