90’s R&B group Intro created a name for themselves over the course of two albums and hits like “Come Inside”, “Let Me Be The One”, “Ribbon In The Sky”, and “Funny How Time Flies”. Following the untimely passing of lead singer Kenny Greene in the early 00’s, founding members Clinton “Buddy” Wike & Jeff Sanders have continued to carry on the legacy of the group over the past two decades.
The group recently made the exciting announcement that they’ve added Tao Soprano (known for his time with Dru Hill) to the group, and are looking forward to more to come. We had a chance to catch up with them for an interview and discussed how the new lineup came together, the legacy of Intro, the future plans for the group, and much more.
YouKnowIGotSoul: Talk about the new lineup for Intro, now that you added Tao to the group. How did this come together?
Intro (Buddy Wike): For me, it came together as a thought one time when I was hanging out with Tao in Europe, and I was like, man, this dude is cool as hell. Shit, it would be dope if he was in Intro, and I was just in the back of my head, never thinking it could ever be possible. So, yeah, I think we was in Stockholm, Sweden at the time. Fast forward, just staying in touch, and people suggesting, people, not that was it just our thoughts, but it was suggested as well. People was like, coming up with the idea that he would be dope, and like, the person for the group, and when the opportunity presented itself, and we had just an idea of it, it’s like, you know, this is not a new thought, but it’s like, it was just perfect timing, perfect person, and when you go into these situations, I’m not going to talk too long, when you go into these situations, you’re hoping that what you choose to do is the right thing, and over time, it’s been more than the right thing, as we’ve been rocking for this past year. Yeah.
YouKnowIGotSoul: Love that, and Tao, tell us about kind of where you were at during this time, and how you knew it made sense for you to link up with the group, and become a part of it.
Intro (Tao): Well, my version is, so, you know, my departure from Dru Hill, you know, once again, we’ve been here before, they wanted to go another way, so I kind of was a free agent, and through someone that we know, a booking agent named Jamal, he had reached out to me, and I guess it was talks of, you know, Intro was looking for a lead singer. I guess Buddy and Jeff had noticed that my face was missing from the flyers, you know, with Dru Hill, so I guess, you know, the conversation came up with all of them, and he called me one day, and we were talking, and he was like, hey man, like, what would you think about being, like, the lead singer to Intro, and I thought about it. I had to think about it, because, you know, I had been with Dru Hill for, like, 16, 17 years, and not even as a lead singer, it was, you know, I mean, the great Kenny Greene, you know, those are big shoes to fill, not that I would ever fill them, but, you know, that’s the decision to make, so, you know, I told the booking agent, let me give you some thought, and, you know, I’ll get back to you, whatever, whatever, so then I kind of, like, you know, talked it over with family and friends, and, you know, we talked, and, you know, everybody was used to me being in the group Dru Hill, and, you know, everybody was like, nah, this is, like, you know, you can do this, you know what I’m saying, and just kind of gave me the courage to, you know, consider it, and it was just like, you know what, you right, you know what I’m saying, so from that point, I called Jamal back, and I said, yo, give me Buddy’s number. I called Buddy, and I said, hey, man, I said, if y’all, think we can do this, let’s go, you know what I’m saying, and Buddy was like, hey, I’m down for it, he was like, you just got to talk to Jeff first, so, you know, me and Jeff finally got on the phone, like, maybe two days later, and we talked it out, and it’s been, you know, what you see, everything you’ve seen through social media, it’s been what it’s been, it’s been a great experience, we’re just getting started, and people are just starting to see it, and just by the couple of performances that we have had thus far, I mean nobody has any bad reviews, everybody think it’s a great move, and we’re just ready to take over, man, we’re ready to do what we do.
YouKnowIGotSoul: Yeah, I love to see it, because obviously, you know, Tao, we’re big supporters of you as a solo artist and with Dru Hill, you coming together with a legendary 90s group now, and, you know, putting your face back out there, love to see it. For you, Buddy, and Jeff, though, what has it been like, though, I mean, you guys have kept the Intro brand active all these years, even after, you know, the passing of Kenny, the Intro brand has still been out there, what has it been like for you guys to just keep the name alive, keep the legacy alive, I know, because you guys have still been doing shows, what’s it been like carrying that torch?
Intro (Jeff Sanders): Okay, so, you know, there was some good and bad things, what I mean by the good and bad, and it’s not bad as in bad, but there were other members that were, that we tried out in the past, you know, unfortunately, things didn’t work out, and we couldn’t just sit around and wait, you know, we kept moving, we kept an eye open, trying to find the right person for the group, and then when Tao came along, I thought that was probably like the best time, you know, the best, the best time, or the best moment to capture, and he fit perfectly with us, so, you know, just going through the, you know, the ranks and trying to find the right person was very, it was very difficult, but, you know, you know, we’re here now.
YouKnowIGotSoul: And talk about the upcoming plans, are you, besides, you know, touring and stuff like that and doing shows, any plans for new music?
Intro (Tao): Yeah, we’re definitely gonna bring the new music, but I think what’s important right now, and I think we can all agree is, you know, it’s been a while since people actually seen Intro as a whole, and just by the past, the last couple of performances, even the one we just did, the Rock the Bells concert, people are just, even though we’ve been through, you know, promoting it through social media and everything else, people are just starting to grasp and see Intro back together. So we kind of just want to pound the pavement, hit a couple of stages, and, you know, just let people know that we’re back, you know, give them a new sound, a new look, you know, the new situation, and let that sink in, and then once, you know, everybody knows what’s going on, and we just, of course, I mean, you know, this is, we in this to win, you know what I’m saying? So we’re definitely gonna come with some new music, but I think right now it’s just more important for people to, you know, find out through doing these interviews and, you know, hitting the stage that, you know, Intro is back, and give them that good music they’ve been missing.
