What Ever Happened to: Another Bad Creation

Ladies, y’all won’t like me after this column.

A few days ago, I was roaming around these Internet streetz, and I stumbled across an old photo of Another Bad Creation, the hip-hop flavored R&B group that made prepubescent girls shriek like maniacs at the mere mention of their name.

Chance are, ladies, if you were a pre-teen in the early 90s, you had crushes on these guys.

Well, ladies, take a look at the objects of your affection:

THAT’S what y’all found attractive in 1991? Airbrushed overalls and Breathe Right strips? Clearly Idris Elba has been doing it wrong all this time.

But despite their (very) poor fashion choices, there was a time when ABC was on top of the R&B world. Let’s travel back and reminisce.

Michael Bivins will go down as one of the shrewdest businessmen in the music industry. After New Edition broke up in the late ’80s, Bivins wasted no time forming Bell Biv DeVoe and riding the New Jack Swing wave to success. But he didn’t stop there – he went on to discover other R&B acts, including the group of kids known as Another Bad Creation.

The group consisted of Romell “RoRo” Chapman; Chris Sellers; David Shelton; and brothers Demetrius (“Red”) and Marliss (“Mark”) Pugh. According to Wikipedia, Adrian “G.A.,” or “General Austin,” Witcher also served as an unofficial member. Sorta like Cappadonna in Wu-Tang Clan, I guess. I don’t remember that guy at all, but who am I to question Wikipedia?

What I do remember is the group’s 1991 debut album, Coolin’ at the Playground Ya Know! Even as an immature Ninja Turtle watching, Ecto-Cooler drinking preteen, I HATED that album title. You can also tell it’s the early 90s because the 2-foot tall children are all wearing their big brothers’ coats and hats. They look like a bunch of thug Paddington Bears.

But let me be cool at the playground. I can’t hate on ABC’s success – both “Iesha” and “Playground” were MONSTER hits in middle school hallways. Every girl named “Iesha” (and I know quite a few) all thought the boys were singing directly to them. And while the pitiful lyricism on “Playground” makes Lil Twist sound like Twista, it was mighty infectious. Both singles cracked the R&B top 10 and pushed the album to platinum status.

“My World” and “Spydermann” received airplay as well, but by far my favorite was ABC’s cover of New Edition’s “Jealous Girl.” Of course, the song is painfully corny by 2014 standards but it’s funny to hear guys whining about girls 20 years before Drake made a career out of it.

ABC became media darlings by the end of 1991 and they were EVERYWHERE – magazine covers, TV shows, even movies:

Robert Townsend is the most normal looking person in that picture.

Proving that infantile music beefs isn’t just a 21st century fad, ABC even had a ridiculous beef with fellow hip-hop dwarfs Kris Kross. At the beginning of the original version of Kris Kross’ “Jump,” a song that still goes SUPER HARD today, Mac Daddy said: “don’t try to compare us to another bad little fad.” Them’s fighting words. Of course it lead nowhere.

ABC dominated pop culture from 1991-1992.  By 1993, when their sophomore album was released, the bloom had fallen off the rose. Overexposure killed them out of the gate.

ABC went two for two with ridiculous album titles with It Ain’t What U Wear, It’s How U Play It. Someone please explain what that means. And while you’re at it, please explain why Biv made those dudes dress like Native American strippers. The singles “I Don’t Wanna Be Grown Up” and “Where’s Ya Little Sista” – neither of which were written by R. Kelly, I promise – didn’t made the charts. The album was a dud and the group soon departed ways.

BUT WAIT: If you blinked, you probably missed ABC’s quiet reunion in 2006, The Grady Baby Compilation EP, featuring tracks from past members of the group. As you probably guessed, it didn’t get much attention.

Just to prove that ABC has stepped up their wardrobe, here’s the most recent pic I’ve found of the group, which I believe was taken in the MySpace era, circa 2009:

Finally, a throwback pic they don’t have to be ashamed of. And check out this YouTube vid. The guys seem to be doing pretty well for themselves these days. Good for them.

Should They Come Back?: I dug around online but, besides vague promises of new music from individual members, I couldn’t confirm that the group is eyeing a comeback. And that’s OK. I wouldn’t be opposed to the guys trying their hands at solo projects – they’re industry veterans, after all. But ABC as a unit was definitely a product of the times. Leave the airbrushed overalls in 1991.

UPDATE to the UPDATE: The previously posted vid? Nah, that wasn’t them, it was a parody. Thankfully. It’s been removed.

Revisit more music industry veterans in our “What Ever Happened” to archive

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25 Comments

  1. THAT’S NOT THEM! LOL!

  2. WOW!!! Can’t believe that’s the same Another Bad Creation! Or is it?!! What a change! 🙂

  3. Lol… I looked all over the net and was unsuccessful finding current pictures of these cats. Dropped off the face of this earth!

  4. Thats wazzap just watch M M
    remember then days Lil Dav was is the home boy me Dave and lil Dav running around embarcadero Apt. In college park G,A.

  5. my mom loved those ABC Kids buying of overalls and dancing in the middle of the skating rink used to be the thing back thentoo bad their career didn’t go any farther

  6. Another bad creation I like that group it was great back in the 90s. Ishea was a big hit. It was jamin I remember that song well.

  7. Wow thx for the update.. I loved those little guys back then Sad they didnt have the right management
    Very cute talented kids back then.

  8. I just sold roro that work, that got him losing weight, but he loyal

  9. Well that is the original group in the pictures and they have grown up to be very responsable young men whom are doing very well for themselves, A couple of them are active in their community, and others have moved into acting. Here’s a trailer to a sitcom Chris Sellers is involved in.
    “Living With LucyLu”
    https://youtu.be/5SkCT-vtvEk

  10. That is them! I know them all personally. It was probably the worst picture that you could ever find of them but that’s DEFINITELY them! They all still live in Atlanta and none of them have their own place. Romel, David, and Chris roommate in East Point Georgia. I don’t know about the active in their community part however Dave’s little brother has a foundation that does a lot for the surrounding communities.

  11. Obviously the dude that wrote this article must be extremely young. I would take those outfits right now over that fagot skinny jean era that is going on now. lol

    Plus these young kids are so unoriginal and have zero creativity that they are actually copying those same haircuts today. They also try to use some of the old slang that we used back then. I tell you the younger generation can hold that L.

  12. I went to elementary school with Red and Mark. Red and I hung together for a few years at rockbridge elementary. Even though they were both famous at the time, Both were super cool and well grounded. They never once played the I am famous card. Truly were cool dudes.

  13. I worked with Romell “RoRo” Chapman at an inbound call center in Norcross, GA mid 2000’s. He didn’t know that I knew who he was. Yep, work with him through a temp-to-hire agency.

  14. Wow 1991 seems so long ago. I was so young and at the very beginning of my white rapper girl existence. Someone gave me the cooling on the playground cassette tape. I remember playing it in my room on my boom box and thinking I was so uh… what’s the word for it. At the time Chris, Mark, Red, Dave and Ro were every where and I thought that they were so cute. Btw I just saw the New Edition Story movie on BET.

  15. Definitely goes well with the time. I loved them and their clothes were not corny. This was fashiom for that time!!! I loved Red and RoRo. They haven’t changed a bit.

  16. I would love to meet Demetrius aka Red. He was my little crush at 8/9 years old back then.

  17. Did Red kill someone? Theres all these articles online about a demetrius pugh that killed an 18 year old after robbing him. Got 36 years.

  18. Edward, this article seems to be written with a little bitterness unless that’s just your writing style

  19. They all still look the same to me… they’re just grown now🥰🥰🥰 I use to love this group

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