It's not difficult to see why 112, "The Gentlemen of Bad Boy" speak so fondly of their native city Atlanta. They are ingrained into its rust red soil, undulating lush greenery and proud neighborhood churches. 112's Slim, Mike, and Q are products of their environment, an environment where the most basic, most cherished values of pride, community, brotherhood are instilled from an early age. It's in their voices, their music and their hearts. It's in their soul.

Soul is at the core of everything they do and shines with uninhibited splendor. Sophomore album "Room 112" is a dynamic collection spanning the complete gamut of contemporary R&B. It relies on a fool proof formula of great songs and phenomenal vocals to make it's point, ranging from ballads that tug the heartstrings to out and dance floor anthems. In an era where samey grooves and non-melodies saturate the airwaves, "Room 112" is like a dose of soulful salvation.

"We write from the heart" says Mike, "and that means writing about our experiences. It makes for the best songs. Obviously now we've experienced more. We're wiser, better and stronger from the first time around and that's reflected in our music."

Considering 112 hold the best in R&B tradition so closely to their hearts, their own story mirrors the classic rags to riches tale of many of the groups they once idolized and emulated and are now compared to. Having honed their craft to a point of near perfection, in church and school in inner city Atlanta. 112 were introduced to Puff Daddy by their management in a local Atlanta club, 112 (thus the name) and soon afterwards found themselves living in New York, recording their debut album. Fueled by the hit singles "Only You" and "Cupid" they hit the road in earnest as the opening act for the Isley Brothers at Ron Isley's request. It was the first of four separate, widely differing tours that saw the group criss-crossing the U.S. with Keith Sweat, New Edition and finally Puff Daddy and the Family, over a grueling 18 month period.

"All the touring added steel to us," says Mike proudly. "We got to perform in front of completely different audiences and learn from every artist we went out with. Now we know, whatever the crowd, whatever the venue, we've got something for them, 112 will deliver, guaranteed."

"It has also strengthened our friendships" says Q. "I mean I grew up with these guys and now we've been through everything together. We've seen the world together. We know each other inside out and each one of us knows there's nothing the other wouldn't do for them. We're more than a group, we're a family."

"The things we all have in common" adds Mike simply, "is that we're all best friends. We all know each other's families and we all love music. It's our lives, what we live for. It's what we do everyday and what we always want to do."

It's that sense of unity, expression and purpose that has poured out from the grooves of classic albums by legendary groups such as The Temptations, The O'Jays and The Spinners – a rare marriage of music and brotherhood, the cornerstone of the winning R&B male vocal outfit.

"I look at 112 like the Chicago Bulls" says Slim, the group's sports enthusiast. "Everyone knows their role. In the same way as Michael Jordan, Pippen, Rodman and those guys know what they've gotta do to win, we all know. We all enable each other to shine."

Despite the sharply contrasting personalities of the individual members of 112, one thing is certain: together, they sure can sing some love songs! "We're not one of those R&B groups with one cat singing lead, one back-up cat, and a couple other cats who can't sing and are just there to look good," says Mike. "We all sing lead, we all look good, we're dancing, our showmanship is tight, and we still give our praise to God at the end of the day."

(Daron Jones has left the group.)