They Got Severed

02/02/2004 10:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Billy Johnson Jr

Teen sensations B2K have been breaking hearts since they hit the road on Bow Wow's Scream Tour in 2001. But their throngs of female fans have literally been in tears since the group's internal problems made Internet news in January 2004.

The conflict has been blamed on numerous things. J Boog, Lil' Fizz, and Raz-B say there was bad business with manager Chris Stokes, and they therefore severed their ties with the executive/producer/director responsible for giving them their big break. But lead singer Omarion, who continues to be represented by Stokes, argues that Stokes has been fair. Stokes and Omarion agree that there was turmoil within the four-man squad. But it's still unclear whose story bears the most truth.

What is clear is that the squabbling surfaced at a bad time, only a week after the group released the soundtrack to their debut film, You Got Served, and only a month before the film hit theaters. So, instead of spending that month promoting the film, Omarion, J Boog, Lil' Fizz, and Raz-B have been slinging mud.

Interestingly enough, before the drama unfolded, the recently disbanded quartet stopped by LAUNCH's studios in Santa Monica for one of their last unified efforts to promote the film. They sat down with urban editor Billy Johnson Jr. and discussed their roles in You Got Served, the intense dance scenes, and Omarion's onscreen love interest (actress Jennifer Friedman, who also starred opposite Omarion in B2K's mini-movie/video "Girlfriend"). And the whole time, they showed no signs of any tension in the group.

But if you want to have some real fun, review this interview with Omarion and J Boog carefully, reading between the lines to see if you can detect any brewing animosity. You'll spend the most time trying to interpret J Boog's comments about former manager Stokes, of whom J Boog dryly remarks, "He keeps his hands in everything." LOL.

LAUNCH: What was going through your minds at your first concert before your careers took off?

J BOOG: "Man, what is Epic doing?" (laughs) No, we were just, like, really overwhelmed by our whole situation. We was very appreciative being there; like, Bow gave us that opportunity to put ourselves out there. It was just all new to us, 'cause that was, like, our first time performing, night in night out, in front of big crowds like that.

OMARION: Yeah, it was definitely like a focus thing, you know? Like, sometimes we wouldn't even see the crowd. We would hear what was going on, but at the same time, we were so focused when we came out there. We knew that we had to do. It was time to get down and do what we had to do when we came in.

LAUNCH: What do you mean when you say, "focus"?

J BOOG: With four people being onstage at one time doing the same thing, it's like, you got to watch each other. Like, if it's two on this side, there needs to be two on that side. You just got to always be alert and on your job when you're onstage. 'Cause it's not like you're so large that you could just do whatever you want. So we got to help each other out and give signals and stuff. People don't really see it, but we give signals onstage the whole show.

OMARION: The whole show, yeah, or like even before the show. That's like a really, really big part of us getting our focus to get onstage--you know, we go back, we pray, we got our little chants and stuff like that. So I would definitely say that backstage has a lot to do with how you gonna get onstage. There's times where everybody be chilling out, and then we're like, "Oh, we got to perform?" But then there's times when we all in there getting dressed and we got music going, and it's just like, the vibe.

LAUNCH: What's one of the signals that you guys might do to alert another person onstage?

OMARION: Well, it's the little stuff. It's so hard to say because it's so spur-of-the-moment. Like, maybe if there's like supposed to be a triangle and one is off-center, you're moving a little closer so it would be like a tidy triangle. It's kind of like a feeling. 'Cause one time, we had to perform with cordless mics, and this was the first time when we really felt like we had that much chemistry, because we were singing and we was dancing, and you can't sing with a cord mic, you know what I mean? You could get wrapped all up in it. So we would have to drop the mics, move, and then pick them back up. So much stuff going on. It was crazy.

J BOOG: Like, we would drop the mics but one guy wouldn't necessarily pick up the mic he dropped, you know what I'm saying? Like, I would drop it and it was in Omarion's space and he'd drop it in Raz's space, and Fizz would have my spot, or sometimes we would switch and pass mics, but you wouldn't see it. So it was like, we just definitely had a lot of eye contact. Omarion may pick up my shirt for me that I dropped. Or he may have to be in a certain position and I might be in a position to pick his jewelry up or Raz's hat will fall off--but you never notice. Like, I wouldn't see it, but Raz will give me the signal to pick it up and throw it to him. And it's all just a part of the show.

LAUNCH: What do you do to make your dancing and choreography so tight?

