Remember when Cicely Tyson gave birth to baby “Kunta Kinte” in Roots? Well we had NO idea he was a member of a popular 80’s R&B group that was flooding the airwaves and had several #1 hits back in the day! Flip the page to see who he is.

Who Was The Baby “Kunta Kinte”?

Baby “Kunta Kinte” was played by Tajh Abdulsamad, from the 80’s R&B group, The Boys! Remember them? They were 4 brothers (literally) who were singing “Dial My Heart” and had all of the pre-teen girls going crazy over them. Tahj (the one one circled in the above photo) is the third born among his brothers and he was born in ’76, a year before Roots was released.

So Tajh has been in front of the camera ever since he stepped out of the womb…literally! By the way, have you seen and heard Tajh lately? Him all grown up nah! Check him out below, his music is off the hook too…

Tajh now goes by the name of Crown and the brotha’s music is solid. He’s 42 years old now. I’ve gotta admit that at first glance, it was difficult NOT to see Tajh as that lil’ chubby faced dude in the videos from back in the day. If it’s like that for you too, don’t sweat it, after a couple seconds your eyes get adjusted to the grown up Tajh.

Check out a couple of his songs below…you might be pleasantly surprised. His music is ALL the way different from The Boys music.

Crown (Tahj)- Comfortable

Taj Explains Why Their They All Moved To Africa Are After Fame

The Boys decided to move to Africa while they were still kids, after they were no longer in the spotlight. Tajh explained to I LOVE OLD SCHOOL MUSIC how he and his brothers ended up living in the Motherland:

“We stepped away from the limelight in the mid nineties because we wanted to grow spiritually and discover the true meaning of life and our purpose in it, as well as to explore and experience “normal life” because we had been working in show business ever since we were small boys and we yearned to develop normal genuine relationships that weren’t based on our fame and success.

Around 1998 a friend named Olimatta Taal (who was one of the lead organizers of “The Roots Homecoming Festival” which is held in Gambia every other year) invited us to come perform at the festival. We were looking forward to this trip because at the time we were already culturally conscious, and we had been having conversations while working with Akon at our home studio in Atlanta about how nice Africa was, and he would tell us about some of the lesser-known aspects of Africa, and we were intrigued.

They flew us over and we performed at the festival. Afterwards, we sat in the hotel discussing how nice it was in Gambia, and sometime during that conversation we decide to stay in the country, so we called home to our parents and informed them of our decision to stay in Africa and not use our return plane tickets. We requested that they ship all of our studio equipment, clothes, and other items over to us, so that we could set up a studio in Africa and begin producing local talent. Our parents supported us in our decision and my father flew over with our gear and other important items.

We rented a beautiful compound for a year and opened our studio and began working with the locals. We stayed for four years producing and developing music, studying and immersing ourselves in the culture, and connecting with the people. After four years, we came back to the states. Myself [Tajh] and Bilal settled back in Atlanta, Khiry in L.A., and after staying in L.A. for a little while Hakim returned to Gambia to live. We purchased a family home there and re-opened ‘Sunland (Studio) Africa’ where Hakim continues to live and work from to this day. All four brothers consider Africa home, as well as Atlanta, and Los Angeles. We are all still involved in writing and producing music and other media content.- Tahj”

Their parents must be proud.

The post Famous 80s/90s Singer Played The Newborn “Kunta Kinte” In “Roots” & Fans Are Stunned appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

The Boys – Khiry, Hak (formerly Hakeem), Abdulasamad Tahj, and Bilal Samadhi- also had both of their parents in their lives who loved them dearly and dedicated their lives to their kids’ dreams and musical aspirations. So today, the Samadhi brothers (The Boys) are reciprocating that love back to their mother, Antoinette Satterwhite, on this beautiful Mother’s Day. Check out how they showed their Momma love in their own ways below…

Hak, who has two sons of his own now, wrote a touching post on Facebook recalling some of the key moments he’s grateful his mother played a role in as he evolved from a boy to a man:

