What is Ronnie DeVoe's Net Worth?
Ronnie DeVoe is a singer, best known as a member of the R&B groups New Edition and Bell Biv DeVoe. Both groups were highly influential, with New Edition being among the first modern boy bands and Bell Biv DeVoe being formative to the new jack swing movement of the 1990s. Beyond his music career, DeVoe works in real estate.
Early Life
Ronald DeVoe Jr. was born on November 17, 1967 in Roxbury, Massachusetts.
New Edition
In 1978, singer and songwriter Bobby Brown formed the R&B group New Edition. The original lineup consisted of him, DeVoe, Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, and Ralph Tresvant. New Edition got its big break in the early 1980s when it performed in a talent show at the Strand Theatre in Boston. Although the group came in second place, record producer Maurice Starr was so impressed that he invited the group to come to his studio the following day to record an album. That album, "Candy Girl," was released in 1983 as New Edition's debut. It spawned the hit singles "Is This the End," "Popcorn Love," and the title track, which reached number one on the charts in both the US and the UK. After signing with MCA Records in 1984, New Edition released its self-titled second album, which launched the hit songs "Cool it Now" and "Mr. Telephone Man." The group's next studio album was "All for Love," released in 1985; its hit singles were "Count Me Out," "A Little Bit of Love (Is All it Takes)," and "With You All the Way." At the end of 1985, New Edition released the holiday EP "Christmas All Over the World."
After Brown was booted from New Edition in late 1985 on account of behavioral issues, the group recorded the album "Under the Blue Moon," featuring covers of popular doo-wop songs from the 1950s. The group subsequently brought on Johnny Gill for its next album, 1988's "Heart Break." Becoming the group's most commercially successful album yet, it launched such hit singles as "You're Not My Kind of Girl," "Crucial," and "N.E. Heartbreak." In 1990, New Edition broke up as its members went on to pursue other musical projects. The group returned with its full six-person lineup in 1996 to record "Home Again," which became its first and only album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200. However, the subsequent tour was ill-fated, ending before schedule due to violent tensions within the group. New Edition has had various reunions in the years since then, and released its seventh and final studio album, "One Love," in 2004.
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Bell Biv DeVoe
Motivated by the success Bobby Brown had with his breakthrough 1988 solo album "Don't Be Cruel," the members of New Edition decided to branch off to pursue other musical projects in the early 1990s. At the encouragement of producers Terry Lewis and Jimmy Jam, DeVoe teamed up with fellow New Edition members Bell and Bivins to form the R&B trio Bell Biv DeVoe. The group experienced immediate success with its debut studio album, "Poison," which reached number five on the Billboard 200 and went on to become certified quadruple-platinum by the mid-1990s. Moreover, the album launched the Billboard Hot 100 hit singles "Do Me!," the title track, and "B.B.D. (I Thought It Was Me)?" With "Poison," Bell Biv DeVoe has been credited with helping to pioneer the new jack swing movement, a fusion genre combining elements of R&B, hip hop, and traditional soul.
Bell Biv DeVoe released its second studio album, "Hootie Mack," in 1993. It was unable to reach the commercial heights of the group's debut, peaking at number 19 on the Billboard 200. Bell Biv DeVoe's third album was the more hardcore-leaning "BBD," which didn't come out until the end of 2001. After another, even longer break, the group released the album "Three Stripes" in 2017. "Three Stripes" was the group's most commercially successful album since its debut, peaking at number 18 on the Billboard 200 and number one on the Independent Albums chart.
Television and Film Appearances
With New Edition and Bell Biv DeVoe, DeVoe appeared in a number of television series and films. Members of the groups appeared on the small screen in episodes of such shows as "Knight Rider," "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," "Family Matters," and "New York Undercover." New Edition also appeared in the 1985 film "Krush Groove" alongside several other popular musical acts, including Sheila E., Run-DMC, LL Cool J, and the Beastie Boys. Later on, in 2018, DeVoe began appearing in a guest role on the Bravo reality series "The Real Housewives of Atlanta," which starred his wife Shamari.
Real Estate Ventures
Beyond his music career, DeVoe is involved in real estate through his companies DeVoe Realty and DeVoe Broker Associates. The latter is a real estate agency based in Atlanta, Georgia.
Personal Life
In 2006, DeVoe married Shamari Fears, the lead singer of the girl group Blaque. The couple had twin sons in 2017 named Ronald III and Roman.
