2Much

Few teens who one day fantasize about forming a hip-hop group, cutting a record and hitting the road, see that dream become a reality a year later, but that is exactly what has happened for Milo Stokes. With the help of his cousin, stage and film star Omarion, and his dad, manager/director Chris Stokes, Milo and his two talented singer/dancer friends Marcel Wildy and Chris Cheeks, went from dancing and rhyming in each others' living rooms to cutting songs in a state of the art studio. The group was discovered by Omarion, who signed 2 Much to his O Records label, and is currently recording under the leadership of Chris Stokes, the man behind B2K and writer/director of "You Got Served." While hanging with Omarion and B2K touring the states just a couple years ago, Milo, Wildy and Cheeks were eager to start their own group, one that would, like B2K, fuse hot dance moves with smooth R&B and hip-hop. During a New York show on the tour that dream took a giant leap toward reality when Chris Stokes spotted a young kid in the crowd with strong pipes and killer moves. After a brief audition backstage for Omarion the Bridgeport, Connecticut-native Myles Cleveland, became the missing link to the group Milo and the gang had dreamt about. And just like that, 2 Much was born. "I saw something special that I've never seen in a young boys group before," says producer/manager Chris Stokes. "They're like the new Jackson Five." Remembering when his son, Milo (the "crooner of the group"), expressed interest in following in cousin Omarion's footsteps, Chris says with a laugh, "I hate it— but he loves the business so whatever my son wants, I want to back him up." Not long after that fateful tour stop, the L.A.-based teen quartet showcased for Music World Entertainment chief executive Matthew Knowles and Senior Vice President of A&R Max Gousse, who immediately signed a deal with the group for its debut released via O Records/ T.U.G./Music World Music. Ever since, 2 Much has been recording daily and performing to packed houses on the weekends on a national mall tour. While each member boasts sharp dance skills, vocally the group is split down the middle: Cleveland and Cheeks handle the rhymes, and Milo and Marcel bring the smooth vocals: Says Milo: "We have real ghetto, hood stuff, but Marcel knows how to get to the ladies." Says Cheeks: "We're here to make music for everybody. We're not trying to separate hip-hop and R&B and make it into different genres, we're trying to put it all together to make feel good music." 2 Much is the type of group both destined to be embraced by both teens and their parents. "I know this might be a big cliché," says Omarion "but I think they're B2K, a different version— a better version. Together, the four members of 2 Much fuse such diverse musical influences as the Jackson 5, Marvin Gaye and Jay-Z, plus classic soul. All four members have been singing and dancing all their lives, be it in front of friends, family, classmates or even the public. Performing, says Chris Cheeks, "is the best feeling, it's like a rush, a crazy rush, it's a totally different experience than what people take it for, I'm a different person when I'm up there." Says Marcel, "For me, it's the ultimate joy. It's like utopia for me." Right now, says Milo, "We're having so much fun, we're kind of like kids in a candy store." The group is slated to embark on the MX2 national teen tour with fellow Music World Music star J. Xavier and Def Jam Recording artist Mic Little in the spring of 2007 and are managed by Music World Entertainment and T.U.G Entertainment.