It has been a year since then Ray J, Sami, Bobby Vand P’s happiness he took the stage in Verzuz’s opening show like no other. But viral memes and cultural classics weren’t the only results of that performance. RSVP also born on this day.
The way Ray J describes their collective is as a “man band” and the “only group that are solo artists in a group.” They all give their name to Bobby V – an acronym highlighting the stage names that put each on the R&B map.
RELATED: Ray J, Sammie, Bobby V, And Pleasure P Hit Rehearsal For Their First Photoshoot As Their New Group RSVP
Sammie describes himself and Bobby as members of RSVP who are chill, laid back and outgoing. With Ray J, “what you see is what you get,” and Pleasure P “doesn’t make things difficult” and keeps the party going!
One thing is clear when RSVP joins TheShadeRoom.com Editor, Cassandra Santiago, in a virtual interview, these R&B icons are brothers who think RSVP is meant to be.
“I am learning in this group that it should not be structured, that it should not be one and one in two. We were created and put together from disorder, and for some reason, it seems to work for us,” Sammie tells TSR.
In the months after the successful battle, RSVP worked on their first album. They spent August and September locked in and putting the tracks down. But their first album, “Money Everywhere,” didn’t appear until December.
RSVP Discussion Table Completed & “Mr. Nasty Time” Their second official single (Exclusive Audition)
And the album – although ready and highly anticipated by supporters – has not yet been released. But the group confirms to TSR that the project is coming this summer. According to Sammie, what fans can expect is “timeless music.”
“We just have to put the music out there for real, for real. ‘Money Everywhere’ was just a teaser. We wanted something sexy, we wanted something bold because that’s what the group is. But in terms of the tracks we’ve created on the album, we’ve got something for everybody,” Sammie said. “We’ve got love music, we’ve got sex, we’ve got island music, we’ve got a crossover album, we have a summer break with Hitmaka. So, it’s just about putting the music out and letting everything build around that. Our star power has been get [us] over it, which I appreciate because everything we’ve done is lit by the fact that they come to see us together, but once we’ve put the music on- out, it’s going to be put into perspective that we as a group, as a group together, are amazing.”
So what’s holding them back? Bobby V tells TSR that it’s a combination of establishing a structure and handling the business side of music.
“We were kinda just running wild in November and as time has gone on we are just getting that structure,” said Bobby. “In the music business that’s really the music business. We’re just trying to make sure we handle the business.” He said, “We have a really dope debut album. I’m so ready to drop this album, but I know we need to drop more music to show people we’re serious. We really, really have a good time when we’re together. We talk sh*t to each other, and we play around a lot, but we have a dope record that P kinda put together.”
As for surprises about the project, Pleasure P says they have an Afro-beats single called “Rock The Boat” which is “unexpected from what is. [supporters] was usually known [them] for.”
In the meantime, the group only shared a snippet of their second single, “Mr. Nasty Time,” by The Shade Room – another sexier album serving up raunchy, 90s/2000s vibes.
Get the exclusive first listen at the top of this article.
RSVP revived their group energy after I loved the RnB Festival performance
When asked about their studio sessions, Ray J, Sammie, Bobby V, and Pleasure P, all say that was the “easy part.”
Our interview is chaotic in the best way – full of lighthearted jabs about Bobby’s love of his piano, laughs at how Pleasure P keeps going, and Ray J sprays his horses before retiring early.
Bobby tells TSR’s Cassandra that the interview reflects how RSVP continues in the studio – “lots of talking and bullsh*tting.” Then, Ray J quickly clarifies that they may be “uncut” and “all over the place” at times, but their arrangement is a structural imperfection. The energy, they say, is “just different.”
The group members were reminded of their different vibes when they played at i like RnB Festival the end of May. After months of scattered dedication to their group, the festival reignited the spark that brought them together a year ago.
