The post New Edition’s & Guy’s ’80s Beef Sadly Led To A Man Losing His Life, It Went Way Too Far appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

The things we learn when we do a lil’ diggin.’ Ralph Tresvant secretly ended up singing some of the lead parts  “Every Little Step” because Bobby Brown was allegedly just a little too out of it at the time, says ex-manager.

When we found out what Bobby’s former manager, Marty Machat, revealed about this, we were pretty impressed that they managed to keep this secret on the low for decades.

Ralph and Bobby were such good friends, that according to Marty -who was there to witness this first hand- Ralph ended up finishing one of Bobby’s biggest hits off his 7-million-selling Don’t Be Cruel album. “Every Little Step” released in 1988 and Bobby could have been outed by Ralph long ago, but Ralph proved that loyalty to his “brother” was most important. Here’s how Ralph ended up secretly singing on “Every Little Step,” according to what Bobby’s ex-manager, Marty Marchat, revealed in an interview with Dazed Digital:

Marty Marchat: “The beginning and last tracks of the album I did with MCA A&R Louis Silas so the album would be filled with numbers. The song ‘Don’t Be Cruel’ is on there three times! Silas begged Babyface and L.A Reid to produce it – Bobby did not show up at the studio. He only came by sometimes to try to sing. And that was an endless wait. Drugs were part of the make-up of this album. Bobby was missing from the studio when we were scheduled to finish ‘Every Little Step’. He was on a drug run and New Edition’s Ralph Tresvant was waiting for him. Babyface and L.A were about to leave, so Ralph filled in. ‘Every Little Step’ has two singers. Bobby and Ralph. Go back and listen to the lead vocals. Then listen to Ralph.” -via Dazed Digital

That’s crazy, right? One thing is for sure: Ralph obviously was a true friend. Loyalty is everything in any relationship, so hats off to Ralph for being a good representation of that. Bobby is a great entertainer, so I’m glad he’s now past his wild days and has simmered down a bit, because he’ll probably be the first to admit that he was living life at 200 miles per hour back in the day.

Below, is the video of “Every Little Step,” just in case you want to listen closely and try to find the parts with Ralph’s voice. We listened to it over and over and couldn’t decipher Bobby’s part from Ralph’s, but that’s probably because of the light vocoder effect that appears to be on their vocals, which helps to match tone and pitch of singers’ voices. Check it out…

By the way, we thought we’d add this hilarious VIDEO rendition of “Every Little Step” by MIKE TYSON, WAYNE BRADY and your man, BOBBY B. Some of you have probably seen it, but if you want to laugh again, check it out…

The post Ex-Manager Revealed Why Ralph Tresvant ‘Secretly Sang’ “Every Little Step” For Bobby Brown appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned about Bobby Brown in recent years, it’s that his life has been hit with multiple tragedies in a rather short amount of time. One such tragedy was covered in a scene from his BET biopic, Bobby Brown Story,” in which he lost his beloved mother, Carole Brown; and how Bobby’s then ex-wife, Whitney Houston, delivered a touching song tribute to Mrs. Carole. So did Bobby’s New Edition brothers.

During the funeral scene, Whitney was portrayed as stating Mrs. Carole would be her mother-in-law ‘forever’ … and she didn’t care that Bobby’s wife, Alicia Etheredge-Brown, was sitting right there in front as she spoke. That was the Whitney the we all know and love — she kept it real at ALL times, even in the midst of her ‘forever mom-in-law’s’ funeral.

WATCH Funeral Footage Of Whitney & New Edition Singing Tributes For Mama Carole

Needless to say…at the time of Bobby’s biopic, Twitter was on fire following that heart-wrenching funeral scene in the movie. But now, the actual footage of both Whitney & New Edition singing at Mrs. Carole’s REAL funeral has surfaced. Whitney sang “Precious Lord,” and she later joined Johnny Gill (accompanied by Ronnie, Bobby, Ricky, Ralph, and Mike) for a rendition of “Never Would Have Made It.”

