The 1990s stars will sing in the capital at Zayed Sports City

Fans of 1990s R&B tunes can see two of the decade’s biggest groups next month in the UAE – urban legends Dru Hill and Blackstreet are to perform at Zayed Sports City at the Sunset Music Festival.

The second edition of the festival will also feature local hip hop and urban stars, including Syrian, UAE-based rapper Moh Flow and Dubai-based hip hop collective The Recipe. But what about those headliners? Here’s a brief introduction to two of the biggest urban acts of the 1990s.

Blackstreet
Blackstreet formed way back in 1991 in New York by Teddy Riley and Chauncey Hannibal and their first single, Baby Be Mine, featured on the soundtrack for the 1993 movie CB4, starring Chris Rock. They won a Grammy back in 1998 for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals and have released four albums over the years, the last being 2003’s Level II.

Their biggest hits include No Diggity, which went to No1 in the US charts back in 1996, and 1994’s Before I Let You Go. They’ve collaborated with many big names in the past, including Ja Rule, Janet Jackson, Dr Dre and Guns N’ Roses legend Slash.

Dru Hill
Dru Hill hail from Baltimore, Maryland. The group have been active since 1992 and original line-up members include Sisqo (who went on to have quite the solo career himself, including 1999’s Thong Song), Nokio the N-Tity, Tao and Jazz. Several of the group met at Middle School. Their music has soul, hip hop and even gospel influences; in fact the group started out as a gospel outfit. Several of Dru Hill held jobs at local fudge factory The Fudgery and used to sing to customers while making fudge before they were famous.

The Hill will always be remembered for their biggest hits including 1997’s In My Bed and Never Make A Promise, 1998’s How Deep Is Your Love (featuring New Jersey rapper Redman) and These Are The Times.

February 16
Zayed Sports City, Abu Dhabi, tickets from Dhs150. Tel: (02) 4034200. Taxi: Zayed Sports City. platinumlist.net