We miss '90s R&B. Dearly. It's the music that served as the soundtrack to our first loves, school dances, and breakups. And while solo singers like R. Kelly and Mary J. Blige were icons of the era, the R&B created during the Clinton Administration was unique because it was the groups that really dominated. While Jodeci was creating music about getting their freak on, TLC was telling women to make sure their dude wrapped it up. While Dru Hill was taking "5 Steps," Xscape was "Just Kickin' It." Hundreds of crews hit the R&B charts before the decade was over.
That said, every group wasn't created equal.
Last month, we broke down where every '90s male R&B group stood in relation to one another in our first-ever Pyramid of Excellence. Now it’s time to see which female R&B groups dominated the decade. Similar to the previous pyramid, we took stock of all 89 groups (no duos allowed—sorry Zhané fans) and divided them into eight categories: The Icons, The All-Stars, The Hitmakers, The One-Hit Wonders, The Half-Hit Wonders, The Throwbacks, The Opening Acts, and The Lost Ones. These categories are based on the commercial performance and creative influence of each group between the years 1990 and 1999. So, before the Beyhive comes for our necks, it's good to remember that Destiny's Child didn't really blow up until the 2000s.
Now, without further ado, we present The '90s Female R&B Group Pyramid of Excellence.
