Boyz II Men are Nashville-bound, with the legendary R&B vocal group announcing a new country record for 2027.
The album doesn’t have a title or a specific release date yet, but it comes after Boyz II Men inked a deal with Warner Records Nashville. And while a country pivot for Boyz II Men is plenty intriguing in and of itself, the 2027 album will also be the trio’s first in 10 years since 2017’s Under the Streetlight.
Speaking with The Tennessean, Shawn Stockman said Boyz II Men have always loved country and felt like now was the right time in their career to “dip our toes.” He continued, “We’ve always been enamored with the storytelling component of country music and how they actually put those stories to melody. Again, it was a learning experience. That is what we like. We have been in this business for three decades, but we’ll forever be students of music and we’ll always be open to learn and to appreciate different styles.”
To craft the album, Stockman and his bandmates, Nathan Morris and Wanyá Morris, worked with several award-winning Nashville songwriters, though no names were given. Of the experience, though, Stockman said, “Fortunately, some of the best writers are in the business of country. We were fortunate enough to be in the rooms with and just put some creative thoughts together. This was the beautiful thing of coming here to Nashville because it’s somewhat of an oasis.”
As Nathan Morris noted, Boyz II Men have “dabbled in other types of” music, even as their sound has remained rooted in R&B. With country, some of their past forays include a 2018 performance at the Grand Ole Opry; singing with Chris Stapleton at the 2021 CMT Artists of the Year special; and collaborating with Cody Johnson at Stagecoach in April.
“I think that’s why it’s so easy for us to fall in love with country music because the melodies are similar,” Nathan said. “The meanings are similar. The feelings are similar. So, it’s almost like we feel at home doing it.”
Wanyá added, “The correlation between Boyz II Men and country music: I guess you could say that there’s no real separation. The organics are there. The harmonies. They reference the same type of key structures and emotions and inflections.”
This article originally appeared on Rolling Stone.
