R&B foursome 112 -- Daron, Q, Marvin and Mike -- are eyeing a comeback with their fifth album, Pleasure and Pain. The follow-up to 2003's Hot and Wet, the album is 112's second release after their break with P. Diddy's Bad Boy Records, and the guys admit that their first was less than inspired.
"Hot and Wet didn't do as well as we would have liked," Daron says. "But we didn't really put our heart and soul into that album. We got a big check when we came to Def Jam, and we got kinda relaxed. No matter how much money you get, it's still about making great music for the people."
With Pleasure, the Atlanta group professes to have done just that. "Look forward to one of the best R&B albums of the year," says Daron. One of his favorite tracks is the romantic ballad "I Won't Be Ashamed." "It's basically about not being ashamed to tell the girl that you're with that you love her and not being afraid to let the world know," he explains. "And I feel like sentiments like that are missing in music right now. There's a lot of killing and ballin' and flossin'."
The first single, "You Already Know," is a sexy hip-hop track, reminiscent of the group's 2001 hit "Peaches and Cream." Foxy Brown, recently brought back into the Def Jam fold, has just contributed vocals to a remix of the song. Guests on Pleasure include Atlanta rapper T.I., on "If I Hit," and Memphis rappers 3-6 Mafia, on "Closing the Club."
Before Pleasure and Pain's release, 112 will join fellow R&B group Jagged Edge on a winter tour of the U.K. and Japan.