It was very sad — but beautiful to witness at the same time — as Whitney sang her heart out to offer comfort for the man she was once in love with for 14+ years, and also as New Edition uplifted Bobby B. and family at the home-going.

Mrs. Carole Brown would have been proud of her ‘forever’ daughter-in-law and her sons’ childhood friends, N.E., who she’d known ever since they were youngins running around Boston. Take a look at these rarely seen tributes:
Whitney sings “Precious Lord” at Carole Brown’s funeral…

Whitney & Johnny Gill sing “Never Would Have Made It” with N.E. members at Mama Carole’s funeral…

Bobby Mourned Back-To-Back Personal Deaths

It’s so heartbreaking to see that footage of Whitney singing at Mama Carole’s funeral, only for Whitney to pass away, just over one year later.

As we previously reported, Bobby’s dad, mom, and ex-wife, Whitney Houston, died all within a 2-year span. Just three years later, so did his beloved daughter, Bobby Kristina Brown, followed by his son (from a prior relationship), Bobby Brown Jr., in 2020.

Bobby’s mother, Carole Brown, died on January 20, 2011. Just one year later, Bobby’s dad, Herbert “Pops” Brown, died on December 10, 2011. Bobby’s mother’s death actually reunited him with Whitney (from a peaceful, friendship standpoint), which led to Whitney singing at his mom’s funeral.

Sadly, only one month after Bobby’s Dad passed away, our beloved Whitney passed away on February 11, 2012, sending Bobby into a downward spiral that was clouded in extreme grief, as he tried to cope with what was happening. After Whitney’s death, Bobby had a relapse with alcohol addiction in August of 2012, after successfully managing to stay sober for 7 years prior to that. His 2012 relapse caused him to get a DUI, which landed him in rehab for 18 months.

Then came the ultimate, most unnatural kind of pain that NO parent should ever have to bare- the death of his and Whitney’s daughter, Bobbi Kristina on July 26, 2015. Sadly, by February 2016, Bobby Brown was reportedly back in the same position he was in about four years prior to– allegedly trying to self medicate the grief away. That caused him to enter into a rehab facility for an unknown substance abuse, allegedly.

As if losing one child wasn’t already devastating enough…2020 dealt another severe blow to Bobby’s and his loved ones, with the death of his son (from a prior relationship), Bobby Brown Jr. As you all know, Bobby Jr. died of an accidental drug overdose at age 28, on November 18, 2020. It’s unclear if Bobby Sr. fell into a relapse following his son’s death, but hopefully, he did not.

Although Bobby has been fighting his heart out to keep pushing forward in life with his other children and also within his career, there is only so much heartache one person can take; and we all have different ways of dealing with it. We truly wish Bobby Brown well and give him the utmost respect for sharing his ups, downs, fails, and heartaches with the world. Hopefully his story will help someone else from making the same mistakes.

The post Rare Video Of Whitney And NE Singing At Bobby’s Mom’s Funeral Just Before Whitney Died appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

By now, most of New Edition’s fans have seen their BET biopic, The New Edition Story, and learned that Ralph Tresvant has a younger brother. In case you didn’t catch that part of the biopic, in the first episode of the 3-part miniseries, ‘kid-Ralph’ and his N.E. brothers were trying to find a fifth member. ‘Kid-Ralph’ told their then-manager, Maurice Starr, they couldn’t possibly pick his little brother because he’d “just learned to walk a year ago.” Well, fast forward to today and we’ve found Ralph’s baby bro.’

The Tresvant brothers seem to be really close, and now, they’ve shared stories about their family, their beloved Mother, and their days coming up in Boston, MA.

Meet Ralph Tresvant’s Brother

Introducing Andre Tresvant. He’s 45-years-old and has nothing but love and admiration for his 54-year-old brother, Ralph Tresvant.

