This Los Angeles, California, USA-based boy band was formed by Omarion (b. Omari Ishmael Grandberry, 12 November 1984, Inglewood, California, USA), Raz B (b. DeMario Monte Thornton, 13 June 1985, Cleveland, Ohio, USA), Lil' Fizz (b. Druex Pierre Frederic, 26 November 1985, Los Angeles, California, USA) and J-Boog (b. Jarell Damonte Houston, 11 August 1985, Los Angeles, California, USA). The clean-cut quartet broke into the US pop charts in early 2002 with the infectious "Uh Huh", a steamy dance track in marked contrast to the usual anodyne material favoured by boy bands. The single was helped by a stylish Hype Williams video. The quartet had first made their mark on the teenage market the previous summer, opening for Lil Bow Wow on his US tour. They had been discovered a few months previously at an Epic Records showcase for new talent. Their debut album only briefly repeated the success of "Uh Huh", with stand-out tracks including "Gots Ta Be" and "Understanding". Nevertheless, B2K debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200 in March.
B2K enjoyed further success at the end of 2002 when their collaboration with P. Diddy, the R. Kelly-written "Bump, Bump, Bump", broke into the upper regions of the US singles chart. The single completed the climb to the number 1 position in January 2003, and was featured on their new album Pandemonium! The quartet spent most of the year working on their widescreen debut, the "street dancing" movie You Got Served, which in turn generated a soundtrack album. In a surprise turn of events, the quartet announced they were splitting up at the start of the following year. Omarion launched his solo career at the end of 2004 with the single "O". His debut album of the same title topped the US charts at the start of 2005.
DISCOGRAPHY: B2K (Sony 2002)***, Santa Hooked Me Up (Sony 2002)*, Pandemonium! (Sony 2002)**, You Got Served film soundtrack (Sony 2003)**.
COMPILATIONS: The Remixes, Vol. 1 (Sony 2002)**, The Remixes, Vol. 2 (Sony 2003)**, Greatest Hits (Sony 2004)***.
VIDEOGRAPHY: Gots Ta Be Uh Huh (Sony Music Video 2002), Live At The House Of Blues (Sony Music Video 2002), The Ultimate Video Collection (Sony Music Video 2003).
FILMOGRAPHY: You Got Served (2004).

Encyclopedia of Popular Music
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