Love talk with Boyz II Men

When you think of Boyz II Men you think about getting it on to smooth RnB. Their new album, Love, an eclectic compilation of popular love songs definitely hits the spot. The Boyz let Flavour in on Love, romance and making love in cornfields.

There is such a wide genre of songs on Love. Are you trying to show love comes in different forms?
Shawn: That was definitely one of the ideas behind it.
Wanya: And also we wanted to demonstrate meaningful lyrical content. People often forget that side of music. We wanted songs that give the listeners something to think about. That doesn’t just come from R&B, which is what people associate us with. These are songs that have become the soundtrack to certain people’s lives. We wanted to put a BoyzIIMen twist on things but still maintain the integrity, giving listeners the same feelings they had when they first heard the songs.

You covered the song Cupid. Ever played Cupid in real life?
W: Oh yeah!
S: Once or twice.

Were you successful?
W: [Laughs] Ermm, on occasion.
S: Definitely with music. Sometimes guys don’t know how to express themselves, our songs help them out!
W: Over the years we’ve heard stories of how our music got couples together. Do ya’ll remember that couple who actually met cos they were fans of ours? [Shawn and Nathan nod in agreement] They lived in the same city and would always meet at performances, ended up getting to know each other and became a couple.

So your music brings people together?
S: Yeah but unfortunately these days people aren’t listening to words anymore. They don’t get the real meaning, know what I’m saying. Love and making love has taken a back seat to sex and the more forward aspects of hip hop. We wanna make sure love shows its beautiful face again.

What would you say makes the perfect date?
S: Depends on the couple. For some it’s skydiving and for others just sitting at home watching TV. As long as they both truly enjoy it and each other anything is perfect.

Who’s the lady-killer in the group?
[All Laugh, look at each other]S: Hmm, I don’t even know. I’m the last on the totem pole but we all have a certain type of swagger when it comes to ladies.

What’s your favourite song on the album?
W: Time After Time. I’ll listen to it once and be like damn I gotta hear that again. It can have a spiritual meaning as well as romantic. Kinda like Gods talking to you, saying he’ll always be there.
S: If You Leave Me Now by Chicago. I only really listened to the words when we remade it, it’s a beautiful song.
Nathan: Iris. When we put the record together that was the last song we decided to use. We weren’t sure if it would work but it came out great. I’m spontaneous, so I love when you just throw something out there and it comes together.

You showed some UK love covering Take That. What do you think about Robbie Williams coming back?
N: I’d love to be on that tour!
S: We actually wanted him on the track but our schedules didn’t work out.

Are you feeling UK fans?
S: We love ya’ll, there’s a blend of wild and mellow. And we’ve had a chance to hang out with people over here, hit clubs. The energy is great.
W: The club scene is wild. You actually learn things when you’re out here regarding music and style.

What’s the craziest thing a fans ever done? Keep it clean!
N: Well there was one time with a banana, a pickle, a goat….
S: Nah nothing that mad but once after a concert we came back to our dressing room and you could hear this clanging noise. Security found two girls under the table waiting for us.
W: Our fans are pretty chilled. If we walked around like rock stars with bottles of Hennessy, smoking weed our fans would be all like woooo! But they gravitate towards how relaxed we are.

What’s the biggest romantic gesture you’ve made?
N: Picnics on cliff tops, shopping sprees, dinners at home with string sections. We go balls to the wall. There’s nothing a woman would want for mentally, spiritually, emotionally with any of us. When we love, we love strong.

Strangest place you’ve ever made love?
W: For me it would be…..
S: Oh the cornfield [laughs] you broke that down to us a few days ago.
W: Yeah, with the high stalks. I actually drove my Benz SL deep into a cornfield and we made love on top of the car. We had the hard top in that day!
N: Haha, gangsta!
S: For me it was in a truck in the middle of the day in a parking lot. We had tinted windows so nobody could see in but we could see all around us.
N: Mine was this summer gone. We’d just finished a tour. I was driving my girl home, it was such a long drive and we just couldn’t wait. I pulled over and we got into it.

You’re the kings of baby making music but what’s your seduction track?
W: We record 30-40 records for every album, a lot don’t make the records but many of those are real baby making music! And what’s that Prince song we love?
S: Insatiable. [Nathan starts humming the song]
W: That’s the one, such a hot joint.

Next year is your 20th anniversary, how are you celebrating?
N: With a tour and we’re hoping to release a double CD with fan favourites and new music. We’re also talking about a BoyzIIMen cruise and we may get our fourth member back for 2010.

Words by Mary Bello

Love is out now. BoyzIIMen will be performing all over the UK in May 2010, tickets are available at http://minisite.ticketline.co.uk/boyziimen/ or at www.ticketmaster.co.uk/Boyz-II-Men-tickets/artist/734632 if you’re based in Edinburgh.