Happy Mother’s Day Ma ( Angela Satterwhite ) <3
REMEMBER that time i had a nervous breakdown because i didn’t want to go to school ? and you took me to a restaurant, calmed me down, and eased my fears. thank you !
REMEMBER how you used to drop me off at the music store and pick me up many hours later ? thank you !
REMEMBER how you would allow my girlfriend to come over as long as i left my bedroom door open ? thank you !
REMEMBER how you supported me in my longest juice fast, the last 10 days in complete silence and seclusion ? thank you !
REMEMBER how you came to Africa and made sure I was set for life ? thank you !
… there is not enough space here to thank you for all the gifts you’ve given us (the whole family). In Africa they say “God Will Pay You”. In the spirit of Mother’s Day, I ask you to pray for ME/US and shower your greatest blessings so that one day (soon) we will make you more than proud, more than happy, more than fulfilled. The power is in your hands !!! Amen, Amin, Ashe, And So It Is !

Bilal, the youngest of the group, is also a father of two and a husband to his lovely wife, Tiffany. See how he paid tribute to his wife and his Moms:

Bilal’s and their sons’ Mother’s Day message to his wife, Tiffany:

Tiffany and Bilal reached 10 years of marital bliss in 2016:

As for the two other brothers- Tahj and Khiry- although they haven’t posted anything on social media for Mother’s Day, they’re brothers’ words also speak for them regarding the love and appreciation they have for their Mother.

What The Boys Have Been Up To Lately

After their mega-success as kid singers in the U.S., The Boys decided to pack up and live in Africa, where their family stayed for many years. Today, some of them have returned to the U.S, but stay closely connected to their African home as well, which is where they became men and some of them had and/or partially raised their children there.

The Boys now go by the name, The Suns of Light, and after releasing several successful solo projects in Africa, they are reportedly working on new music to be released in the U.S.

On a side note, does anybody else feel old after seeing The Boys in their 40’s and mid to late 30s now? Where in the world did the time go?!!! Wow!

The post Now Grown Men, The Boys Pay Beautiful Tribute To Their Mother On Mother’s Day appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Who remembers “Dial My Heart” singers, The Boys? They’re kind of hard to forget, those young brothas were killin’ it in the 80’s. Nowadays, their lead singer, Hakim Abdulsamad, is 43 years old. Okay, I’ll pause to let that sink in, because, yes, it’s been that long and we’re really THAT old school now.

Back to Hakim…in February 2017, he took to social media to give his take on strip clubs, his concept of what he refers to as “bad b%^ches,” and the state of of our society, which were pretty interesting statements.

In his Facebook post, Hakim first started off by explaining that he’d recently visited a strip club for ‘researching purposes’:

Hakim’s post- “My brother said ‘Yo I gotta take you to the strip club. Not to see naked ladies, but to see how the music is being used to support the strip and alcohol industries. And to see how the sexual energy is being misdirected.’ He knows I’m not that type, so he said ‘just suffer through it so you can see how it all works.’ I went with him.”

Hakim’s conclusion after exiting the strip club- ‘Strippers are unhappy and trashy’ and ‘Good girls are classy’:

“I left thinking about how African girls wanna be like ‘bad bitches’ not having a clue what the real life is about. I also had the thought that some ‘Good Girls’ feel like they get the short end of the stick, because ‘bad bitches’ appear to be enjoying life, getting attention, money and hanging out with celebs… I don’t know, maybe thats why they wanna dress as naked as possible; from classy to trashy. Thats a hustler’s life. Those girls didn’t look so happy to me. Again ‘all that glitters ain’t gold.’ No offense to anyone; just pointing out my observations from a global perspective. American dream or nightmare?”

a) In your opinion, do you think Hakim only went to the strip club to research the ‘misdirected sexual energy’ and how the ‘alcohol industry is being affected?’ OR…

b)  Or do you think Hakim had other intentions as well- you know, the kind that men typically have when visiting a strip club- to check out the lovely strippers inside of it…and not for research purposes?

For the record: Anything’s possible…it’s an honest question…I mean no harm…no judgement…just saying. Hakim, I still got luv for you fam.’

