For the men of New Edition, life has come full circle now that they have snagged the digital cover of Vibe magazine. It is a moment that was first set into motion nearly three decades ago.
The original quintet — Bobby Brown, Ralph Tresvant, Ronnie DeVoe, Michael Bivins, and Ricky Bell — and sixth man, Johnny Gill, who joined the group in 1988 as Brown’s replacement, are celebrating their 40-year career as a unit.
First formed in 1978, the then-adolescents were thrust onto the pop scene with their breakout hit “Candy Girl.”
Since then, several of the members have gone on to have solo successes, including Bivins, DeVoe, and Bell, who formed the singing-rapping trio Bell Biv DeVoe. But 27 years ago, at the height of their success, New Edition was preparing to release their sixth studio album, “Home Again.”
Part of the 1996 project’s rollout included a photo shoot with Vibe for the cover. “That was our big moment,” recalled Bivins. But a tragedy unrelated to the group would derail their shot at capitalizing on the album’s September release and renewing fan interest in their music.
Three days after “Home Again” hit shelves, Tupac Shakur died (Sept. 13) after being shot multiple times in Las Vegas.
“When we went to the record label, they told us something that, you know, that we didn’t know how to handle it back then — that the cover was not going to be us no more because of the passing of Tupac,” said Bivins.
Instead, the publication “put Tupac on the cover, but when you open the insert we was there,” he continued. “We said to ourselves that you know, we really needed that, and sometimes things happen. If we was going to lose the cover, why not lose it to someone as iconic as a Tupac?”
Bivins added, “That was one of the most humbling moments because it was a big thing for us; we were excited, but we realized that death is something that needs to be celebrated.”
Having sold 20 million records and packed out arenas with their “Legacy” tour, longtime fans revere them as the GOATs of R&B. It’s a title that both Brown and Tresvant are accepting of. But for Gill, there is one more achievement to be earned: The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction.
“I think we deserve that … I think that’s when I would probably begin to go, ‘OK, I can believe it now,'” said the singer.
In 2017, BET’s three-part miniseries about the group, “The New Edition Story,” was met with rave views and dubbed one of the best televised biopics by viewers.
