Playa

Formed in 1990, Playa was originally an R&B and hip-hop trio comprised of Jawaan ‘Smokey’ Peacock, Benjamin ‘Digital Black’ Bush, and Stephen ‘Static Major’ Garrett. They are best known for their 1998 album Cheers 2 U, produced by Timbaland. The trio met while still in high school. They joined up with another few friends and formed the R&B vocal group A Touch of Class. They met Jodeci member DeVante backstage and performed a capella versions of Jodeci songs. This led to the group being signed to Devante’s Swing Mob label. Changing their name to Playa and dwindling down to the core trio, they provided vocals on the Jodeci album The Show, The After Party, The Hotel. In the short time they were with Swing Time, they rubbed shoulders with future R&B and hip-hop greats like Missy Elliott, Ginuwine, Timbaland & Magoo, and others. While Swing Mob never released an album by Playa, the members continued to write and record material. Playa signed to Def Jam and released their official debut album, Cheers 2 U in 1998. The album featured the singles “Don’t Stop the Music” and “Cheers 2 U”, the latter reaching the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The trio released tracks on several soundtracks including How to Be a Player, Dr. Dolittle, Blue Streak, Exit Wounds, and Romeo Must Die. Playa continued to write and record music and their second album, Never Too Late, was scheduled for release 2003. However, the album’s release was cancelled and the trio went their separate ways in 2003. Static Major continued writing songs for other artists including Ginuwine, Pretty Ricky, Lil Wayne, and especially Aaliyah – he wrote most of the lyrics for her 2001 self-titled album. Sadly, Stephen ‘Static Major’ Garrett died on February 25, 2008 of a suspected brain aneurysm. Posthumously, he gained fame for his work on Lil Wayne’s 2008 album Tha Carter III.