Is 'This Is the Real Thing' the same song as 'This Feeling Must Be Real'?

No, they're two different Skool Boyz tracks that frequently get confused because both lean on a sincerity hook in the title and chorus. 'This Feeling Must Be Real' is the more commonly streamed of the two; 'This Is the Real Thing' is a deeper cut from the same era. Production styles overlap heavily — both use the same layered male harmonies, mid-tempo grooves, and drum-machine textures characteristic of late-90s R&B. If you're searching for a specific track, lyrics are the cleanest way to confirm which one you want.

Where can I legally buy or stream the song?

Apple Music and Amazon Music sometimes offer track-level purchases for properly distributed Skool Boyz cuts. Spotify carries some of the catalog. Bandcamp is worth checking if any reissue label has licensed the material. For tracks that exist only as YouTube reuploads, the legal status is murky — those are typically uploaded by fans without formal label authorization. If you want to support the artists meaningfully, buying any properly distributed track on a paid platform routes royalties through the standard rights chain. Streaming on Spotify or Apple Music does the same at a smaller per-play rate.

Is there a music video for this song?

There's no widely circulated official music video for 'This Is the Real Thing'. Most Skool Boyz tracks didn't get the music-video treatment because the group operated in the indie tier of late-90s R&B without major-label promo budget. What does exist on YouTube is typically a static-image upload — album cover or a generic visualization with the audio. If you found a video labeled official, double-check the upload channel and date. Late-90s R&B videos that surface on YouTube are usually fan reuploads from VHS or early streaming compilations.

What other 90s R&B should I check out if I like this?

If Skool Boyz' layered-harmony sound works for you, a strong follow-on listen list would include: Az Yet's debut album, Jagged Edge's J.E. Heartbreak, 112's self-titled debut, Total's self-titled record, Changing Faces' All Day All Night, Allure's debut, and the slower cuts from Jodeci's The Show, The After Party, The Hotel. For deeper cuts in a similar underground R&B lineage, Profyle, IMx (formerly Immature), and the early Avant catalog all fit. Spotify and Apple Music both have well-curated 90s slow-jam playlists that surface adjacent acts.

Is skool.com connected to Skool Boyz?

No connection — completely coincidental name overlap. Skool.com is a creator community platform launched by Sam Ovens decades after Skool Boyz' active years. The 'skool' spelling has been used in music branding (Old Skool, Stetsasonic references, etc.) since the late 1980s, predating the platform. Skool.com hosts paid courses and communities for creators in marketing, AI, fitness, and adjacent niches. If you're a music educator who happens to run a community, the platform works fine — but tools4skool fills the operational gaps once your community grows past 100 paying members.

Skool Boyz 'This Is the Real Thing': Song, Group, Where to Listen

On this page

TL;DR
About the song
Skool Boyz catalog
Where to find it
If you wanted skool.com
FAQ

TL;DR

'This Is the Real Thing' is a track by Skool Boyz, an American R&B vocal group active in the late 1990s. It sits in the same era and stylistic neighborhood as Jagged Edge, 112, and Silk B-sides — layered male harmonies, slow groove, drum-machine production. The group never crossed into mainstream charts, so streaming availability is patchy: Spotify and Apple Music carry some of the catalog but YouTube reuploads and Discogs are usually the more complete sources. Other Skool Boyz cuts include 'This Feeling Must Be Real', 'Loose Screws', 'Before You Go', 'Your Love', and 'Superfine'. If you searched expecting skool.com (the creator community platform), the names overlap by accident — there's no connection, and we cover that audience briefly at the bottom.

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About the song

'This Is the Real Thing' fits the late-90s R&B template precisely: layered three- and four-part male harmonies on the chorus, a mid-tempo groove (around 75–85 BPM), drum machine kicks with live-feel snares, and synth-pad chord beds. Lyrically it's the standard sincerity-vs-doubt R&B framing — the narrator insisting his feelings are genuine.

Not to be confused with the same group's 'This Feeling Must Be Real' — different track, different mood, but easy to mix up because both lean on the same sincerity hook. If you found this via TikTok, Instagram Reels, or a 90s-R&B mix on YouTube, those are the most common discovery paths in 2025. Set the audio to play with lyrics open in another tab if you want to learn it — official lyric sites have spotty coverage of Skool Boyz tracks, but Genius and AZLyrics typically have at least one community-uploaded version.

Skool Boyz catalog overview

Skool Boyz (sometimes Skoolboyz) released their main material between 1997 and 1999 — one full-length album and assorted singles. Public records on members and label affiliation are thin, which is common for late-90s R&B groups that didn't sign with a major.

Known tracks include:

'This Feeling Must Be Real'
'This Is the Real Thing'
'Loose Screws'
'Before You Go'
'Your Love'
'Superfine'

Discogs is the cleanest source for catalog numbers and pressing details. Wikipedia coverage is minimal-to-nonexistent. Reddit's r/RandB and rare-soul DJ blogs occasionally surface liner notes and member info that the major databases miss. If you're building a deep 90s slow-jam playlist, pair Skool Boyz with Total, Allure, Changing Faces, Az Yet, and the slower-tempo Jodeci cuts.

Where to actually find it

Realistic listening paths for 'This Is the Real Thing':

YouTube — search the title in quotes plus 'Skool Boyz' and you'll typically find one or two reuploads. Sort by upload date for the latest.
Spotify and Apple Music — coverage of Skool Boyz is partial. Some tracks made it through rights cleanup, others didn't. Check the artist page directly.
Bandcamp — small reissue labels occasionally license forgotten 90s R&B catalogs. Searching the group name there is worth a minute.
Discogs Marketplace — for physical copies (CD singles, original album pressings) and accurate metadata.
DatPiff and old mixtape archives — less likely for this group, but occasionally a rare-soul DJ has uploaded a clean rip.

If the track is currently trending as a TikTok or Reels sound, the official sound page on those platforms will credit the artist and let you save it directly. Shazam catches it instantly if you're hearing it elsewhere.

If you wanted skool.com

Different audience entirely, but worth a brief: skool.com is a creator community platform launched by Sam Ovens. About $99/month flat per group, no per-member fee. It bundles a Facebook-style feed, classroom for hosted video courses, calendar, leaderboard with points and levels, member directory, and basic Stripe-powered billing. Used by Iman Gadzhi's Adonis School, Liam Ottley's AI Automation Agency Hub, and a long tail of mid-six-figure marketing/AI/fitness creators.

What the platform doesn't include: native automation. No DM sequencing, no churn-recovery flow, no segmentation, no broadcast scheduler, no member CSV export. Owners hit that wall around 100 paying members. tools4skool — the Chrome extension we make — fills the gap. Auto DM sequences with image support, 60-second churn save, comment miner, slash commands, scheduled posts with Post-Now button. Free plan: 1 sequence and 20 DMs/day. Paid: $29 / $59 / $149 a month. Real customer Kate Capelli reported $4,000/month additional revenue within two weeks of installing — about a 7,000% ROI on the $59 tier.

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Frequently asked

Skool Boyz are a late-1990s American R&B vocal group active mainly between 1997 and 1999. They released one full-length album and assorted singles, with tracks like This Feeling Must Be Real, This Is the Real Thing, Loose Screws, Before You Go, Your Love, and Superfine. They never crossed into mainstream commercial success but maintain a small loyal following in the rare-soul and 90s-R&B nostalgia communities. Public records on members and label affiliation are thin — Discogs is generally the cleanest source for catalog details, and YouTube reuploads carry most of the listenable material today.