Bobby V said:
“It’s exciting, I left the group every other day, but when we did Fèis i Love RnB and we went out and we were all just enjoying it and having a great time. Because we’ve hosted and done stuff together where we were just in the club, just kicking it and just kinda making songs. But when we did the show a few weeks ago at the i Love RnB festival I think it revived all of us and it really kinda gave us the perspective again that this is something that is big and something that can be done at a high level. I feel like it can be more than anything else. I feel like the sky is the limit so I’m excited about it. “
According to Ray J, minutes before they took the festival stage, two members (Sammie and Bobby) were down with no rehearsal time scheduled.
Pleasure P suggested they make the stage their party, so they joined us. And the achievement of ATE – surprising and refocusing the group.
“…I think what really surprised us was this i Love RnB Festival where we never had a rehearsal yet, and we were like 5 minutes away from going on stage. We still didn’t know who was going first, or second, or third. We never rehearsed the songs, we didn’t know what we were going to do. And we decided to go out there and do all the songs together as one group… it became this event, this party,” said Ray J. He added, ” It’s the energy for us to get back out there and I like to close it down. I felt like we saw a new scene once we all got on stage and sang together. [i Love RnB Festival] that was the beginning of our coming back together. “
And they return to the stage of that festival in July. This time, as the main directors, the PR representative of the festival, Kalisha Pereraconfirmed to TSR.
RSVP’s Here NOW For Culture & Brotherhood, Despite What Critics Say
In RSVP, there are no leaders. Gamers, for sure. But in general, the men agree that they are equal partners. They are past phase one, which involved balancing their solo career experience with their group experience, and onto phase two of releasing music.
Why NOW? For fun, culture, brotherhood, and the state of R&B. Make boy bands cool again? Yup, that too.
“We are doing it for the culture as well. I feel like R&B is dying, and really R&B in general, we don’t collaborate, we don’t kick it, we don’t hang together,” said Bobby V. ” So we try to just kinda like set the tone and change the scene of R&B. See rap is so big and so popping because all the boys are hitting each other. They pull up at each other at the studio, they go out. R&B guys act like ‘Oh I’m bigger than him, oh I’m better than him.”
Sammie said:
“I’ve been a loner my whole career so when I’m with these people I tap into another side of myself that I didn’t even know I had representation to Verzuz. These are all my brothers. I really love and respect them individually…we have a chance to bring back the boy band or the man band and make it cool again. We’re superstars on our own, but together we’re like a group of R&B avengers. So I have fun though, that’s why I said yes cause I love it so much [these] guys I respect them, look up to them as brothers. For me, it’s all about the fun side of it. In this music business, it’s easy to lose fun because there are so many hurdles and obstacles that you have to overcome. With RSVP, you just show up and have fun and I appreciate that at this point in my life.”
If you’re wondering what’s different about Ray J, Sammie, Bobby V, and Pleasure P this time around, they’ll agree that it’s nothing. They already have the fans, the talent and the experience. So RSVP is all together and “on steroids,” Sammie says.
“It’s not that different anymore, it’s just enhanced. The greatness that Pleasure gives you, the greatness that Bob brings, the greatness of me, the greatness of Ray J, and you put it in one lil gumbo. It really sounds like amazing music. I think that’s why the album came out so dope, so hard because we’re on our own ready to play, ready to sing live, ready to write our music and write our verses and bring our sauce, which is basically the concoction of RSVP . So I wouldn’t say it’s different, it’s just on steroids. With us, there is a different synergy, a different energy, a different magnetic force that we cannot explain, and that we did not plan for. That just wants to happen when the four of us get together.”
Meanwhile, Bobby V said they’re bringing back “real R&B like 90s, 2000s R&B” rather than trying to keep up with modern rap’s influence on their genre.
And RSVP isn’t worried about its critics, including those with “old-fashioned” views. Pleasure P says they focus on who loves them and supports them.
“For me I care about the people who care about me and about me and what we have achieved. There are so many people trying to take it away from us, calling us old heads and all kinds of things, while we are still young. And we got our own thing, and we ran for a while, and we’re still out here doing what we love. We are blessed to be here.”
