5 Black Boy Bands of This Century That Deserve Better

If you’re anything like me (or several million people) at some point in your life, you went through a boy band phase. And if you’re even more like me, you haven’t grown out of it, you’ve just replaced one boy band with the next. Over the years, I’ve seen boy bands come and go (and sometimes come again). From the more obscure ones like NLT and IM5 to the global superstars like One Direction and BTS, boy bands have been a phenomena for decades.

The concept of boy bands blew up in the 80s and 90s with the formation of groups like New Edition, New Kids On The Block, Boyz II Men, Backstreet Boys, and *NSYNC. And though the end of the twentieth century is considered the height of the boy band era, the twenty first century has also produced some great boy bands, even if they didn’t always achieve the same success as those that came before them. In honor of Black History Month, we’re going to focus specifically on Black boy bands.

From not receiving the recognition they deserve to being taken advantage of by the music industry, here are five twenty first century boy bands that deserve better.

1) B2K

Debuting in the year 2000, this group rightfully named themselves B2K, which stood for “Boys of the New Millennium.” Consisting of members Omari “Omarion" Grandberry, Jarrell “J-Boog" Houston, Dreux “Lil' Fizz" Frederic, and De’Mario “Raz-B" Thornton, they won the hearts of thousands of young people with songs like “Gots Ta Be" and “Bump Bump Bump.” The group had a good run with their first album reaching number 2 on the R&B charts, but they quickly faded, announcing their break up in 2004.

But what’s worse than how short their run was are the allegations that came from Raz-B about what was going on behind the scenes. According to him, he and his older brother were sexually abused by B2K’s manager, Chris Stokes, and singer and mentor, Marques Houston. Although the other members have denied these allegations, it’s apparent that what happened to Raz-B while he was with the group had a lasting affect on him.

2) B5

I was first introduced to B5 through Disney Channel. In the early 2000s, their music videos would be played during commercial breaks like their rendition of Earth, Wind, and Fire’s “Let’s Groove" which appeared in the movie Kronk’s New Groove or their cover of High School Musical’s “Get’cha Head in The Game" or even their song “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf" which appeared on the Disney Mania 4 album. But the group (consisting of brothers Dustin, Patrick, Kelly, Carnell, and Bryan Breeding) weren’t just a product of the Disney machine.

In 2005, they released their debut album under Sean “Diddy" Combs' label, Bad Boy Records. Although signing with the label earned them appearances on BET’s 106 & Park and brought them into the public eye, it also sort of sealed their fate. Diddy and Bad Boy Records have a reputation of cheating their artists and to this day, the brothers say that they have not received a single penny in album sales from the company.

3) Day26

Another group that fell victim to Diddy’s greed and the Bad Boy curse is Day26. Formed on August 26, 2007 (from which they derived their name), the group consisting of Brian Andrews, Robert Curry, Willie Taylor, Michael McCluney, and Qwanell “Que" Mosley, first appeared on Diddy’s MTV show, Making the Band 4.

The five members were chosen from among dozens of others who were auditioning to be apart of Diddy’s newest musical group and throughout their three seasons on the show, it was shown that money was a consistent problem for the group. The youngest member, Que, seemed to feel it the hardest, blowing up due to stress about his financial struggles, giving the audience a glimpse into the reality of what the group was facing off camera. Like B5, the group eventually parted ways with Bad Boy Records and though they broke up in 2012, in 2018 they reunited and continued making music as a group.

4) Mindless Behavior

In 2008, Craig “Prodigy" Crippen, Rayan “Ray Ray" Lopez, Jacob “Princeton” Perez, and Chresanto “Roc Royal" August became the newest heartthrobs for tweens when they became Mindless Behavior. The group had hits like “My Girl" and “Mrs. Right" but fell in the shadows of British boy band, One Direction, who came on the scene around the same time that Mindless Behavior was gaining popularity.

The group also faced its own internal struggles with lead singer, Prodigy, leaving the group in 2013 due to bullying from the public and Roc Royal being arrested for robbery and battery in 2016. The group went through a few personnel changes as a result. By the time they disbanded in 2017, Princeton was the only original member left and Mindless Behavior had mostly faded from the limelight already.

5) Next Town Down

Having met through social media, these five talented young men joined forces to become a group in 2017. Made up of members Terence Thomas, Tre’von Waters, Leon Outlaw Jr., Malik Knighten, and Chris Louis, Next Town Down (or NTD as they’re sometimes referred to as) gained popularity by posting YouTube videos like “Evolution of Boy Bands" in which they paid tribute to groups like The Temptations, Jackson 5, and One Direction.

NTD has achieved mild success with singles like “Easy" but hasn’t quite broken through to the mainstream. Despite still consisting of its original lineup and all five being great singers and dancers, the group is not yet a household name like they should be.

Besides Mindless Behavior and B2K, all of the groups on this list are still making music together, so there’s still time to support them and get them the recognition (and money) they deserve.

And for Mindless Behavior and B2K, it’s never too late for some nostalgia.

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Thanks for reading!

-Chanté