OMARION: Well, I can definitely say that when we do our rehearsals, it's not like, military, you know what I mean? 'Cause you do see a lot of groups out there and it's like hardcore practice. But a majority of time that we have rehearsals, it's like, fun. We put stuff together that's like, "Oh, is this gonna work?" or "Are we gonna move?" or "How can we put all our ideas on the table to make it own?" Because a lot of choreographers--I'm gonna be honest--they have that much control. But we've been dancing with our choreographer for so long, it's not like he's in there, like, "Guys, you have do this and that and we only have this much time." We was adding stuff to the steps on the same day we had to do an awards show, you know what I'm saying? Like, that's how good of dancers we are. So it's never like, really strict and stuff, it's just feeling it. We get in there and we vibe out, feel off each other. It's like second nature to us. Dancing is, like, a team thing.

LAUNCH: Do you have entertainers you look up to and admire, as far as dancing goes?

J BOOG: Well, as far as like looking up to, the only person we kind of look up to is Michael Jackson. As far as like a dancer. But we appreciate the creativity that every artist that's dancing right now has.

OMARION: Yeah, yeah: Justin, Usher, Missy. I definitely think that dancing is a quality you must have; you can't just be onstage and sing and stand. You gotta have a little flavor. Even if it's one move, you got to definitely make sure that you move around on the stage.

LAUNCH: Is there a particular music video that inspired your dancing when you were younger?

J BOOG: I'm gonna say [Michael Jackson's] "Smooth Criminal." That tripped my eye.

OMARION: Yeah, all of them tricks, on the lean.

J BOOG: Leaning and everything.

OMARION: Definitely Michael Jackson. I want to say all his videos, because he has phenomenal videos across the board.

J BOOG: Another video where somebody was, like, real smooth is Usher, "U Got It Bad."

OMARION: Yeah, or "U Don't Have To Call."

J BOOG: That last album, the boy did his thing.

OMARION: Boy did his thing, definitely.

LAUNCH: Do you guys get any feedback from acclaimed dancers who see you perform?

OMARION: As far as artists, it's kind of hard, 'cause we've never really been around an artist long enough for them to be like, "Man, y'all be groovin'!" But they will give up props, you know, like, "Man, y'all doing your thing, keep doing what you're doing." And you know, we give it back. But regular people, they come up to us all the time, like, "Y'all boys be dancing, y'all get down!"

LAUNCH: How crazy does it get in your movie, You Got Served, in terms of showing what this dancing lifestyle is like?

OMARION: Honestly, the dancing in that movie is hard to explain without giving the story away. I can definitely say that it's some real phenomenal dancing. Like, I could remember back in the day, it really wasn't our era, but the whole breaking thing was so popular. And when the You Got Served script was given to us, we was thinking, like, "Dang, this could be real, real big for us, because dancing is not how it used to be back in the day," you know what I mean? It's not no primary duels that you look at and you'd be like, "Them is the duels! Those are the cats you look after!" We definitely got this opportunity to show how much we're into dancing--about the history. It's not just one move, you know. You got to have the dation. You can't just go into power moves in breaking, you got to have an upright when you come in. It's so much about the steps to the dance. I will definitely say about the movie, forget about all that other stuff--the movie is phenomenal. You have to go see it.

LAUNCH: Do you guys hit the clubs, and if so what is that like? Do other dancers want to challenge you?

OMARION: I'm gonna be honest with you, now--yeah. Because they know the movie is coming out and everything, and that's why I'm dancing everywhere.

J BOOG: They want to know if it's real.

OMARION: Exactly. And you got to think about i: Most artists are into dancing, but they're not really into the history of it. They're just into choreography.

J BOOG: They're like, "That's it, my video's done, I got through it, that's it, I'm done."

OMARION: And when we were doing this movie, we learned a lot of history, and we really respect all the dancing and different techniques and how difficult it is. Because we were dancing for real. Like this one time, they kept playing the music when they're usually supposed to stop, but the cameras kept rolling and it turned into a real battle! It was real, like, "I'm coming to get you," you know what I mean? So the movie, it's a killer.

LAUNCH: Will we maybe see that battle on the DVD as an outtake?

OMARION: Oh yeah, y'all will see some stuff on the DVD, yeah.

LAUNCH: Do you guys ever feel nervous performing when you know there are other great dancers out there? How do you deal with that?

J BOOG: Well, as far, like, doing shows with other artists, that's just fuel to our flame. That just gives us the mind frame of, y'all got to get out there and give it your all, 'cause you got some people that's following you that is possible of giving a better show than you. So y'all got to go out there and shut it down, kill these people to where they don't even want to cry out no more when the next artist come onstage. It's nothing as far as like hate toward any other artist, it's just business. What you got to do is definitely competition.

OMARION: It's competition. Tough competitors.

J BOOG: And I know they feel the same way when they're doing it. They're going on before us, and they're like, "These boys is gonna come out here and give a show! So I'm gonna make these people remember me!"

LAUNCH: After you guys perform, do you ever walk offstage and sit down and say, "Man, I'm tired"?

