Goodfellaz - Sugar Honey Ice Tea

What this video is

"Sugar Honey Ice Tea" was released in 1996 as the debut single by Goodfellaz on Polydor/Polygram Records, at the height of the harmonizing male R&B trio format popularized by Boyz II Men and Bell Biv DeVoe. The trio — comprising De Louie Avant Jr., Angel Vasquez, and Ray Vencier — was based in New York; Vasquez brought crossover credibility from his prior role in Latin freestyle trio TKA. The song's title is a…

Why it matters

A representative artifact of mid-90s hip-hop soul — the moment when New Jack Swing's percussive staccato gave way to smoother, more melodic R&B trio harmonics. The track's dual pop/urban crossover performance (#64 Hot 100, #25 R&B) documents the commercial viability of the format in 1996, while…