The post The Boys Singer Gives Bold Message About ‘Trashy Strippers’…After Leaving Strip Club appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Hak’s life has come full circle, he was taught the gift of music and values by his mother and father, and now he’s passing those same traits onto his seeds. Much respect to Hak and his fam’…keep pushing forward, we see you! He’s an example of great fatherhood and he represents a side of Black men that the rest of the world would think did not exist, if they only received the images that are shown to them through mainstream media.

The post This The Boys Singer Is GROWN Now, Wait Til U See What He Does w/His Sons appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Remember when Cicely Tyson gave birth to baby “Kunta Kinte” in Roots? Well we had NO idea he was a member of a popular 80’s R&B group that was flooding the airwaves and had several #1 hits back in the day! Flip the page to see who he is.

Baby “Kunta Kinte” was played by Tajh Abdulsamad, from the 80’s R&B group, The Boys! Remember them? They were 4 brothers (literally) who were singing “Dial My Heart” and had all of the pre-teen girls going crazy over them. Tahj (the one one circled in the above photo) is the third born among his brothers and he was born in ’76, a year before Roots was released.

So Tajh has been in front of the camera ever since he stepped out of the womb…literally! Now this was news to all of us over here at ILOSM, but just like the old school saying goes- “We learn something new everyday.”

By the way, have you seen and heard Tajh lately? Him all grown up nah! Check him out below, his music is off the hook too.

Tajh now goes by the name of Crown and the brotha’s music is solid. He’s 39 years old now. I’ve gotta admit that at first glance, it was difficult NOT to see Tajh as that lil’ chubby faced dude in the videos from back in the day. If it’s like that for you too, don’t sweat it, after a couple seconds your eyes get adjusted to the grown up Tajh.

Check out a couple of his songs below…you might be pleasantly surprised. It’s ALL the way different from The Boys music.

Crown (Tahj)- Comfortable

Tajh explained to I LOVE OLD SCHOOL MUSIC how he and his brothers ended up living in the Motherland:

“We stepped away from the limelight in the mid nineties because we wanted to grow spiritually and discover the true meaning of life and our purpose in it, as well as to explore and experience “normal life” because we had been working in show business ever since we were small boys and we yearned to develop normal genuine relationships that weren’t based on our fame and success.

Around 1998 a friend named Olimatta Taal (who was one of the lead organizers of “The Roots Homecoming Festival” which is held in Gambia every other year) invited us to come perform at the festival. We were looking forward to this trip because at the time we were already culturally conscious, and we had been having conversations while working with Akon at our home studio in Atlanta about how nice Africa was, and he would tell us about some of the lesser-known aspects of Africa, and we were intrigued.

They flew us over and we performed at the festival. Afterwards, we sat in the hotel discussing how nice it was in Gambia, and sometime during that conversation we decide to stay in the country, so we called home to our parents and informed them of our decision to stay in Africa and not use our return plane tickets. We requested that they ship all of our studio equipment, clothes, and other items over to us, so that we could set up a studio in Africa and begin producing local talent. Our parents supported us in our decission and my father flew over with our gear and other important items.
We rented a beautiful compound for a year and opened our studio and began working with the locals. We stayed for four years producing and developing music, studying and immersing ourselves in the culture, and connecting with the people. After four years, we came back to the states. Myself [Tajh] and Bilal settled back in Atlanta, Khiry in L.A., and after staying in L.A. for a little while Hakim returned to Gambia to live. We purchased a family home there and re-opened “Sunland (Studio) Africa” where Hakim continues to live and work from to this day. All four brothers consider Africa home, as well as Atlanta, and Los Angeles. We are all still involved in writing and producing music and other media content.- Tahj”

The Boys new name is Suns of Light and they’ve dropped 4 albums, which they sell independently. Hakim dropped a solo project and Tajh released two of his own.

It would be good to get to see these cats still grinding and releasing grown folks music now, but y’all know how we do ILOSM fam,’ we love to go back and reminisce, so for old times sake, let’s check out a couple Old School videos from The Boys…

The Boys- Dial My Heart

For more info on Tahj and his music check him out on Instagram.

The post What?!! THIS 80’s Singer Played The Newborn “Kunta Kinte” In “Roots!” appeared first on I Love Old School Music.