OMARION: No, we run offstage straight to the vans. When we get offstage, it's not like we're really offstage, because we got to run to the vans. Like, sometimes our shirts will be off and it'll be cold outside, so we get some jackets and get some water, then we shoot straight out of there. The down time where we really get like think about the show is probably when we're driving back to the hotel.

J BOOG: 'Cause our adrenaline will still be hitting, pumping. Still going. It takes a good hour and a half before you could feel that you're tired, 'cause it's like your heart rate is still up. You're still thinking about the show, then you get to the bed, and then you go, "I'm tired."

LAUNCH: Let's talk more about your movie. Sounds like you've got a love interest going on in the film...

OMARION: Oh yeah, man, I got a little love interest, Jennifer Friedman. And what was so cool about Jennifer is I got to work with her previously on my video, and it wasn't really too big, but that was my first onscreen kiss. So it was cool. When we worked together [in the movie], it was fine. It was just like we was on the video set; it was just a little bit more deeper. We had to have, like, conversations before our kissing scene to make it real, you know what I mean? Like, we was almost to a point of almost liking each other, because that's how much we was getting into the character.

LAUNCH: What do you mean that you were almost to the point of liking each other?

OMARION: I mean, when you kiss somebody, it's intimate. I ain't gonna brag, but I'm a good kisser--you know, I get my kiss on [laughs]. But you really got to get into your character, especially when it comes to the boyfriend/girlfriend thing. I had to really put myself in [the character] David's shoes, and be like, "Dang, I got to like this girl, I like this girl," you know? But at the same time I have to play David, so David has to be into it. It was definitely something new for me.

LAUNCH: Tell me about Chris Stokes, the writer and director of the movie.

J BOOG: That dude keeps his hands in everything.

OMARION: Everything, yeah. A true businessman.

J BOOG: If you hear Chris is doing something, don't be surprised. Don't doubt it, 'cause he's like got his hands in everything. He's a very strong-minded person. He's just a genius, man, like a master at business, an entrepreneur, for real, to the highest power.

OMARION: Yeah, and that's good for us, being young and being able to be around and do it like that, because we get so much game. I mean, think of all the stuff that he's doing. One day, we will become men and decide those decisions, and he gets to give us the game that he has. We're doing all of that and doing what he's doing--just imagine what our game is gonna be when we get to his level! It's gonna be triple-time, because he is our teacher, he is our mentor, not just our manager. That's like our father, our mentor, our really good friend.

LAUNCH: Would you say the You Got Served soundtrack is like a B2K album?

J BOOG: Not at all, for the simple fact that going into this project, we were in the mind frame of this movie. We had to do music for the movie; we couldn't do records that we just wanted to do. It had to be hot, it had to be definitely different, and it had to be universal, something that everybody can listen to. So it wasn't like the typical B2K album. Some tracks you can really dance to, that if people was getting ready to battle, they could grab the You Got Served soundtrack and put that on. And so it's like definitely based on the movie and the whole energy of the movie. But there are ballads on there.

OMARION: Yeah, nice little stuff you could listen to.

LAUNCH: "Out The Hood" is probably the song that guy fans will say, "Hey, thanks for that song." Was that something you were thinking about when choosing to do that one?

OMARION: Yeah, definitely, because with a lot of the songs that we do or we pick, I think of the perspective, of really thinking in my mind, like, "Dang, when I'm singing this song, I got to make people feel like I really want to take this girl out the hood!" As for the topic, that's every humble dude that comes up on a ride or that has a little business. And you know, we normal dudes too, and I know that we all had that one girl that's back at home and we like, "Dang, I wish I could do this for you. I wish I could do that for you. Like, just come with me." We young and we ain't trying to do that right now, but at the same time, you do think about it and be like, "Dang, that's my girl," you know what I mean? I definitely can say that that's the situation that I know a lot of people go through. So that's a great song.

LAUNCH: I agree. Changing subjects now...Omarion, about your brother Marques Houston, seeing him do his thing--were you always there in the background doing your little thing?

OMARION: Well, no, actually--a lot of the time, he was out on the road doing his thing, and I had to build for myself. I can definitely say, as far as the business side, he taught me all my game. All of us, matter of fact. But as far as, like, the performance stuff, I was like Michael Jackson as a kid. That's the dude, right there.

J BOOG: We love Michael. We got to pay our respects, man.

LAUNCH: There's another brother in the picture, right? His name's O'Ryan?

OMARION: Yeah, that's my little brother.

LAUNCH: You guys are trying to lock it down!

OMARION: Man, we trying to be like the Jackson Five! [laughs] You know, little O, he's doing his thing. I think he has a album coming out. I don't want to give a specific date, but it's some time next year. Man, that little dude is talented, and I didn't even know he was as talented as he is 'cause he's a real quiet person. I would take him places, but all he would do was just watch and listen and soak it up. And I heard him sing, and I'm like, "That ain't O'Ryan, that ain't our little brother!"