Last September, WanMor, a quartet of brothers and the sons of R&B legend Boyz II Men’s Wanya Morris, became the first artists signed to Mary J. Blige's Beautiful Life Productions (along with 300 Entertainment).

At the time, 300 Entertainment and Elektra Music Group Chairman Kevin Liles described the move as one to fill a void in music, saying WanMor “is what we have been missing in music” and that “there’s no one out like them.” And it’s true, what many consider “boy bands” haven’t been popular in mainstream R&B music for quite some time, and the South Jersey-born group, consisting of (youngest to oldest) Big Boy, Chulo, Tyvas, and Rocco, is looking to change that.

Even since September, the amount of feats the quartet have accomplished is impressive –  whether it’s singing Motown hits with Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson at the 2023 Grammy Awards or performing the national anthem at a New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden last month, WanMor is growing up fast.

The group, all of whom are between the ages of 12 and 18, actually sang for Blige in person shortly after they put ink to paper. It was an experience they describe as nerve-racking. “We sang, ‘If I Ever Fall In Love” by Shai and she went crazy," Chulo described to BET.com during a recent interview. “And we had like a fifth member for a minute because Anderson .Paak was beatboxing.”

“At that time she just signed us,” interjects Tyvas. “So we had to impress her, and it all went well.”

And while the experience was a special one for WanMor, it certainly isn’t the first time they put their talents on display for a musical artist of note. The group also sang background vocals for songs on Lil Uzi Vert’s critically acclaimed album Eternal Atake. What’s more impressive was he’s the one who reached out to them to work.

“We were driving back from our vocal coach and mom was like, ‘Do y'all know about a Lil Uzi?’ We're like, Yeah! ‘Well he said he wanted to work with you,’” Big Boy describes. “We were so surprised and sure enough, that next day, we went out to a studio and we were just having a lot of fun.”

“When we weren't working we were talking about sports and stuff, putting on music, dancing,” Chulo adds. “It was very, very fun. It wasn't it wasn't as serious as every other studio. Every single time we were there was like a party.”

Over the past five years, WanMor has been cultivating its sound and only released its debut single “Every Pretty Girl In The City,” which they say came to them in the studio while discussing their celebrity crushes. The song, along with the single “Mine” that they dropped late last month, are on the group’s upcoming debut EP, which was announced today (February 14) in honor of Valentine’s Day.

“The EP is just us giving you a piece of WanMor and just showing y'all what's soon to come from WanMor – everything, spiritually, mentally, everything,” says Big Boy.

“Every song touches on a different aspect or a feeling,” adds Tyvas. “If it's a ballad, if it's up-tempo, it just gives you that feeling I think it's gonna be amazing. I think people are gonna truly love it.”

After signing WanMor in September, Blige noted that one of her biggest goals with the move was to help usher in a new era of R&B and said the quartet has helped put the genre’s future solid hands.

“There’s been so much conversation about the state of R&B, and the next generation of R&B artists. This generation has been giving us great R&B, and that feeling, that soul and that sound remains in our DNA,” Blige said in a statement. “When we heard WanMor sing, we knew we could stop looking. They are IT! Supporting and cultivating true R&B talent is why I started Beautiful Life Productions, and I couldn’t be more proud to do this with these young men.”

In 2023, the sky’s the limit for WanMor. Along with the project release, coming up for them will be a west coast school tour, other collaborations and more music. For the group the whole journey has been a joy, especially considering they’re lifelong best friends.

“We’re different from a normal group that’s together but in separate homes,” explains Chulo. ‘For us, we’re blood brothers so it’s way easier [for us to get along].”