Next

Formed in Minneapolis in the mid-1990s, the trio Next brings together singers R.L. Huggar, Terry “T-Low” Brown and Raphael “Tweet” Brown around an R&B sound marked by late new jack swing, hip-hop influences and slow ballads. Discovered by KayGee of Naughty by Nature, Next signed to Arista and released the 1997 album “Rated Next,” which established the group on the American R&B scene with a blend of mid-tempo tracks, club-oriented numbers and slow jams focused on vocal harmonies. In 2000, the record “Welcome II Nextasy” extended that aesthetic by incorporating more contemporary sounds between urban R&B and radio pop, while “The Next Episode,” released in 2002, steered Next slightly toward darker productions and a stronger hip-hop grounding while retaining a core of romantic songs. Over the years, Next alternated periods of activity and hiatus—between group projects, concerts and appearances on nostalgic R&B circuits—while R.L. developed a solo career and songwriting work in parallel, maintaining Next’s presence in the history of late-1990s and early-2000s American R&B.