Monday 13th September 2004
BIOG
The 411 (Suzie, Tisha, Carolyn and Tanya) - followed up their Top 5 debut single with ‘Dumb‘ on 23rd August. The track has been co-written by the group themselves and produced by Dave McCracken and Fitzgerald Scott.
Whilst their first single ‘On My Knees‘ was the inspiration from 60‘s girl pop, Shangri Las through to the late 90‘s
All Saints. ‘Dumb‘ was inspired by the American girl groups of the late 90‘s TLC and Destiny‘s Child.
‘Dumb‘ is currently the sound-bed for the Lux advert which features Sarah Jessica Parker.
Heralded as a “hip hop Supremes”, The 411 are a new UK four piece girl group with a unique mix of musical flavours - old and new; urban and pop – and looks to kill. The girls first single ‘On My Knees‘ - co-written by the group themselves – stormed into the charts at No.4 - is indicative of their sassy style, mixing spoken verses any 60s girl group would be proud of, with hefty hip hop production and a guest rap by former Wu Tang Clan member Ghostface Killah.
Indeed, Ghostface Killah himself was so taken with the girls - Carolyn (19), Suzie (22), Tanya (22) and Tisha (19) - and their song , that he’s demanded to feature the track on his own forthcoming new album.
Add to this a song penned especially for the girls by R&B superstar Ashanti and you have a new group that demands attention.
”It’s important to get respect,” says Tanya. “American groups do so well it would just be good for a British girl group to get out there and compete on a level with them. For people from England to look at us and be proud.”
As well as being written by Ashanti, the song ‘No Excuses‘ also features a guest appearance from the UK’s own Lemar, who has been something of a mentor for The 411.
It was through the Lemar that the group actually came into being; with Tisha and Tanya first meeting when both were booked to do the backing vocals on his version of the Al Green Classic ‘Let’s Stay Together.‘
“We didn’t actually know each other at the time but we got chatting, as girls do, and just got on really well,” says Tanya. “There was someone visiting the studio from Sony and she said it’s a pity there’s not two more of you because you’d make a really good group.”
Seizing the moment, Tanya immediately set about finding two more singers and didn’t have to look too far: Carolyn was an old friend from Tanya’s native Surrey, whilst, Suzie was then at university with Tanya’s best friend.
The 411 was born and eighteen months later are set to release their first record. “Considering the relatively short time we’ve known each other, and the fact that it’s four girls thrown in together - it’s all worked out really well,” says Suzie.
The name The 411 came was chosen as a homage to the early 90s R&B singers such as Mary J Blige (Blige’s first LP was called What’s the 411?), who the girls grew up listening to and have had a clear influence on their sound.
“411 is also the number people call in America when they want information and hopefully they’ll want to know about us,” explains Tisha.
The girls also do many of their own vocal arrangements and take turns with the lead vocals. “We’ve all got very different styles and we switch around on songs. Me and Suzie can do the very low notes but I can’t get as low as Suzie - she’s got a good set of lungs on her,” laughs Tisha.
The 411’s ability to take on a wide range of material can be traced to the girls varied musical tastes: Lauryn Hill, India Arie, No Doubt, The Darkness, Beyonce, Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklyn, are just few of the artists the girls name check as influences.
With such ability and a bag of hits waiting for release, how could anybody fail to get The 411?
David Jensen Photography:
https://www.davidjensen.co.uk/
