Boyz II Men’s ‘II’ album turns 30 this year – a good time to admit that for decades I thought Nathan and Wanya Morris were brothers

Yes, 1994 was a crazy year for black music. All the album releases from famous hip-hop and R&B singers and groups happened this year, especially towards the top of the year. Albums like Mary J. Blige’s ‘My Life’, TLC’s ‘CrazySexyCool’, Nas’ ‘Illmatic’ and Warren G’s ‘Regulate…The G Funk Era’, of which there seem to be a billion others, will probably get across the thirtieth anniversary, if not from me, then from countless other music writers on the planet.

One of those albums of note shall be Boyz II Men’s second album “II”, which featured the Billboard No. 1 songs “I’ll Make Love to You” and “On Bended Knee”, in addition to the hit singles “Water Runs Dry” and “Thank You,” and a song I didn’t know what to do with on the time, “50 Candles.” If you listened to music in 1994, you almost certainly heard “I’ll Make Love to You” ad nauseum. Do you remember the video starring Duane Martin and Tara Hall? You remember wondering why all the music video was a bit blurry, but it surely didn’t matter since the song was such a jam that nothing mattered. You probably also wanted that set of stationery that Duane Martin wrote the letter on since it looked burnt right around the sides. What a time to be alive.

Either way, when this album turns 30 – on August 30, 2024 – there shall be loads of retrospectives. This is one other one in every of those albums that is entirely known for its slow jams (“Forever My Lady” and “Diary of a Mad Band” a la Jodeci); aside from “Thank You”, I had to look up the names of the opposite songs in the highest half of the album. I couldn’t hum a beat of “U Know” or “I Sit Away” if my life relied on it.

In a few months, hopefully, they’ll hear cars honking “I’ll Make Love to You” prefer it’s 1994, so I’ll save my commentary on all the album until then, but now can be a good time to share Blackfession. Black confessions are, you recognize, confessions about your blackness. Something people can be surprised to find out about you… since you’re black.

Here are mine: For almost 30 years I thought Nathan and Wanya Morris were brothers. Just like in real life. Not like that, dude.

Let me let you know how necessary this discovery was for me: I literally remember where I was. I was driving on I-495 in Maryland, between the St. John’s exits. Barnabas Road and Branch Avenue. I listened 2020 episode of “Questlove Supreme” podcast hosted by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and a rotating solid of mainstays who’re so good in their very own right that it’s almost unfair to have a lot musical knowledge in a single show.

Of course, Boyz II Men were guests and talked about their individual upbringings, so I was very confused when I heard that Nathan and Wanya grew up on different sides of Philadelphia (if memory serves) and seemingly led different lives because, as you recognize, that they were brothers. I thought to myself, “Wow, that’s so crazy that two brothers in the group had such very different experiences. I feel like this should have been a bigger part of the Boyz II Men story!” The more I listened, the more confused I became – how the hell could these two talk so freely about their separate lives? There have to be some trauma from this. I do not know exactly what was said that made me realize they weren’t even related. I think each of them talked about their families and it became clear that despite having the identical last name, they were not related.

I pulled off the highway, fired up my laptop on the gas station, Googled “Nathan Wanya Morris brothers” and saw that even Wikipedia knew they weren’t brothers. I felt like I had been cheated… deceived… led astray… I had run amok. Was it possible that I was the one black one who didn’t know they weren’t brothers? There aren’t even a ton of conspiracy theories about them really being brothers, and the ’90s were a time filled with conspiracy theories.

I went on Facebook with this introduction and shared this thing that could also be embarrassing. Fortunately, I was not alone in this newfound knowledge. From my post, several commenters learned that they’re neither brothers nor related. To be clear, many individuals knew they were not related.

With a sigh.

Anyway, J. Cole is here and apologizes for stepping into rap arguments, so it’s only right that I’m vulnerable too.

Thank you for listening; I really had to get it out.

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Boyz II Men’s album ‘II’ turns 30 this year – a good time to admit that for decades I thought Nathan and Wanya Morris were brothers, first appearing on TheGrio.