They have sold over four million copies of their debut
album, Cooleyhighharmony. Boyz II Men: Wanya "Squirt" Morris,
Michael "Bass" McCary, Shawn "Slim" Stockman, and Nathan
"Alex Vanderpool" Morris, are forever thankful to Michael
Bivins.
Q: "Motownphilly" was a big hit for you and now you've won
a Grammy. Is this the way you hoped everything would
go?
Nate: That's funny, because first of all, we didn't want to
drop "Motownphilly" as a single. We wanted to drop a
ballad, but the president of Motown Records, Jheryl Bubsy,
felt that we should go with that one. He felt it was a
good introduction song.
Q: No regrets though?
Nate: (laughing) No. I guess now we are really happy.
Q: How would you describe Boyz II Men's image?
Michael: The image that we're trying to potray is the
yuppieyup Alex Vanderpool look. Bow ties, cardigan
sweaters, just look preppy, collegiate look. Ivy leauge
style. Something everybody can get into.
Shawn: We started out with the sequin jacket that everybody
was doing, then we sat down and came up with this look. We
wanted to go in whatever direction the crowd is not
going.
Nate: A lot of people are starting to dress that way now.
People weren't into it before, 'cause no one has done it in
a while. It's been there to do, but it wasn't like a
trend.
Q: How did you meet Michael Bivins?
Shawn: We went backstage at a show called the Powerhouse
that a local radio station, Power 99, throws every year.
Before we got back there, we were praying, "Please, please
get us back there." This lady walked by and she had a lot
of laminates and we asked her for one.
Q: What was it like for you before that?
Wanya: We just really loved to sing. Anybody who asked us
to, we would do it, clubs, funerals, anything.
Nate: Anything somebody asked us to......"Would you like to
sing on the street corner and make money?" We'd do it,
because we just wanted to sing.
Wanya: It didn't necessarily have to be for money.
Q: How did you all come together?
Wanya: Nate and I were in a previous group together. It
was called Unique Attraction. We had another member, who
now has a solo deal. We were just going to be a school
group. Then we said we needed another member, so we
grabbed Shawn. We used to sing in the bathroom and Mike
snuck in.
Michael: Yes I did. I came in and made up a bass line. I
had to cut an algebra class to do that.
Q: You've come a long way from your days of singing a
capella in the bathroom.
Michael: It's great, but we are always thankful to God and
to Michael Bivins.
Wanya: Michael Bivins is like a guide. He pulls us along.