This year Atlanta group 112 will celebrate the 20th anniversary of their debut album.
It’s been nearly two decades since Bad Boy Records debuted the band with feel-good R&B singles such as “Only You” and “Cupid.”
Now, as 112 prepares to celebrate the milestone and the imprint that made them successful, lead singer Slim is readying his sophomore solo effort. “Refueled” is out May 13.
The singer tapped Atlanta rapper Rich Homie Quan for the album’s first single, a club-ready ode to sticking it out in a relationship throughout the rough patches.
We met up with Slim last week in an Atlanta studio and he played the video for us. Shot in a back room at vintage furniture shop Paris on Ponce, the "Moulin Rogue"-themed video features Slim and Rich Homie Quan interacting with a group of women on a couch.
Slim said he was inspired to make a new album, offering his “interpretation of love,” after hearing the subject matter of recent popular songs.
“There’s no ‘Becky with the good hair’ [on this album],” the singer joked, referencing Beyonce’s newest album and the infidelity rumors that were sparked as a result of its content.
This isn’t much different from the songs that made 112 popular, he said. Even raunchier singles such as “Peaches & Cream” and “Anywhere” focused on the positive aspects of relationships. That doesn’t mean they never explored the negative aspects of relationships, however. “It’s Over Now” and “What If” both find the men looking back at a relationship that had a bad ending.
Slim will host a release party for “Refueled” at the Gold Room on May 13. He will perform at 1 a.m. and tickets are $20.
After that, he will have to shift his focus to 112’s ventures.
Following a well-received reunion at the BET Awards in 2015, two back-to-back Bad Boy reunion concerts will take place later this month in Brooklyn.
Diddy, Faith Evans, Lil Kim, Mase, 112, Mario Winans and French Montana will perform during the shows.
Slim said he couldn’t confirm whether or not the Bad Boy Family Reunion will visit other cities, but he’s hoping they’ll be able to take the show on the road.
“It’s a real family,” he said.
A collaboration has already come out of the reunion. Rapper Mase is featured on “Refueled” track “Killin ‘Em Girl.”
112 hasn’t released a new album since 2005’s “Pleasure & Pain,” but there are talks of getting back in the studio as long as they can protect their legacy while doing so.
“We want to come out and make an imprint,” Slim said.
Regardless of if there's new music to perform, the group's upcoming show with Silk and Jagged Edge will likely be a huge celebration. The August 6 show is just a few weeks away from the 20th anniversary of the release of their self-titled debut album.
When we spoke with Silk earlier this year, the group expressed how much they enjoy performing with 112 and Jagged Edge. Slim echoed their sentiments.
“We knew them before we had deals,” Slim said. “We started from the bottom [together].
The show is a part of Wolf Creek Amphitheater’s 2016 concert series, which kicks off on May 7 with performances from Stephanie Mills and Jeffrery Osborne.
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