RL (singer)

Robert "RL" Lavelle Huggar (born April 2, 1977, in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American R&B singer, record producer and songwriter. He is best known for being the lead singer of the R&B group Next.[1][2]
== Early life ==
RL was born in 1977 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Robert and Toni Huggar. Growing up, he was exposed to a variety of musical styles that helped influence his sound. His admiration of artists like Prince and Michael Jackson and music producers such as Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis encouraged him to pursue music.[citation needed]
== Next ==
Main article: Next (group)
Fronted by R. L. Huggar, brothers Terry Brown and Raphael Brown, Next originally performed under the name "Straight4ward." For broader commercial appeal, the name was changed to "Next". The group was introduced to producer and DJ artist KayGee from Naughty By Nature. Subsequently, they signed with KayGee's newly formed Divine Mill record label, which, at the time, was distributed through Arista Records.
== Solo ==
RL first distinguished himself outside of Next with his duet with Deborah Cox on the song “We Can’t Be Friends” as well as other feature projects. RL followed up that effort with “The Best Man I Can Be”, the super-group track from The Best Man movie soundtrack which also featured Ginuwine, Tyrese and Case. By the time RL’s soulful “Good Love” (from The Brothers movie soundtrack) and his hook to Tupac’s Until the End of Time were released, he had created an artistic persona distinct and separate from Next. RL: Ements is RL’s debut solo project and was released on J Records. It spawned the singles "Got Me A Model" (featuring Erick Sermon) and "Good Man".
== Albums ==
Year	Title	Chart positions	Chart positions
Year	Title	U.S. 	U.S. R&B[3]
2002	RL: Ements
* Released: April 23, 2002	53 	6
== Singles ==
Year 	Song 	Peak chart positions	Peak chart positions	Album
Year 	Song 	US 	US
R&B 	Album
1999 	"The Best Man I Can Be" (with Ginuwine, Tyrese and Case)	67 	15 	The Best Man(soundtrack)
1999 	"We Can't Be Friends" (Deborah Coxfeaturing RL) 	8 	1 	One Wish
2001 	"Good Love" 	 	 	
58 	The Brothers(soundtrack) 	 	 	
2002 	"Got Me a Model" (featuring Erick Sermon) 	 	 	
2002 	76 	RL: Ements 	 	
"Good Man"	 	RL: Ements 	 	
48 	 	 	 	
== Songwriting ==
Year 	Song 	Artist 	Peak chart positions 	Peak chart positions 	Album 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Year 	Song 	Artist 	US 	US
R&B 	Album 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
1999 	"Party Tonight" 	3rd Storee 	— 	66 	3rd Storee 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
2000 	"Whatever" (featuring Lil' Mo) 	Ideal 	47 	11 	Ideal 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
2000 	"Where I Wanna Be" (featuring Nate Dogg & Kurupt)	Shade Sheist 	95 	49 	Informal Introduction 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
2001 	"Just In Case" 	Jaheim 	52 	15 	Ghetto Love 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
2002 	"Anything" 	Jaheim 	28 	6 	Ghetto Love 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart.	"—" denotes a recording that did not chart. 	"—" denotes a recording that did not chart.	"—" denotes a recording that did not chart.	"—" denotes a recording that did not chart.	"—" denotes a recording that did not chart.	"—" denotes a recording that did not chart.	"—" denotes a recording that did not chart.	"—" denotes a recording that did not chart.	"—" denotes a recording that did not chart.	"—" denotes a recording that did not chart.	"—" denotes a recording that did not chart.	"—" denotes a recording that did not chart.	"—" denotes a recording that did not chart.	"—" denotes a recording that did not chart.
=== Other notable songwriting credits ===
Year	Song 	Artist 	Album
2001	"Weekend Thing" 	Koffee Brown 	Mars/Venus
2001	"Bring Your Heart to Mine"	Luther Vandross 	Luther Vandross
2001	"U R the One" 	Usher 	8701
2005	"Storm (Forecass)" 	Jamie Foxx 	Unpredictable
2008	"I Can Change Your Life" 	Lloyd 	Lessons in Love
2008	"The Floor" 	Keith Sweat 	Just Me
2008	"Sexiest Girl" 	Keith Sweat 	Just Me
2008	"Teach Me" 	Keith Sweat 	Just Me
2009	"Show Off" 	Ginuwine 	A Man's Thoughts
2009	"Open the Door" 	Ginuwine 	A Man's Thoughts
2009	"Orchestra" 	Ginuwine 	A Man's Thoughts
2009	"Touch Me" 	Ginuwine 	A Man's Thoughts
2009	"Even When I'm Mad" 	Ginuwine 	A Man's Thoughts
2012	"60 Seconds" 	"Q" Parker 	The Manual
2013	"Ready for Love" 	Mindless Behavior	All Around the World