Jodeci

Jodeci's lustful, harmony-rich slow jams revolutionized R&B in the '90s and made an impact so deep that the group continues to influence later generations while remaining a major live draw. Composed of two pairs of gospel-reared brothers, Jodeci arrived in 1991 with "Forever My Lady," "Stay," and "Come and Talk to Me," consecutive number one R&B/hip-hop singles that drove the parent album Forever My Lady to triple-platinum status. The emboldened group responded two years later by turning up the heat with Diary of a Mad Band, a multi-platinum follow-up containing the hits "Cry for You" and "Feenin'." The platinum 1995 double album The Show, The After Party, The Hotel enhanced their "bad boys of R&B" image with "Freek'n You," "Love U 4 Life," and "Get on Up" adding to their tally of Top Ten R&B/hip-hop singles. Lead singers K-Ci and JoJo Hailey subsequently branched out as a duo, while DeVante Swing and Dalvin DeGrate concentrated on production and solo work. The quartet has since gotten back together to record the 2015 release The Past, The Present, The Future, followed by high-profile touring in the 2020s. The group's name is a consolidation of the members' names: Joel "JoJo" Hailey ("Jo"), Donald "DeVante Swing" and Dalvin DeGrate ("de"), and Cedric "K-Ci" Hailey ("ci"). The DeGrates and Haileys were raised in devout Pentecostal households and got their start in gospel music in their native North Carolina. DeVante and Dalvin performed with the Don DeGrate Delegation, led by their pastor and televangelist father. Little Cedric and the Hailey Singers established the careers of K-Ci and JoJo with the '80s albums Jesus Saves, God's Blessings, and I'm Alright Now, the latter two of which peaked within the upper reaches of Billboard's gospel chart. Introduced through a mutual friend, the DeGrates and Haileys started hanging out and plotting a move into secular music, ultimately forming Jodeci in 1988. Fledgling producer and songwriter DeVante was motivated by a fruitless attempt to audition for Prince -- he had traveled to Paisley Park in Minneapolis only to be rebuffed before he got a chance -- and with new partners Dalvin, K-Ci, and JoJo developed a demo recording consisting of 29 songs spanning three cassettes. The quartet took the tapes to New York, where they located the offices of Uptown Records, Andre Harrell's MCA-distributed label. Taken aback by the group's polished presentation on tape, Harrell had them perform in the office. Jodeci left with a contract. Jodeci first appeared prominently on a couple charting singles by Uptown label mate Father MC: 1990's "Treat Them Like They Want to Be Treated," followed in early 1991 by "Lisa Baby." In February 1991, the group issued their first single, "Gotta Love," an uptempo new jack swing cut that reached number 79 on Billboard's R&B/hip-hop chart. The full-length Forever My Lady was released three months later, and the group soon found their place with chart-topping ballads "Forever My Lady," "Stay," and "Come and Talk to Me." The title became the group's first Top 40 pop hit, peaking at number 25 on the Hot 100, and "Come and Talk to Me" scaled to the 11th slot. A showcase not just for rough-hewn powerhouse K-Ci and comparatively smooth brother JoJo, Forever My Lady also marked DeVante's emergence as a key producer of the era. (Only Al B. Sure! assisted, co-producing roughly half of the tracks, after DeVante had a hand in his 1990 LP Private Times...and the Whole 9!) One of the year's biggest debuts, Forever My Lady would eventually go platinum three times over. Diary of a Mad Band materialized in December 1993 as the follow-up to Forever My Lady. It provided the first platform for various members of Swing Mob, DeVante's collective of emergent musicians, writers, and producers. Among those featured were Timbaland and Misdemeanor (aka Missy Elliott), along with Sista, the latter's vocal group. (Swing Mob affiliates who later achieved fame included Ginuwine, Playa, and Tweet.) Additionally, Mr. Dalvin, who had been credited with some of the programming on the debut, handled production for a handful of the tracks. Diary of a Mad Band yielded its own clutch of hits. Most notably, lead single "Cry for You" was Jodeci's fourth number one R&B/hip-hop single (number 15 pop), and "Feenin'" nearly became the group's fifth (number two R&B/hip-hop, number 25 pop). Diary of a Mad Band, which had entered the Billboard 200 at number three, beating the debut by 15 positions, earned its first platinum certification within three months of release. Additionally in 1994, Jodeci contributed to the soundtrack for Murder Was the Case, featured on Tha Dogg Pound's "Come Up to My Room," co-produced by DeVante. (As far as music for the big screen was concerned, this was certainly more in character for the group than their earlier cover of the Association's "Cherish," recorded for the soundtrack of Fried Green Tomatoes.) The conceptual The Show, The After Party, The Hotel was issued as the double-length third Jodeci album in July 1995. As with the first two LPs, it topped Billboard's R&B/hip-hop chart. Slow jam "Freek'n You," devotional ballad "Love U 4 Life," and midtempo party track "Get on Up," the group's most rounded batch of singles, were all Top Ten R&B/hip-hop and Top 40 pop hits. Despite its range (and numerous interludes), DeVante once again produced the majority of the material. Dalvin, Timbaland, and Stevie J each chipped in. Although Jodeci were still at the forefront of contemporary R&B -- the album entered the Billboard 200 at number two and was platinum within a couple months of release -- they were splintering. DeVante contributed "Gin & Juice" to the Dangerous Minds soundtrack and continued to do occasional production work for the likes of Al Green, 2Pac, and Montell Jordan. K-Ci & JoJo took off as a duo. The two were featured on 2Pac's number one pop hit "How Do You Want It" and "Toss It Up," and before the end of the decade had scored numerous hits including "All My Life" and "Tell Me It's Real." Dalvin landed a major-label solo deal of his own and released his first album in 2000. For the remainder of the 2000s and the early 2010s, the members of Jodeci were relatively quiet. Over a decade separated K-Ci & JoJo's fourth and fifth albums, Emotional and My Brother's Keeper, the latter of which followed a reality series for TV One. Inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2012, Jodeci eventually reconnected and in March 2015 resurfaced with their fourth album, The Past, The Present, The Future. True to the group's past with a mature twist, it contained a pair of tracks co-produced by DeVante and Timbaland, while the former also co-produced the remainder of the tracks with the likes of Bradd Young and Marquinarias "Sanchez" Holmes. The album landed at number two on the R&B/hip-hop chart and at number 23 on the Billboard 200. Jodeci returned to the stage in 2022 and toured with Charlie Wilson and New Edition. The next year, they headlined the Summer Block Party tour with SWV and Dru Hill.
© Andy Kellman /TiVo