UB Celebrates: 30th Anniversary of The Boys

Sometimes, it’s lip-syncing and dancing for dollars on Venice Beach, at weddings and private parties. Later, it’s in acting, as The Boys made a split-second appearance in Stevie Wonder’s music video for “Skeletons.” In 1987, Hakim earned roles on NBC-TV’s comedy series Amen and the movie Ernest Goes To Camp.

The Boys focused their ambitions towards music-making, and their father Jabari circulated a demo tape to various record labels, including MCA, where senior executive Jheryl Busby is impressed. He signed the siblings and, as MCA buys Motown Records in 1988, takes them to the “new” Motown upon becoming its president. The foursome worked in the studio with various producers, including L.A. Reid & Babyface, who wrote (with Daryl Simmons) and produce The Boys’ first hit, “Dial My Heart.” The record topped the Billboard R&B best-sellers, and hit the Top 20 of the pop charts, too.

Late October in 1988 sees the release of the group’s debut Motown album, “Messages From The Boys,” which includes “Dial My Heart” and their second #1, “Lucky Charm,” also produced by L.A. Reid & Babyface. Such success brings benefits. “We got to see the world,” Khiry told Billboard. “We’re constantly traveling and we always meet new people. We get to see what’s out there…because if you don’t know what’s out there, then you won’t reach for anything.”

The brothers reach for even more: “Crazy” from their sophomore Motown album, self-titled The Boys. It was another #1 on the R&B charts – and this time, it’s co-written and produced by Hakim and Khiry. Motown’s belief in the band becomes even stronger. “Enough for us to produce just about everything on the second album,” said Tajh, “except for one song, which was done by L.A. and Babyface.” The success of “Crazy” also sees it adapted into a Pepsi commercial.

The Saga Continues… was The Boys’ third Motown album, released in 1992, while later that year, they return to the small screen with a one-hour ABC-TV special, The Boys. The plot finds the brothers “adopted” by Ron (Superfly) O’Neal and Beverly (Lean On Me) Todd, while the show’s finale includes a performance by former Motown artist Thelma Houston.

The following year, the Abdul-Samad brothers begin to step back from the limelight, trying their hands at writers and producers, and later relocate to Gambia in West Africa. Later still, they are reborn as the Suns, offering a blend of alternative hip-hop and traditional West African music known as mbalax, in albums such as Mission and Millennium Music. The Boys are now men, and Suns. They moved to Gambia, set up a recording studio there, renamed themselves The Suns of Light and continued to make music.

This year the group was spotlighted on TV One‘s hit series “Unsung.” In support the fellas regrouped to record the Boys reunion single “Always 4 Ever.”

Tajh/Crown now calls Atlanta home and him and sibling Bilal & Hakim have all continued to release new music over the years. As Tajh stated in an online interview, “We have a label called Sun Light Music and we produce a lot of music for some of the artists we have in Africa as well as our own music. Individually, Bilal, Hakim and myself, we have solo albums we’ve produced over the years and they’re available on iTunes, Soundcloud, Spotify and major distribution sites.”

Take a trip down memory lane and celebrate the 30th Anniversary of The Boys!
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