New Edition was the blueprint. When Bobby Brown got kicked out and the rest of the guys went on to do Heart Break, things were changing. But nobody—honestly, nobody—expected the hard-hitting, hip-hop-heavy pivot that Ronnie DeVoe, Ricky Bell, and Michael Bivins would take. When we talk about Bell Biv DeVoe I Thought It Was Me, we aren't just talking about another R&B track from 1990. We are talking about the moment New Jack Swing reached its gritty, paranoid, and most danceable peak.
It’s the bassline. That aggressive, synth-driven thump.
While "Poison" is the undisputed heavyweight champion of the BBD catalog, "I Thought It Was Me" is arguably the more complex record. It’s got that specific Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis touch—wait, no, let me stop you there. A lot of people misattribute the production. While Jam and Lewis were the architects of the Heart Break sound, BBD’s Poison album was a different beast entirely, leaning on the likes of Dr. Freeze and Hank Shocklee. For "I Thought It Was Me," they brought in the production team of Wolf & Epic (Richard Wolf and Bret Mazur).
They captured lightning.
The Sound of New Jack Swing's Golden Era
The song dropped as the third single from the Poison album. By that point, the group was already massive. They had successfully transitioned from the "bubblegum" image of the early New Edition days into something the streets actually respected. "I Thought It Was Me" opens with that signature Michael Bivins energy. "Checking out the situation..." It wasn't just music; it was a vibe check for the entire culture.
Musically, the track is a masterclass in syncopation. You've got the heavy swing of the drum machine clashing against a smooth, almost anxious vocal performance by Ricky Bell. Ricky was always the secret weapon of that group. He had the range to do the ballads, but on this track, his voice has a certain edge. He sounds genuinely stressed. He’s singing about a girl he thought was the one, only to find out she’s playing games.
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It was relatable. Still is.
The bridge of the song is where things get interesting. The breakdown, the "One, two, three, four... get it" section, was designed for the clubs. If you grew up in the 90s, you couldn't go to a school dance or a basement party without seeing people try to mimic the choreography from the video. It was sharp. It was fast. It was everything that defined the era before Grunge came in and slowed everything down.
Why "I Thought It Was Me" Still Matters in 2026
If you look at the charts today, the influence of Bell Biv DeVoe I Thought It Was Me is everywhere. Modern R&B is currently having a massive "swing" revival. Producers are digging back into those 909 drum sounds and the idea of "Hip-Hop-Smoothed-Out-On-An-R&B-Kick" (as Bivins famously put it).
Let's get real for a second. Most groups from that era couldn't survive a lineup change, let alone a total rebranding. BBD did it because they weren't afraid to look "unpolished." They wore the baggy clothes, the Raiders caps, and the construction boots. They brought the aesthetic of Public Enemy to the world of R&B love songs.
- The Lyricism: Unlike the overly polished pop lyrics of the late 80s, this song felt like a conversation. "I saw you at the mall, you weren't with him, you were with... somebody else." It's conversational. It's petty. It's human.
- The Production Layering: If you listen to the track with high-quality headphones, you'll hear the "shaker" and the subtle scratching in the background. That’s the Hank Shocklee/Bomb Squad influence rubbing off on the production style. It’s dense music.
- The Vocal Arrangement: Biv and Ronnie aren't just there for show. Their ad-libs and the "Mental" breakdown parts provide the rhythmic backbone that keeps the song from feeling like a standard pop loop.
People often forget how risky this was. At the time, Ronnie, Bobby, Ricky, Mike, and Ralph were the "Cute" kids. Transitioning into "I Thought It Was Me" meant talking about betrayal and the harsher side of the dating scene. It was a gamble that paid off, cementing them as icons rather than just a boy band that aged out.
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The Music Video: A Time Capsule of Style
You can't talk about this song without mentioning the video. Filmed in various locations that screamed "early 90s urban cool," it featured the group in their prime. The fashion alone—the oversized suits, the vibrant colors, the high-top fades—it’s a visual encyclopedia of the New Jack Swing movement.
Director Lionel C. Martin, who was the go-to guy for R&B videos at the time, used quick cuts to match the frenetic energy of the beat. It wasn't about a deep narrative. It was about movement. It was about showing that these guys could out-dance anybody else in the game.
There’s a specific sequence where they’re dancing in front of a white backdrop, and it’s just pure, unadulterated talent. No CGI. No AI enhancements. Just three guys who had been performing together since they were kids in Boston, perfectly in sync.
Common Misconceptions About the Track
I hear this a lot: "Wasn't that a New Edition song?" No. While the DNA is the same, the BBD sound was intentionally designed to be "mentally hip-hop." They wanted to distance themselves from the ballads like "Can You Stand The Rain," even though Ricky Bell’s voice is the through-line for both styles.
Another thing people get wrong is the "meaning" of the song. Some think it's a sad breakup track. It’s actually more of an "I'm onto you" anthem. It’s about the realization. The moment the wool is pulled over your eyes and you finally see the situation for what it is. That's why the beat is so aggressive. It’s not a "cry in your pillow" song; it’s a "get up and move on" song.
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The Technical Brilliance of the Mix
Technically speaking, the track uses a very specific frequency range for the snare drum. It’s that "crack" that defines the early 90s. If you’re a producer, you know that sound is hard to replicate without it sounding thin. But in Bell Biv DeVoe I Thought It Was Me, the snare has weight. It hits you in the chest.
The use of sampling in the track is also subtle. Unlike some of their contemporaries who were just looping 70s funk breaks, BBD’s production team was layering original synth work over sampled textures. This created a sound that felt futuristic in 1990 and somehow still feels "retro-fresh" today.
What You Should Do Next
If you want to really appreciate what BBD did, don't just stream it on a crappy phone speaker. You need to hear the low-end.
- Find the 12-inch Extended Remix: There are versions of this track that go on for six or seven minutes, leaning even harder into the New Jack Swing "swing." The drum breaks in the extended versions are where the real magic happens.
- Watch the Live Performances: Go find the 1991 Arsenio Hall Show performance. The energy is unmatched. Seeing them do the choreography live while actually singing (mostly) live is a reminder of what "entertainment" used to look like.
- Analyze the "Poison" Album as a Whole: Don't just stop at the hits. Tracks like "B.B.D. (I Thought It Was Me) [Reprise]" and "Do Me!" show the range they were working with.
- Check out the Producers' Other Work: Look up Wolf & Epic. Seeing how they applied this sound to other artists will give you a deeper appreciation for the "BBD sound."
Bell Biv DeVoe proved that you could be a "pop" star and still keep your soul. "I Thought It Was Me" remains the gold standard for how to execute a mid-tempo dance track without losing the emotional weight of the lyrics. It’s a record about being played, yet it makes you feel like a winner the moment that first beat drops. Basically, it's a masterpiece of the era.