A post-new jack swing contemporary R&B vocal group based in Houston, Texas, Ideal featured siblings Cedrick Cotton (aka Swab) and Maverick Cotton, along with Jay Green (aka J-Dante) and Lawrence Wayne Perry (aka PZ). The quartet placed four singles on Billboard's R&B chart, beginning in 1996 with their update of Marvin Gaye's "Inner City Blues," which appeared on the soundtrack for Original Gangstas. The group's Virgin-released debut album didn't surface until three years later, but the Bryan-Michael Cox collaboration "Get Gone" nearly topped the R&B chart, while "Whatever" -- a Kay Gee co-production with a sample of Oliver Cheatham's "Get Down Saturday Night"-- also fared well. The success of the two singles drove the album to a gold certification from the RIAA. A follow-up, recorded for Neutral Ground via Universal, was shelved prior to release, and the group subsequently ceased activity. ~ Andy Kellman