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April 25, 2005 @ 4:55 am

VIBE Magazine: NEXT>> Pretty Ricky - Four Play

Angie Romero

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"Puff, the food's good, but you need some blenders for our virgin daiquiris!" hollers Slick 'Em, 20, the wild child in Pretty Ricky, a Carol City, Fla., cross between B2K and the Ying Yang Twins. He's not addressing Diddy, who's absent, but rather expressing his displeasure that the magnate's Manhattan restaurant, Justin's, doesn't carry the essential appliance to make the drinks that remind

"Puff, the food's good, but you need some blenders for our virgin daiquiris!" hollers Slick 'Em, 20, the wild child in Pretty Ricky, a Carol City, Fla., cross between B2K and the Ying Yang Twins. He's not addressing Diddy, who's absent, but rather expressing his displeasure that the magnate's Manhattan restaurant, Justin's, doesn't carry the essential appliance to make the drinks that remind them of the 3-0-5. Regardless, Slick 'Em (né Corey Mathis), and his brothers Diamond "Baby Blue" Smith, 21, Marcus "Pleasure" Cooper, 21, and Spectacular Smith, 20, are more concerned with serving the ladies with their own concoction of sexually suggestive music - R. Kelly style. The sons of Joseph Blue Smith - a Joe Jackson-type entrepreneur who owns the Blue Star Entertainment International record label and guides his boys' careers with a stern hand - know discipline. "He keeps us away from girls," says Pleasure, the sole crooner in the group of rappers. "If we want to talk to a female, he'll say, 'Go write a song.'" It's no wonder the flamboyant foursome - who signed a distribution deal with Atlantic Records in January - has been hard at work penning explicit tunes like "Grind on Me." Produced by hit man Jim Jonsin (Trick Daddy's "Let's Go," Pitbull's "Dammit Man"), the raunchy single is the most requested song in the history of Miami's Power 96 radio. The business-minded Baby Blue explains why it's catching on: "It's like [Lil Jon's] 'Lovers and Friends.' Our record fits right into that sweet and street slot." Staying true to that format is Blue Stars, their upcoming debut. "Pretty Ricky gonna snatch up all dem young girls," says Pitbull, a guest on the album and a mentor. "I've been telling people about them for years. They're hard workers, and I respect that." After a great meal (minus the daiquiris), the boys are off to the studio, probably till the wee hours of the morning. But such is the life of a group that wants to reach the iconic status of another band of brothers - the Jackson 5. "We'll never turn down work," says Blue. "If they want us, we're punctual." 'Cause grinding is what Pretty Ricky does best.

Article tags: VIBE, Magazine, NEXT, Pretty, Ricky, Four, Play 

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