In the video below, the Tresvant brothers reminisced and laughed about how Andre was bad as hell as a child; and how their mom, Patricia Tresvant, had to repeatedly go to school for him. Andre also recalled how their Momma once pulled up on the school playground angered, rockin’ her house robe and slippers, after Andre came home and told her one of his teachers had just called him a “ni&&er.” They both agreed that Mama Tresvant was NO joke when it came to protecting her babies.

WATCH RALPH & ANDRE TRESVANT REMINISCE

Andre Tresvant Reveals Extreme Hardships After Their Mother Sadly Passed Away

Sadly, Ralph’s and Andre’s beloved mother, Patricia Tresvant, passed away and Andre revealed a few upsetting things that happened to him afterwards, which the world didn’t know. If you saw The New Edition Story, you probably recall the “Home Again” album photoshoot scene, when Mike Bivins and Ronnie Devoe were feeling bad for Ralph after he’d lost his mother. She passed away just before all six of the N.E. members were preparing for their 1996 “Home Again” album release/tour.

Andre said he was just 16 years old when he and Ralph’s Mom died and that he’d been living in California when they moved there when he was age 7 (after they’d moved there from Boston, MA). According to Andre, his world was turned upside down when his mother, Patricia, died- he was left alone in Cali. to fend for himself at just 16 years old. He says he had no family there to help him,  they were mostly still living in their hometown of Boston.

WHY WAS RALPH TRESVANT’S BROTHER ON HIS OWN AT 16?

At that time, Ralph had a ton of weight on his shoulders. He had to fulfill his contractual obligations on the road, so he couldn’t be there with Andre. He also needed the money (as a result of their jacked up N.E. contract), and he had three small children to feed with his then-wife, Shelly, whom he was going through a nasty divorce with. FYI: Shelly was apparently referred to as “Zena” in the N.E. biopic.

WHERE WAS HIS DAD?

Andre revealed that he’d “never got to shake my dad’s hand” because he never met him- a reality that became even more real when he had to instantly learn how to survive as a man at only 16. He eventually got a one bedroom apartment at 16 years old and it was there that he leaned on his religious beliefs for guidance:

Andre Tresvant: “I just knew on the inside that God could fill that void and make up for who I lost…so one day I began to go on a 3 day fast and seek God for the HolySpirt fullness, I did this in my 1 bedroom apt., cut off the phone,closed the blinds and began to pray like never before & study the word of God.”

THE GOOD NEWS

The good news is that after the extreme hardships and heartbreak, Andre Tresvant made it through and although Ralph couldn’t physically be there for him when they were both grieving their mother’s death, he was always there in spirit and just a phone call away if Andre ever needed him.

The post Brother Of Ralph Tresvant Shared His Painful Life Struggles After Ralph’s Success appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Now that most of us, New Edition fans, have seen their BET biopic, we’re pretty familiar with the youngin’ who portrayed Ronnie DeVoe’s brother, Roland DeVoe (Ace Hunt) in the movie. He was kid in the scene who laughed hysterically at ‘young Ronnie’ (Myles Truitt) as he danced in the mirror, trying to get his moves right for his N.E.  audition. What some may not know though, is that Ronnie’s younger brother, Roland, is actually an identical twin to their other brother, Rob DeVoe. We were curious to see who Ronnie’s REAL twin brothers were, and after doing a lil’ digging on his very rarely-seen twin brothers, we finally found them.

MEET RONNIE DEVOE’S TWIN BROTHERS

Meet Ronnie DeVoe’s twin brothers, Rob and Roland DeVoe. The photo above is from 2007 and like we mentioned earlier, they’re identical, so we can’t decipher which one is which in that pic. But in the 2017 photo below, we know that’s Robert DeVoe. How so? Because Ronnie said it in his caption as he and Rob were giving us the classic ’90s jailhouse pose’ next to the New Edition Hollywood Walk of Fame star…

Make some noise if you, like some of us here at ILOSM, are guilty of doing that Old School jailhouse pose in some of your throwback pics too. Anyways, Rob and Roland pretty much live life away from the public’s eye, so we don’t know much about them, but we have found a few more tidbits of info: They’re both married and Roland has a grown son who likes to hang out with his famous uncle Ronnie sometimes. Check him out below

RONNIE DEVOE & HIS NEPHEW ROLAND JR.

