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During the 1990s, Boyz II Men couldn't grow up fast enough, bullied out of the music industry's sandbox by the growing might of the hip-hop machine.
The early part of the decade was kind to the Philly-R&B foursome, however, scoring a string of number one hits (I'll Make Love to You and On Bended Knee) and millions of albums sold (1991's Cooleyhighharmony and 1994's II).
But with the release of the group's 1997 album, Evolution, things, well, changed, says the Boyz's Shawn Stockman.
"When we first started out, rap and R&B co-existed quite well," he explains. "We were good friends with a lot of acts that were considered hip-hop gangsters back then. Even though we took different paths, they still respected us because we came from the same neighbourhoods.
"But between 1997-99, there were new ideas in promoting music, which were spearheaded by hip-hop artists. They started not only creating the music, but marketing it as well.
"Once the door was open, a lot of those artists brought in their friends and buddies. It became hip hop supporting hip hop - the phenomenon, this huge marketing monster it is now. It was almost like a hostile takeover, but the creative ideas started to suffer. People saw how much money hip-hop artists were making and just carbon copied them."
Not that Boyz II Men weren't above emulation, channelling '60s soul and R&B. While the Boyz lineup has changed (with Michael McCary bowing out in 2003 because of chronic back problems, reducing the group to a trio), its musical philosophy hasn't changed. And the group's appearance at Cowboys tonight, adds Stockman, proves it hasn't gone anywhere, either.
Not that the sweeping changes to the industry haven't given the group pause. In the wake of McCary's departure, Stockman, Wanya Morris and Nathan Morris took a brief hiatus to figure out where they fit in.
However, even in looking ahead, they still drew from the past, independently releasing Throwback, Vol. 1 in 2004. The album is a collection of covers, a look into the group's "subconscious minds and the music that inspired us as kids," says Stockman.
Among the covers are Hall & Oates's Sara Smile, Michael Jackson's Human Nature, Al Green's Let's Stay Together and the Stylistics's You Make Me Feel Brand New.
Throwback sold about 200,000 copies, well below Boyz II Men's numbers from a decade previous. However, notes Stockman, Throwback was released with little to no promotion, with sales mostly driven by word of mouth - it proved audiences were still eager to hear from the Boyz.
He also says the DIY approach to recording the album - these days being almost as simple as using just a computer and a microphone - proved they didn't have to depend on a major label.
It's the same approach the group's employing for its new double-CD album, The Remedy, which the Boyz are in the process of recording and shopping around.
With the current resurgence of R&B's popularity, Stockman says he's confident fans, new and old, will hear the group loud and clear.
"We've stayed busy," he states. "We have been touring the world for two, three years now. We were still working hard.We still had to find people who enjoyed R&B, not getting spoonfed what a label or radio station was feeding them."