Artists like Val Young

The Mary Jane Girls are an American girl group formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1981. Formed by Rick James, the original lineup comprised JoJo McDuffie, Cheri Wells, Candice Ghant, and Kimberly Wuletich. Known for their on-stage sexual image, the group debuted on Motown's imprint Gordy Records with the release of their Top 10 dance songs "Candy Man" and "All Night Long" from their debut album Mary Jane Girls (1983).

André Cymone is an American bassist, songwriter and record producer. He was a bass guitarist for Prince's touring band, pre-Revolution. In 1981, Cymone broke from Prince's band and began a solo career. As a solo artist, he released Livin' in the New Wave, Survivin' in the 80's and A.C., all of which were well-received studio albums. The fusion of new wave and funk explored on these albums spawned half a dozen hit R&B singles. His song "The Dance Electric" was written by Prince and reached #10 on the R&B charts in 1985. Cymone later co-wrote and produced hit songs for other acts, including his then wife Jody Watley's "Looking for a New Love" and "Real Love".

The S.O.S. Band is an American R&B and electro-funk group formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1977. The original lineup featured Mary Davis, Jason Bryant (keyboards), Billy Ellis and Willie “Sonny” Killebrew (horns), Bruno Speight (guitar), John Simpson (bass), and James Earl Jones III (drums).

Loose Ends was a British R&B band that achieved several hit records throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s. The trio was formed in London in 1980, initially comprising vocalist and guitarist Carl McIntosh, vocalist Jane Eugene, and keyboard player and vocalist Steve Nichol.

The Whispers are an American vocal group from Fresno, California. Scoring hit records since the late 1960s, they are best known for their two number-one R&B singles, "And the Beat Goes On" in 1979 and "Rock Steady" in 1987. The Whispers scored 15 top-ten R&B singles, and 8 top-ten R&B albums with two of them, The Whispers and Love Is Where You Find It, reaching the No. 1 spot. They have earned two platinum and five gold albums by the RIAA.

Kashif Saleem was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from New York City. As a teenager, Kashif joined the funk group B. T. Express. He studied Islam and changed his name from Michael Jones to Kashif. He later signed with Arista Records enjoying success as a solo artist.