Ronnie couldn’t be more proud of his nephew, Roland DeVoe Jr. The photo above is of Roland Jr. chillin’ with his Unc’ after N.E. got their star; and as you can see, nephew is proud of his pops’ brother as well. Speaking of Ronnie’s twin brothers, see what Ronnie recently revealed about what his brother, Robert, did during a major fallout with some of the New Edition members…

RONNIE TELLS WHAT ROBERT DEVOE DID FOR N.E. DURING TENSE TIMES

The post Ever Seen Ronnie DeVoe’s Rarely-Seen Twin Brothers? We’ve Found Them appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

If the West Coast/East Coast beef was the era when rap became ugly, then the N.E. & Guy beef was the era when R&B became ugly. Guy and New Edition were two of the hottest ‘80s groups in the music game. By the time 1989 hit, they were also two of the most feuding groups in the game and unfortunately, things got TERRIBLY heated between them that year.

It Went Down July 1989

It all went down in July of ’89 at the Budweiser Superfest in Greensboro, N.C., and according to an article written for the Sun Sentinal, Violence On- And Offstage A Bitter Blow To R&b Tour, things got heated.

Read all the details below…

Guy — playing as part of that five-act show — performed too long onstage. Of course this got the members of New Edition, a lil’ heated, so they went on stage while Guy was performing.

At first, the audience cheered, thinking Guy and N.E. would be performing together. But then, according to witnesses and published reports, a fight broke out onstage among the group members. Fists flew. Equipment flew. And the show was suspended for one hour.

The next day, the Superfest moved to Pittsburgh. Waiting there for New Edition crew members, was what police labeled as a “Hit Squad“ — flown in from New York by Gene Griffin (the well established music executive and manager for Guy), under the allegedly false pretense of protecting his group, Guy. That’s when things turned tragic.

That same afternoon, 7 to 12 identically dressed men, allegedly employed by Guy, made their way into the Pittsburgh Civic Arena and viciously attacked two New Edition crew members who were onstage setting up equipment. Police recovered seven broken baseball bats, but apparently the bats weren’t used in the incident. Pittsburgh police said the bats were originally purchased by Guy employees at a sporting goods store specifically for use during a planned fight, but the bats were accidentally crushed underneath a truck.

Embed from Getty Images

Instead, the participants substituted microphone stands as their weapon of choice. New Edition’s then stage manager, Michael Spider Clark, was beaten into critical condition. Production manager, Ronald Byrd, was also beaten severely, but managed to escape during the attack.

Byrd located a gun while the fight was still going on, and, according to police reports, chased Guy’s security manager, Anthony Bee, out of the arena and across the street, where he then shot Bee twice, as Bee was trying to make his way to safety inside a nearby hotel, but it was too late. Bee staggered into the hotel lobby and died a short time later.

According to the Pittsburgh Police Investigations Unit, “Griffin, then 39, was charged with criminal solicitation and aggravated assault. Three Guy employees also were arrested — each charged with two counts of aggravated assault and two counts of criminal conspiracy. Byrd was been charged with criminal homicide.”

New Edition and Guy were immediately dropped from the Budweiser Superfest Tour. In a joint statement issued, both bands claimed they were “saddened by the incident, but that fans should know it was a backstage feud that did not involve the band members.”

This is a very sad situation and clearly, a tragic loss like this could have possibly been avoided had certain factors been in place. However, the reality is this: lots of African American recording artists don’t necessarily come from a silver spoon type of background, so when they reach a certain level of success, they tend to take drastic measures to protect it at all costs. This holds true today in regards to the beef between several rappers of this era, some of whom we’ve lost far too soon.

Needless to say, New Edition and Guy have learned from this unfortunate incident and are clearly, much wiser these days.

