New Edition is regarded as one of the greatest groups of all time. For more than 40 years, Ronnie DeVoe, Bobby Brown, Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, Ralph Tresvant, and Johnny Gill have set trends for boy bands to follow and have given the world timeless hits.
On August 30, New Edition was honored with a street naming where the group was founded in their neighborhood of Roxbury in the city of Boston. “New Edition Way” is now at the corner of Ambrose and Albany Streets near Orchard Gardens (formerly Orchard Park Projects).
In an interview with Vibe, Bivns, Gill, and DeVoe shared just how much the prestigious honor meant to them.
“The center where it’s going to happen at, that’s where we met,” Bivins said about the location of street renaming. “We used to eat in that center. We would get a free meal if you was in the gym […] and a lot of us was taking trays if food was left over.”
“To have the street [renaming] is one thing, but to have [it] right in front of the gym is another thing.
“It’s prestigious without a doubt. To just know that 42 years of what we’ve done here as a group […] there’s a level of contribution that has been made from each and every one of us,” Gill said. “When you look at this type of prestige, it’s written in stone. [Our impact] can’t be erased […] The hard work that’s been put in here has paid off in a great way.”
DeVoe expressed his gratitude for his uncle Brooke Payne, “for being the true visionary behind New Edition and laying the foundation for their longevity.”
“It’s a testament to the gifts that God gave us and the talents that God gave us and Uncle B honing those skills to the point where the rough turned into the diamonds that we are today,” DeVoe said. “To connect to our city and be recognized with something that’s going to be there forever is truly amazing.”
Gill, Bivins, and DeVoe also shared that the group is looking forward to at least one more honor: Being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
“I think that’s so important for us because of the taxing that it takes to be New Edition and the commitment that it takes. The fact that we’re living to talk to each other is just so important,” said Bivins. “Those are the things that I think are in front of us that keeps us being unique and trendsetters and just being special.”