Night Out With The Boyz

It had all the sophistication of a 900 number fan club line.

Boyz II Men, the 90's hottest R&B group, started its summer tour by getting about 20 reporters on a conference call.

It started OK, with reporters identifying themselves and asking OK questions.

And there was even some news: Boyz II Men will take 1996 off.

No touring. No albums. No nothing.

"We plan to take the whole year of 1996 off," said group leader Nathan Morris.

"Over the last four and a half years, we've never had the time to sit down and enjoy our lives. You know, to sit down at your home and watch TV or sit out on the grass and play with your dogs or read a book.

"We've never really had the time to enjoy what we worked for because it's all been work, work, work. So '96 is definetly gonna be the year we sit down and enjoy our lives as individuals."

It's a surprising move for a group with the Boyz' momentum.

"Water Runs Dry," the fourth single off II, is now a top-5 hit.

"On Bended Knee" followed "I'll Make Love to You" into the No. 1 spot last year, a feat managed before only by Elvis Presley and the Beatles.

"I'll Make Love to You" stayed at No. 1 for 14 weeks, which ties a record with Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You."

They've won Grammys, American Music Awards, Soul Train Music Awards, and a People magazine best-dressed mention, citing them for their "soulful panache."

But they'll be back, Morris said.

"When it's time to come back and make the next Boyz II Men album, you better believe everybody will be there."

And now to the canned and sometimes silly questions, and canned and sometimes silly answers.

Do you sing in the shower?

"Do I sing in the shower? Sometimes, not often. Sometimes."

Nathan, a young girl comes up to you and says she really wants to make it in the music industry, but she finds it just for men. What advice do you give her?

"I would give her the advice to never let anyone tell her that something is only for a certain individual."

If you were to wake up tomorrow to find your career had come to an end, what regrets if any would you have about what you could have done or should have done?

"Well I wouldn't have any. I personally didn't expect the career to go the way it's gone. Everything that's happened has been a blessing and more than I ever dreamed of happening. If it was to happen today, I could still live off of what's happened for a long time because I never dreamed it would have happened."

Gangsta rap's still pretty popular. I need some comments on that.

"We love rap music. We love all kinds of music. We couldn't call ourselves well-rounded musicans if we didn't love all kinds of music. As far as the gangsta rap, we feel like any way someone portrays music is an expression of themselves.

I'm not one to anybody the way they express themselves is wrong. I may not understand it all the time and I may not agree with it, but I accept it."

How do you maintain such a good-guy image in such a bad-boy field?

"We all have good and bad sides. Boyz II Men are not perfect angels and we wouldn't want anyone to think that way. What's important is that when people watch you on television, you want to give them something to look forward to in life...."

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