The post New Edition And Guy’s ’80s Beef Caused Someone To Die, It Went Way Too Far appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Ralph Tresvant isn’t just a talented singer and performer. He’s also a doting father of four children he loves dearly. For those who don’t know, the Roxbury, Massachusetts native has two sons, Ralph Jr. and Dakari, and two daughters, Mariah and Na’Quelle. It also looks like Ralph’s talent has rubbed off on one of his children – his first born child, Na’Quelle.

Now a beautiful, married adult with her own child, Na’Quelle Tresvant is looking to make a name for herself in the music industry. Needless to say, not only is she strikingly beautiful, but she has an amazing voice just like her father. *Scroll down to see her mother, husband and kids*

Check out Na’Quelle Tresvant’s  music video:

Ralph welcomed his now 30-year-old daughter with his childhood sweetheart Shelly Tresvant.

However, Shelly’s name may not have been one you heard in The New Edition Story because their storyline was altered a bit. In the biopic, her name was changed because she did not want to be associated with the film. Her name was changed to “Zena” in the popular biopic and, of course, the change didn’t go unnoticed by fans. Many took to Twitter to share their reaction to the change.

FYI: Ralph Tresvant 1st wife name is actually Shelly. Where did Zena come from? Idk #NewEditionBET

— A M B E Z Y (@bezy_bby) January 27, 2017

**

Is zena another name for Ralph tresvant ex wife Shelly ?

— DENIM & DEMI MUVA (@iamRyanNicole) January 26, 2017

For those who don’t know, Ralph and Shelly went through a bitter divorce. Despite being each other’s childhood sweethearts who grew up to have three children and many years together, things went awry as Ralph embraced stardom. They eventually divorced in 1996, after three years of marriage. After the divorce, Ralph married his second wife, Amber Serrano, in 2004, whom he welcomed his fourth child, Dakari, with.

Despite all of the drama and Ralph’s level of stardom, his gorgeous daughter, Na’Quelle, has revealed that she and her father are very close and she actually lived a relatively normal lifestyle.

She first realized her father was famous when he arrived to pick her up from school one day. As he approached his daughter, a group of starstruck girls flocked to him and immediately began losing their minds over the fact that the Ralph Tresvant was standing before them. Of course, all of the attention and pandemonium seemed odd to Na’Quelle but that’s when she said she’d first realized her Pops wasn’t like everyone else’s father. Ralph Tresvant’s name carries weight! You can check out what else she revealed in her interview with ‘The OTAP Show’ below…

Na’Quelle’s Husband and Adorable Kids

Na’Quelle’s pops is one of the biggest legends in R&B music, so it was only natural that she married a man who’s also in the music industry. That man is her music producer husband, Darius “King D” Smith…

Ralph must be really proud of his daughter, Na’Quelle, and she has a beautiful fam.’ Hopefully, her music career will soon soar to new heights as well! She definitely has an amazing voice to match her beautiful looks and besides, we’d love to see another ‘Tresvant’ in the game. Be sure to check out Naquelle Tresvant’s music HERE.

The post Ralph Tresvant’s Grown Daughter Is Gorgeous, And Has A Beautiful Voice To Match appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

In case you haven’t heard ILOSM fam,’ New Edition legend, Ralph Tresvant, and his wife of approximately seventeen years are no-more. In fact, they’ve apparently been no-more for quite some time. And the “N.E. Heartbreak” crooner couldn’t be more happier, so it seems. He’s been in a committed relationship with the mother of four of El DeBarge’s twelve kids for a while and they still seem to be going strong.

