My buddy @prak_daddy alerted me to the fact that he purchased tickets to the New Edition concert. Big Money posted their early tour dates and they’ve since increased those dates, coming to the Bay Area in the summer. I’m going to have to try and figure out how to see these guys live.

Also yesterday, I heard If It Isn’t Love, the hit-single from NE’s coming of age album Heartbreak, and figured it’d be a great Friday Throwback. The video features the Johnny Gill-version of New Edition rehearsing after being away. The guy who looks like a nerdy Jamie Foxx is Fab 5 Freddy and he plays their manager (I think). And it looks like they’re about tired of him pushing them.

The song features Ralph Tresvant on the lead singing about a girl who he tries to pretend he doesn’t love, but really does. The lyrics scream more Jackson 5 than anything else, but the production gave them more teeth as they were now full grown. My favorite parts of the video include Rizz’s ballet slippers, Biv pulling up lame and limping, and overall, just NE’s dramatic attempt at acting. It’s quite fun. But this song is classic. Play it anywhere, everywhere, and try not to yell out, “Love her! What?”.