Chubb Rock was fresh off the success of his 1991 album The One when he got an opportunity to collaborate with none other than Quincy Jones. It all began with R&B star Al B. Sure! reaching out to Rock to hop on a track that Sure was working on featuring a new artist.
"We're friends and we've been friends a long time," Rock tells ROCK THE BELLS. "He calls me and he says 'Hey, Quincy is giving me the opportunity to [produce] this little kid. He sings like...you've never heard this. You've gotta come and see this."
That "little kid" was R&B wunderkind Tevin Campbell. Campbell had gotten attention after his appearance on Quincy Jones' hit 1989 album Back On The Block. The 12-year old had also scored a major hit with the Prince-penned "Round and Round" a year later. Now, Jones had tapped Al B. Sure! to write and produce tracks for the youngster. When Chubb Rock heard Campbell sing, he was instantly blown away. He was as stunned by the kid's choice of music as he was young Tevin's ability.
"I went to the studio and he's singing classical music as a warm-up!" he exclaims. "As a little kid, he's singing classical music. And you're sitting there mesmerized, like—how are these notes coming out of this young soul?"
