Full Force - 4-U (Full Force's Mellow Medley)

JUL 01 1989 · 12:00

Full Force - 4-U (Full Force's Mellow Medley) (1989) Era: Late New Jack Swing Emergence / R&B Crossover Era (1989) - The final phase of Full Force's Columbia Records tenure, positioned at the cusp of New Jack Swing's mainstream breakthrough, with the group blending hip-hop rhythms and smooth R&B balladry on their Smoove LP. High archival value as a primary visual document of Full Force at a pivotal career moment, their final Columbia Records LP, capturing a group whose production legacy (Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam, UTFO, later Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, Rihanna) vastly outpaced their recognition as performers. The video preserves late-80s R&B performance aesthetics and the medley-as-showcase tradition, offering researchers a rare performer-side window into one of the decade's most influential behind-the-scenes creative forces. Context: Full Force, the six-member Brooklyn collective of brothers (Paul Anthony, Bow-Legged Lou, B-Fine) and cousins (Shy Shy, Baby Gerry, Curt-t-t), released '4-U (Full Force's Mellow Medley)' as part of their 1989 Columbia Records album Smoove, their final LP for that label. By this point the group had already reshaped the New York R&B landscape through productions for UTFO ('Roxanne, Roxanne') and Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam ('I Wonder If I Take You Home,' 'All Cried Out,' 'Head to Toe'). The medley format, weaving classic soul covers with original material, reflects the group's deep roots in Brooklyn vocal tradition and their dual identity as both hitmaking producers and performing artists. The video sits at the cultural hinge point between mid-80s dance-pop and the incoming New Jack Swing era. Director notes: The video is listed on Apple Music as a 2011 digital upload (duration 4:36), consistent with a vintage 1989 Columbia Records promotional video that was digitized and redistributed to streaming platforms. The source track appears on Full Force's Smoove album (1989, Columbia/Sony). No production house, director, or cinematographer credit was located in any publicly available database, press record, or streaming platform metadata.