YouKnowIGotSoul: Can you guys talk about what it’s like, you know, this is a bit of a reintroduction for intro, especially with the new lineup, but having a 90s R&B group who had that legacy of the 90s, because the 90s, you know, many people consider the greatest time of R&B, and anyone who came out in that era, they’re still remembered to this day, especially you guys. What is it like now, being in 2025, and, you know, continuing the brand? I know it’s a lot different, a lot of artists aren’t even releasing new music anymore, a lot of them aren’t necessarily in the spotlight like they used to. What is it like continuing a brand, you know, that started many years ago, and now to this modern day?
Intro (Buddy Wike): We, thank God, we’re able to present like a real decent catalog. That first album is in my rotation, as if I’m not in a group. Honestly, the Intro album is one of my favorite albums, and to have that catalog, and for like, and this kind of goes back to your last question, as far as a new singer in the group, and where we’re looking, and stuff like that. We knew we had the catalog, but we didn’t have the person to present the catalog vocally. Me and Jeff did a lot of shows together and stuff, just to keep the name out there, and for people to be familiar. A lot of meet and greets, you know, just to let people know that that intro is still on the move. But when the opportunity for Tao to work with us came along, the catalog, plus the vocals, it just, we kind of know it’s like, it’s that time right now, and with the 90s tours that are going on, and you know, shout out to LL Cool J, shout out to DJ Eddie F, with the Eddie F Presents, everything just seemed to line up for us at this time, and we’re excited. We’re glad that people checking for us, and guarantee we will not let you down.
YouKnowIGotSoul: I gotta ask, you know, after Kenny unfortunately passed away, was there ever any thought to not continuing the brand, or did you Jeff and Buddy, did you always know you want to move forward Intro, even after that, and not let anything stop you?
Intro (Jeff Sanders): Yeah, I believe that we always said that this wasn’t going to stop. We just needed to reset for a moment. That was a really tough time, and for us to really just like, just keep it moving like nothing happened, it’s not humane. You needed to reset. You needed to take time to clear your head, you know, spend time with the family, and regroup, and that’s what we did.
Intro (Buddy Wike): Well, I knew Intro as people knew it at that time had come to an end, but I also wanted the legacy of Intro to be not that Intro stopped performing or making music because Kenny Greene passed away, and Kenny wouldn’t want that either. So that falls back in along with everything that’s going on now, and it just seems like perfect timing. God bless his soul. Rest in peace.
YouKnowIGotSoul: Tao, I’m going to put you on the spot real quick. What’s been your favorite intro song to perform as you’ve been with the group?
Intro (Tao): You know, before, there’s a lot of songs that I didn’t really know. I knew a lot about the second album, and I did know, obviously, some of the songs from the first album. And I would say, I would like to say that “Come Inside”, I mean, it’s going to be the all-time favorite anytime, you know what I’m saying? But as I got to grow with the group, I mean, I like Love Thing, Let Me Be, Don’t Leave Me. What’s the song, Jeff, that Taj and Eddie George was singing on social media? One of a Kind Love. I mean, you name it. When I really got to dig into the classics and listen to, you know, and study what, you know, what I was about to get into, I realized what everybody else realized when, you know, they were going through that era, you know what I’m saying? So, I mean, and just doing Rock the Bells, we did Love Thang and Let Me Be. And I mean, as soon as the introduction hit, the crowd, 19,000 people, you could just hear the reaction before we could even open our mouth, you know what I’m saying? People were just like already reminiscing. And it just, it feels good to sing all of them. And let’s not forget Ribbon in the Sky. I mean, that’s a classic, you know what I’m saying?
YouKnowIGotSoul: I gotta shout out a song, actually, that Intro was a part of that came out a couple of years ago, and that was the feature with Eric Roberson, “All I Want”. Man, that song, you know, Kenny Greene vocals on there, man, that song was so good. I mean, just so much feeling in it. What do you guys remember about that song?
Intro (Buddy Wike): Yeah, Eric, we had talked about putting that song on, I believe it was on his album, or if he had wrote the song for our new album, that song had been there for about a year, then we got a call to come to his studio to record the song. We went up to his home and recorded the song. And about two weeks later, we got another call, let’s bring you guys back out here to shoot the music video. And lo and behold, it ended up on his album and doing what it did. And, you know, shout out to Eric Roberson, another one of the greats of our era. Yeah, that song was actually originally slated for SWV. But he said that if he does Intro, it will be a dope idea to pull Kenny into this record. And that’s when he said, boom, it can’t be nobody but Intro for this record. But he originally wanted to do SWV.
YouKnowIGotSoul: And then last thing I want to ask you guys, I love to ask this question in interviews, but for Buddy and Jeff, what’s the Intro song that comes to mind that you felt like should have been a single, that one that didn’t get picked as a single on one of your albums, but but should have been.
Intro (Buddy Wike): I was going to say we could answer this all at the same time. If we would have counted the three, one, two, three, everyone would have said, “Don’t Leave Me”.
YouKnowIGotSoul: Is there a story behind that?
Intro (Buddy Wike): It was another R&B group that said, oh, shoot, they’re not going to release that song. They’re not going to release that concept on that song. And they recorded the song and they put it out. And it wasn’t a better song, but the concept was the same from, you know, Don’t Leave Me, like that’s something that is highest right there. But it’s sincere, you know? Atlantic was rushing us into album number two. That would have been the next single. But instead of going to, instead of still feeding off the first album, which I feel like we could have released singles off it for two years and still toured it. We went in to do New Life and that kind of stopped. “Don’t leave Me”. And then we popped into the “Funny How Time Flies” era and “It Feels Like The First Time”.
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