Public Announcement was a R&B group formed in 1991 in Chicago, Illinois. They teamed with singer R. Kelly on his 1992 debut album Born into the 90’s. R. Kelly met the members from Public Announcement and auditioned them to be his back up singers and dancers. The group was billed as R. Kelly and Public Announcement essentially making the group backup members for Kelly rather than a cohesive unit.
After a successful tour ended in 1993, Kelly parted ways with Public Announcement to begin a solo career. The group suddenly left the music industry after his departure but soon returned with a new member and signed to Atlantic Records in the mid ’90s. After their album failed to materialize three members left the group. Original member Earl Robinson recruited a few other Chicago natives to form a new Public Announcement in 1996.
In 1998, they scored their first and only top five hit without Kelly, named “Body Bumpin (Yippie-Yi-Yo)” off their All Work, No Play album. The single peaked at No. 5 on the Hot 100 and No. 4 on the R&B chart. At this time new member Feloney Davis took over as lead singer. The song is most noted for his soulful lead vocals. The video featured the group performing a comedic dance sequence. Enjoy the video above!
