P.O.V.

New Jersey, USA-based four-piece comprising The Rapper Extraordinaire (b. Marc Sherman), Ewarner ‘E’ Mills, Hakim ‘HB’ Bell and Lincoln ‘Link’ DeVulgt (b. Virgin Islands) whose sound encompassed reggae and R&B, with the uniting structure of hip-hop rhythms. Their initials stood for Point Of View. Their line-up featured not only a conventional rapper, but also one (Link) who took a reggae/dancehall DJ approach. They made their debut with ‘Anutha Luv’, under the tutelage of Hakim Abdulsamad, but it was Michael Bennet who decided to take the group to Jamaica, recording the sweet ‘Summer Nights’ single at his Kingston studio. The quartet boasted distinguished parentage too; band leader Hakim ‘HB’ Bell is the son of Robert ‘Kool’ Bell, of Kool And The Gang fame, who served as co-executive producer on their 1993 debut. This comprised two quite distinct sides. The first, the ‘Beat U Up’ side, was formulated by up-tempo dance and swing material, while the second, ‘Beat U Down’, offered Link’s dancehall chants and Sherman’s hip-hop verses set to the impressive soulful harmonising of the whole group. It included their duet with Jade, ‘All Thru The Nite’. Hakim was also responsible for HB Productions, which handled (in tandem with Robert Bell) backroom duties on the band’s debut album.