First emerging out of Yellowstone, Houston in the early 1990s, stateside vocal group H-Town saw brothers Keven “Dino” Conner and Solomon “Shazam” Conner join forces with childhood friend Darryl “GI” Jackson to create a unique brand of dreamy, funk-inflected R&B. After releasing a little-known album entitled It’s No Dream under the stage name The Gents, the Texan trio approached Luther “Luke” Campbell of 2 Live Crew in the hopes that he would sign them to his label, Luke Records. He did just that, and the group rebranded, with Dino taking Shazam’s place as lead singer. Their debut LP, Fever for Da Flavor, landed in 1993, yielding a hit in the form of the steamy US #3 “Knockin’ Da Boots”. Sustaining their hold on the charts with a second single, the US #21 smash “Lick U Up”, the group soon went on to win a Soul Train Music Award in 1994. Their second album, Beggin’ After Dark, emerged the same year, receiving a lukewarm response but nonetheless spawning a minor hit in “Emotions”. Dabbling in new sounds during this period, they experimented with vocoders on the 1996 Persuaders cover and Shirley Murdock collaboration “A Thin Line Between Love and Hate” and also teamed up with Papa Reu on the patois-laden “Buss One”. After parting ways with Luke, the trio shifted their focus, positioning themselves as feminist allies on their third album, 1997’s socially conscious Ladies Edition, Woman’s World. The LP was accompanied by a sole single, “They Like It Slow”, which reached #35 in the US. Tragically, prior to the completion of the trio’s fourth album, Imitations of Life, Dino and his girlfriend died in a 2003 car accident. His vocals have since appeared posthumously on the group’s later releases, with Shazam and GI continuing to share new material including a 2015 project entitled Child Support – which featured guest contributions from Jodeci and Lil’ Flip – and a 2017 mixtape entitled Call Me Mr Pac Man.
