With rich, soulful harmonies and powerhouse, emotion-filled vocals as their stock in trade, MJJ Music/Epic recording artists Brownstone emerged in 1995 as one of the decade's premier new female groups. Today, the trio's debut album, From The Bottom Up, is platinum-plus — elevated by the #2 R&B/Top 10 Pop gold single, "If You Love Me," and its #6 R&B follow-up, "Grapevyne."
Building upon such an auspicious beginning would pose a daunting task to most artists. But Brownstone members Nicci (Nichole Gilbert), Maxee (Charmayne Maxwell) and Kina (Kina Cosper) have more than met the challenge on their stunning second album, Still Climbing. "We had to get over the 'sophomore jitters,'" admits Nicci. "It was really important for us to realize that our job was not to try and outdo the first record, but to make an album of songs from the heart."
A near-perfect blend of hip r&b grooves and tender ballads, Still Climbing showcases the musical artistry which has characterized Brownstone from the beginning. The spotlight falls strongly on the trio's peerless vocal skills, from the insistent flavor of the first single, "5 Miles To Empty" (produced by Big Yam and Victor Merritt) to the standout ballad, "The Game Of Love" (produced by Dave "Jam" Hall and co-written by Gordon Chambers — the team behind "If You Love Me"). Still Climbing flows from the straight-up lyrical approach of tunes like "Revenge" (co-written by Maxee and Boyz II Men's Shawn Stockman with producers Soulshock & Karlin) and "Kiss And Tell" (co-written by Nicci), to the soul-drenched slow jams "Around You" (written and produced by Robin Thicke) and "You Give Good Love" (produced by Herb Middleton).
"We didn't have a particular game plan for this album," says Detroit native Kina, who joined Brownstone in June, 1995, replacing original member Monica "Mimi" Doby. "We had producers and songwriters submit material, then we chose songs that we all felt we could relate to." In ad dition to the aforementioned producers, Still Climbing also features the production talents of Tricky & Sep ("All I Do") and Rodney Jerkins (on "Love Me Like You Do" and "Let's Get Started"). Nicci herself produced a timely revival of the Alicia Meyers '80s favorite "If You Play Your Cards Right" — in all, eight of Still Climbing's twelve tracks were written or co-written by group members.
Brownstone was formed in Los Angeles by its three original members: Detroit-born Nicci, Guyana-born Maxee, and New Orleans native Mimi. After a one-song a cappella audition, the group became the first act to Epic-distributed MJJ Music. (Mimi left Brownstone in the summer of 1995, with Kina — a college friend of Nicci's — taking her place.)
The group began working on Still Climbing in the middle of 1996, following an intense 18-month period which began with the release of From The Bottom Up in January, 1995. As "If You Love Me" climbed the Pop and R&B charts, Brownstone were invited to join Boyz II Men on a sold-out US tour in the spring of '95. The group also performed on shows with Anita Baker, Patti LaBelle, Maze, and Blackstreet, and made major television appearances on "The 'Soul Train' Music Awards," "The Lady of Soul Awards," and BET's "Video Soul." In January, 1996, "If You Love Me" received a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal.
"We weren't expecting the kind of response we got when the first album came out," Maxee recalls. "Naturally, we hoped it would be successful, and we were very happy and thankful when everything started to take off."
For Kina Cosper, adjusting to membership in a hitmaking group was "a lot of pressure! Coming in and fitting in with the group was a challenge — and yes, I was a little nervous when we first started recording the new album. But I'm very excited about how it turned out."
Still Climbing is "a continuation of where we left off with the first album," says Nicci, summing thing s up. "It shows our vocal and creative growth, and I think it shows that, if we stay focused, we can take this all the way and be one of the best girl groups around."
