Natural Selection

Natural Selection was a duo that blended touches of hip-hop with R&B for a couple of successful singles and a self-titled album released in 1991. Elliot Erickson and Frederick Thomas formed the group in 1989; after their first recording, "Do Anything," caught on at the radio station Erickson was employed at, EastWest picked them up and gave the song a national release in 1991. It hit the top of the R&B chart. An album and a pair of singles in support of it followed, but a planned follow-up never reached fruition; Erickson and Thomas parted in 1992. Thomas kept the Natural Selection name alive informally, with John Swan and Shaun Ware brought into the group. A deal was sealed with SBK, but the label and, subsequently, the group, fell apart. Several years later, the three came back together and recorded again. They independently released an eight-song recording titled Infinity, which didn't stray far from the group's initial recordings.