they only released one album at the very end of the decade but it was enough to put them
on the map and give the group a spot in 90s r b history like many artists before them their
sophomore effort never saw the light of day and left the members feeling snubbed and devastated
however when the time was right they found their way back to each other and to the stage but a
senseless tragedy would change everything and leave the remaining members to pick up the pieces
let's find out whatever happened to r b group ideal hailing from houston texas the
group the world would come to know as ideal was composed of brothers maverick math and cedric
swab cotton and their cousin wayne p z perry who grew up singing together in high school they
would meet fourth member jay jaydonte green who encouraged math to start a group which
he was reluctant to do at first but eventually during their senior year they made it official
after making the rounds at various local talent shows they were eventually introduced to the
manager of another very popular houston-based r b group h-town as a result of h-town success
he was looking to work with other similar artists and ideal fit the bill after they blew him away
with an in-office performance they were signed immediately
ideal didn't want to waste any time so they got into the studio and started banging out
records right away they ended up getting the opportunity to sing for eric brooks
president of virgin records who gave the group their first record deal
several long years passed before their debut album was eventually released in the meantime in between
time they continued to record and perform and also landed a featured song an update of marvin
gaye's inner city blues on the soundtrack for the 1996 action movie original gangsters
the music video for the track is definitely one that ideal fans should check out since it clearly
shows a five-member not four-member group who that mysterious fifth person is is anyone's guess
the real reason behind the delay of their album is unknown but it could possibly be
attributed to the fact that virgin had a bunch of other heavy hitters on their roster at the time
like janet jackson and d'angelo who the label possibly believed was more deserving of their time
and attention one month before their self-title debut album dropped their first single and
subsequent hit get gone was released and climbed to number 13 on the u.s billboard hot 100 chart
and number two on the r b chart the second single creep in didn't make anywhere near the same impact
but the following year a chance meeting with dj kg from naughty by nature would get them
back on the charts he told the group that he had a song for them that they absolutely
had to record that song would be their next and to date last chart-topping hit whatever
at the height of their popularity they made numerous television appearances
including a very memorable and romantic one on the upn sitcom the parkers
in the middle of the recording of their second album things would take an unfortunate but very
typical turn when power changed hands at virgin as usual when new people come into a situation
they tend to not care about what was going on before they got there and take the opportunity
to start fresh ideal ultimately found themselves kicked to the curb after a much more established
and successful superstar signed on and the label chose to clean house to make room for her
in 2004 the group found a new home with neutral ground via universal and began work once again on
their sophomore album however as of the making of this video no singles nor album were ever released
in the years to follow the members kept a low profile and did their own thing
focusing mainly on writing producing and starting their families then on september
29th 2015 the group took to social media to officially announce their comeback writing
dear fans we are writing this letter with great excitement after a long hiatus we are very proud
to announce our comeback during our time away we as a group and individuals have grown tremendously
we have experienced so many things personally spiritually and emotionally being the stand-up
men that we are we only feel it is right to share our experiences with you we believe
our true fans deserve something special from us it's been too long if you are asking the question
where and what have you guys been doing for so long then the answer is this we have been living
life to the fullest through the ups and downs but continuously being blessed to make music from this
point on once a week we will put out an unreleased song that we've recorded during our time away
these songs will be released every thursday we will call it hashtag tbi throwback ideal
we are also in the studio working on our new untitled ep throughout this creative process
we will also release our first single from this ep that release date will be announced very soon
we are looking forward to our continued journey with you all and once again hashtag thank you
for your patience and loyalty to us sincerely maverick jaedonte pz and swab for the next five
plus years they did just that their longtime fans were finally able to get their weekly fix with new
releases and the group also started booking live shows most notably the next episode concert series
from the producers of the tv1 documentary show unsung then the unthinkable happened
on the morning of february 9th 2021 cedric swab cotton was fatally stabbed outside
of the fondren food mart in southwest houston where he was a frequent customer
he had hopped on his bike as he usually does on a daily basis to ride over to the store while
inside he got into an argument with another patron who then stabbed him and fled the scene
swa passed away shortly after paramedics arrived he was 46 years old the incident is currently
under investigation and police have identified the suspect as a black male in his mid to late 20s
the group issued a statement on their official facebook and instagram pages
acknowledging him as a loving father a good brother and an awesome friend thanks for watching
please like and share the video and subscribe for more amazing content see you next time