As I sit here cradling myself back and forth while gently humming “Don’t Leave,” I regret to inform my fellow 80/90’s babies that Blackstreet is no more and by the way they’re acting, it’s never coming back!
In 2013, Chauncey (the BLACK in Blackstreet) and Teddy Riley (the STREET) got into a legal war over the group’s name and it’s use. Apparently Teddy’s rights to the Blackstreet name expired and he had still been using it illegally, even doing concerts sans Chauncey (or any of the other founding members of the group). Mr. Riley later accused Chauncey of stealing the trademark for the group’s name by not informing him it expired, then filing for the name on his own. All in an attempt to get all of Blackstreet’s profits.
Now according to TheJasmineBrand.com, Teddy Riley has recently filed court docs saying Chauncey is screwing up his concert deals by not adding him to the trademark. He says that he was in negotiations to perform on the Tom Joyner Cruise ship but they told him they cannot finalize the deal due to Hannibal owning the band name. Further, he says Hannibal sent a cease & desist to the cruise ship warning them not to allow Riley to perform under the name “Blackstreet”. So petty!
Teddy Riley wants to courts to slap Chauncey with a temporary restraining order and allow him to use the Blackstreet name until they come up with a final decision.
These two need to get some act right!
