Four Grammy Awards. 60 million records sold. Named by RIAA as the most most commercially successful R&B group of all time and by Billboard Magazine as the most successful group of the 90s. And now, they're celebrating 20 years since they came onto the scene. I'm talking about Boyz II Men. 

It's so hard to believe that Boyz II Men entered our lives 20 years ago. Sometimes it feels like it was yesterday when we first met.  So, I want to take you back to the song that really started their record-breaking success.

At this point, they were boys, and we had no idea how fast they would turn into men. And, what made Boyz II Men even more special was that they were Philly boys! They were reminiscent of some of the greatest groups out of Philly whose looks were clean cut with roots that were firmly planted in their neighborhood.

According to their schoolmate, Questlove of the Roots (who you can catch banging on the drums in the above mentioned video), Boyz II Men exemplified a professional singing group as they massacred all other acts during high school talent shows at CAPA (Creative And Performing Arts High School). CAPA boasts successful alumni like Christian McBride, Fatin Danzler (one half of Kindred the Family Soul), Bilal, Black Thought, Questlove and Jazmine Sullivan, just to name a few.

If you had any kind of graduation between 1992-1993, that was definitely your graduation song.  Do you remember when Whitley Gilbert aka Jasmine Guy started an acapella version of "End of the Road," as Philly's own Patti Labelle and the rest of the Different World cast as they said goodbye to years of great television during their series finale? 

Although "End Of the Road" was one of the biggest commercial hits by a group to date, for some of us "real" Boyz II Men fans, there were quite a few songs on that Cooleyhighharmony album that gave us the impression that these "boyz" were quickly becoming men. 

I don’t know about you, but there were a few songs from that album that made it to my slow jam mixtape--especially with songs like, "Please Don't Go."

 And, songs like "Uhh Ahh."

Twenty years later and their music still has the perfect combination of sexiness and romance with voices that fit together like the greatest and most complex puzzle.  I remember feeling like the existence of Boyz II Men and Jodeci provided the perfect balance in R&B music.

In honor of Boyz II Men 's 20 years of providing us with their cooleyhighharmonies, here is the song that started their journey.  Over 20 years ao Mike, Shawn, Wanya, and Nate cornered Michael Bivins coming off stage with BBD, and they wowed him with what has become my favorite version of "Can You Stand The Rain"—and if you haven't heard it, I promise it will become your favorite too!