Meet El DeBarge’s Ex…Ralph Tresvant’s Girlfriend

Introducing Monique DeBarge. She and El DeBarge were reportedly married for years and share three children – two daughters and one son – together. Though the two are no longer together, word on the Old School curb is they’ve maintained a cool friendship for the sake of their children. Cool to see them handling their responsibilities like grown folks, moving on…

Fast forward to today and it appears that he and Monique DeBarge are still going strong. Monique sometimes shares photos of her man, championing his latest projects and big up’ing him for his birthday, much like she did for Ralph’s May 16, 2021 b-day when he turned 53 years old. She shared below pic of Ralph online, captioning her post with:

“Happy Earthday Supa Dupa Fly! #beautifulsoul #beautifulheart #beautifulmind #amazinghuman #beautifulspirit #lightbringer #strongman #beautifulenergy 🎂🎊🎁🎊”

One of Monique and El DeBarge’s daughters, Bobbie Monique DeBarge, commented, “Gorgeous couple,” underneath Monique’s b-day tribute to Ralph. While Ralph’s eldest daughter, Naquelle Tresvant, liked the post and commented, “I love this Mo.”

Their Kids Love Their Union

Speaking of their kids, both the Tresvant and DeBarge beautiful offspring — there are quite a few — have been showing their parents’ lovey-dovey union their full support on social media.

Monique also posed it up with Ralph’s beautiful daughters, Naquelle and Mariah Tresvant…

The Latest On Ralph’s Estranged Wife, Amber Tresvant

At this point it’s very clear that Ralph has long ago moved on from his ex [or estranged] wife, Amber…but it’s unclear if the two of them have officially divorced on paper. Clearly, Amber’s well aware of his union with the new love of his life, because their son, Dakari Tresvant, is cool with it, as seen in the photo up top. Not sure how Amber feels about it, but for reportedly for the first time since their split, Amber has only recently displayed her left ring finger for the camera…minus her wedding ring, as seen in the photo below.

Nevertheless, Amber happily celebrated her b-day recently with family and friends in May of this year. She also oftentimes shares many self-help memes about moving on with life and such.

Wishing the best to them all.

Source

The post No Longer With His Wife: Ralph Tresvant Dating El DeBarge’s Ex-Wife And His Kids Love Her appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Michael Bivins is proud to have accomplished many feats and withstood many New Edition trials and tribulations throughout his life. However, there’s nothing he’s probably more proud of than his beautiful fam.’ The 52 year old R&B legend and his wife of 15 years, Teasha Bivins, have four beautiful girls, who are growing up right before our eyes.

Before we get to the beautiful babies Mike and his wife, Teasha, have created, we must first throwback to that time when the N.E. singer’s thicka-than-a-snicka wife’s snapback was on level 1000, just TWO WEEKS after delivering their youngest daughter, Sanaa, in 2018. This is what Teasha and their baby girl looked like in mid 2018…

Mike Bivins shared the following photo of his wife promoting their real estate company. He captioned it with:

[Teasha Bivins] Ceo of Bivins Realty Group & The #bivfam Foundation #realestatebroker #wife #Mother #CT 🌹 🌹 🌹Salute Week Queens & Kings #MLB52

Beauty and brains runs in Teasha Bivins’s family. Mike’s sis-in-law is gorgeous too. Meet Teasha Bivin’s sister, Tausha Bridgeforth, below…

Tausha Bridgeforth- “When your Real Estate Broker is also your big sister, mentor & best friend.. hours of conversation and major business plans for this year. 🥰 #DontSleepOnUs 😉 #BivinsRealtyGroup #BRG #Broker #Agent #FamilyBusiness #Hustlers #BagChasers 😏”

Mike Bivins’s “Lil Supremes”…
It’s beautiful to see the four Bivins babies – Savi, Starlah, Sanaah, and Shi – getting SO big these days. Check out the Bivins girls, whom Mike refers to as “Lil Supremes”…

Their youngest daughter, Sanaah Bivins, is cute as a button. In May of this year she turned three years old and is out here livin’ her best life…

Mike Bivins; Happy Birthday Sanaah #3 ! You are the energy that lights up the house and your Smile is one of a Young Queen #lilsupremes @teashabivins #bivfam Love you Daddys Baby Girl #daddy 5 -3 – 21

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Mike Bivins aka Sporty (@617mikebiv)

Seems like it was just yesterday, that Savi, Starlah, and shilah “Shi” Bivins were this tiny…

But here is where they are now…

Geesh! Where did the time up and run off to?!!

