The Boys: Where they are now

Where are they now is a common question regarding musical acts of days gone by. During the late 1980s teenage girls were singing and dancing to the sound of THE BOYS who were similar to a young NEW EDITION. The four singing siblings even sang their hit recording Crazy on an episode in the fifth season of the NBC sitcom A DIFFERENT WORLD. They portrayed a group called Mice to Men which was a play on the hip hop group Boyz 2 Men. The brothers Tajh, BiLal, Khiry, and Hakeem Abdulsamad, made up the group and freely dished on what they thought about each other.

Khiry was the overbearing big brother who borderlined being a bully according to Hakeem. Bilal said that Hakeem. "Hakeem was the creative one Khiry considered Tajh to be a tattletale and Tajh described Bilal as the baby and the family guinea pig. The parents of the singing siblings are Jabari and Angie Abdulsamad. Jabari has said that his sons were kept busy in many activities and that he taught them from early ages to be men.

They were taught to act, sing and dance by their grandmothers and "The Boys" group was formed during the summer of 1984, when the young men were ages 5 to 10. The talented Abdulsamad brothers desired to earn money for a Father’s Day gift so they began using their talents to perform at Venice Beach. They quickly earnned their gift money, but continued to return to the beach perform on a regular basis. They eventually earning several thousand dollars and two years later, they were signed to MCA Records.

Although they were a self-contained group, The Boys were a self contained group and with the help of L.A. Reid and Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds they came up with their first number one hit “Dial My Heart.” They began their own business called "The Boys Party Affair Rentals". They made money singing at weddings, parties, and bar mitzvahs. They were also on the television show GIMMIE A BREAK.

The first single,in 1988, "Dial My Heart" went to #1 on the R&B charts and their second release "Lucky Charm" also reached #1. Their album was produced by Babyface and L.A. Reid, and was certified Platinum reaching number #32 on the Billboard top 200. Crazy was the fourth single and became the third number one for The Boys in 1990. Their third album The Saga Continues was released in 1992 and was a failure and only reached number 191 on the charts.

The four brothers in The Boys Khiry is 36, Hakim 35, Tajh 33, and Bilal 31 are still actively involved in the business that made them famous. Khiry and Tajh are both working in the entertainment industry. Bilal and Hakim moved to Gambia, Africa and since 2000 have been performing and recording as The Suns of Light. Hakim has also worked with New Kids on the Block and Akon. As a baby Tajh portrayed an infant Kunte Kinte in ROOTS. They got their stage name after a performance during a talent show when someone asked their mother who they were and she replied "My boys."

Unlike a lot of child stars and even adult entertainers, The Boys never had a downward spiral where they turned to drugs and or alcohol.They seem to have remained focused and are continuing as strong young men today. The brothers did not stay on the scene very long but they made their mark. Their music can be found online and oldies radio stations. If you enjoy A DIFFERENT WORLD you can catch the brothers in the season 5 episode titled “Just another four letter word. The series is currently on various streaming services and the BOUNCE network.