Well, back to the Bivins sisters thicka-a-licious moms…although time is flying in regards to the “Lil Supremes,” for their Moms, time is definitely on her side…

No matter if she’s fulfilling her mommy duties in a thong bathing suit, with her baby girl on her lap in the above throwback photo…

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Teasha Bivins (@teashabivins)

…Or if she’s ready for date night with her husband, Mike Biv,’ ol’ girl is staying snatched in ALL the right places!

Dayumn! Michael Bivins is one lucky dude.

The post Mike Bivins’s Gorgeously Stacked Wife And Adorable Daughters Are Giving Us Life appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

If the West Coast/East Coast beef was the era when rap became ugly, then the N.E. & Guy beef was the era when R&B became ugly. Guy and New Edition were two of the hottest 80’s groups in the music game. By the time 1989 hit, they were also two of the most feuding groups in the game and unfortunately, things got TERRIBLY heated between them that year.

It Went Down July 1989

It all went down in July of ’89 at the Budweiser Superfest in Greensboro, N.C., and according to an article written for the Sun Sentinal, Violence On- And Offstage A Bitter Blow To R&b Tour, things got heated.

Read all the details below…

Guy — playing as part of that five-act show — performed too long onstage. Of course this got the members of New Edition, a lil’ heated, so they went on stage while Guy was performing.

At first, the audience cheered, thinking Guy and N.E. would be performing together. But then, according to witnesses and published reports, a fight broke out onstage among the group members. Fists flew. Equipment flew. And the show was suspended for one hour.

The next day, the Superfest moved to Pittsburgh. Waiting there for New Edition crew members, was what police labeled as a “Hit Squad“ — flown in from New York by Gene Griffin (the well established music executive and manager for Guy), under the allegedly false pretense of protecting his group, Guy. That’s when things turned tragic.

That same afternoon, 7 to 12 identically dressed men, allegedly employed by Guy, made their way into the Pittsburgh Civic Arena and viciously attacked two New Edition crew members who were onstage setting up equipment. Police recovered seven broken baseball bats, but apparently the bats weren’t used in the incident. Pittsburgh police said the bats were originally purchased by Guy employees at a sporting goods store specifically for use during a planned fight, but the bats were accidentally crushed underneath a truck.

Embed from Getty Images

Instead, the participants substituted microphone stands as their weapon of choice. New Edition’s then stage manager, Michael Spider Clark, was beaten into critical condition. Production manager, Ronald Byrd, was also beaten severely, but managed to escape during the attack.

Byrd located a gun while the fight was still going on, and, according to police reports, chased Guy’s security manager, Anthony Bee, out of the arena and across the street, where he then shot Bee twice, as Bee was trying to make his way to safety inside a nearby hotel, but it was too late. Bee staggered into the hotel lobby and died a short time later.

According to the Pittsburgh Police Investigations Unit, “Griffin, then 39, was charged with criminal solicitation and aggravated assault. Three Guy employees also were arrested — each charged with two counts of aggravated assault and two counts of criminal conspiracy. Byrd was been charged with criminal homicide.”

New Edition and Guy were immediately dropped from the Budweiser Superfest Tour. In a joint statement issued, both bands claimed they were “saddened by the incident, but that fans should know it was a backstage feud that did not involve the band members.”

This is a very sad situation and clearly, a tragic loss like this could have possibly been avoided had certain factors been in place. However, the reality is this: lots of African American recording artists don’t necessarily come from a silver spoon type of background, so when they reach a certain level of success, they tend to take drastic measures to protect it at all costs. This holds true today in regards to the beef between several rappers of this era, some of whom we’ve lost far too soon.

Needless to say, New Edition and Guy have learned from this unfortunate incident and are clearly, much wiser these days.

The post New Edition And Guy’s ’80s Beef Sadly Caused Someone To Die, It Went Way Too Far appeared first on I Love Old School Music.