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K-Ci & JoJo

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K-Ci & JoJo

K-Ci and JoJois an American R&B duo, consisting of brothers Cedric "K-Ci" Hailey born September 2, 1969 and Joel "Jo-Jo" Hailey born June 10, 1971. Both members, natives of Charlotte, North Carolina, were also members of the chart-topping R&B group Jodeci with the DeGrate brothers: DeVante and Dalvin.

History

Early years

Main article: Jodeci

When they were children, K-Ci and JoJo grew up singing in a Pentecostal church, touring the south. As teenagers, they met Donald DeGrate, Jr. (DeVante Swing) and Dalvin DeGrate (Mr. Dalvin). All four members openly talked about preforming in a group.

When DeVante was 16, he journeyed to Minneapolis to join Prince's organization, but he was turned down. He then asked K-Ci and JoJo to join him in New York to shop demo tapes around featuring his production skills and their singing. Dalvin decided to tag along at the last minute. Soon thereafter, Heavy D got his hands on a tape and passed it on to Uptown Records CEO Andre Harrell, who made arrangements to sign the group, who called themselves Jodeci.

Sean "Puffy" Combs was credited for creating the group's gritty, hard-edged looks, and for helping develop the group's new jack swing-styled sound for their debut album Forever My Lady.

K-Ci and JoJo had a notable career with Jodeci, topping the R&B singles charts with such songs as "Stay", "Come & Talk To Me", and "Cry for You". In 1992, DeVante formed the Swing Mob, a group of artists, songwriters, and producers that took part in their later albums. Jodeci released three albums, but in 1996 the group went on an indefinite hiatus (the group never formally split up). Jodeci is credited with starting the musical careers of Missy Elliott, Timbaland, and Ginuwine.

On their own

K-Ci and JoJo's first sign of independence came in 1994 when K-Ci covered Bobby Womack's hit "If You Think You're Lonely Now" for the movie Jason's Lyric. Early in 1996, K-Ci and Jo-Jo teamed up for the song "How Could You" for the movie Bulletproof starring Damon Wayans and Adam Sandler.

By July 1996, K-Ci and JoJo finally had a hit on their hands as guest artists in 2Pac's number-one R&B hit "How Do U Want It". It also topped the Billboard Hot 100. The brothers made their side projects into a full album, Love Always. Released on June 17, 1997, the album spawned two top-ten R&B hits: "You Bring Me Up" and "Last Night's Letter". The minor success of those singles, however, paled in comparison to the success of the album's third single, "All My Life" (which was dedicated to JoJo's daughter). A supple, lush ballad far removed from the Jodeci material of the early 1990s, "All My Life" was the number-one song on the Hot 100 for three weeks, a feat that K-Ci and Jo-Jo had never achieved with Jodeci. Future singles and albums would be crafted in the vein of "All My Life", which was the duo's only number-one hit. Love Always went on to sell four million copies, and the success of the album put Jodeci's reunion on hold indefinitely.

Their second album. It's Real. was released on June 22, 1999. It spawned one major hit "Tell Me It's Real" which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard's R&B charts. The "Club Asylum Steppers" remix of Tell Me It's Real has proven extremely popular within the UK Garage scene.

K-Ci and Jo-Jo returned with X on December 5, 2000. "X", the Roman numeral for ten, was picked as the album title to celebrate the Haileys' tenth anniversary in the music business. They made a strong return to the Billboard Hot 100 early in 2001 with the song "Crazy", also included on the Save the Last Dance soundtrack. "Crazy" peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100.

The fourth K-Ci and Jo-Jo album, Emotional, was released on November 26, 2002, but failed to find commercial success. K-Ci and JoJo released a greatest hits album on February 8, 2005.

Since around 2005, Jojo has noticeably lost his once sweet and smooth voice and has become screechy. On all K-ci & Jojo tours since that time, K-ci has taken over Jojo's more difficult rifts.

In late 2006 K-Ci released his debut solo album entitled "My Book".

In 2008, the released their fifth album called, "Love" and was released in Japan only on February 6. The album will be released in the United States later in the year.

Return to Jodeci

They are believed to have teamed back up with DeVante Swing and Mr. Dalvin for a Jodeci reunion album. However, Jodeci's reunion is still very much on the sidelines, having been held back so many times over the last four years.

They are currently back in the studio with the DeGrate brothers DeVante Swing and *Mr. Dalvin and are recording a new Jodeci album. Their first single from their new album is called My Baby Momma and will be released this summer.

Family ties

Discography

Albums

Singles

  • 1996: "How Could You"
  • 1997: "You Bring Me Up"
  • 1997: "Last Night's Letter"
  • 1998: "All My Life"
  • 1998: "Don't Rush (Take Love Slowly)"
  • 1999: "Tell Me It's Real"
  • 1999: "Girl"
  • 2000: "Life"
  • 2000: "Fee Fie Foe Fum"
  • 2001: "Crazy"
  • 2001: "Wanna Do You Right"
  • 2002: "This Very Moment"
  • 2003: "It's Me"

Solo albums

Awards & Nominations

  • February 1997: K-Ci & JoJo were nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group ("How Do You Want It" (with 2Pac)).
  • September 1998: K-Ci & JoJo were nominated for a MTV Video Music Award for Best R&B Video ("All My Life").
  • January 1999: K-Ci & JoJo won an American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Band/Duo/Group and were nominated for Favorite Soul/R&B Album (Love Always).
  • February 1999: K-Ci & JoJo were nominated for 2 Grammy Awards for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group ("All My Life") and Best R&B Song (awarded to the songwriter) ("All My Life" with Rory Bennett).
  • February 1999: K-Ci & JoJo were nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Duo or Group, and a Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul Single, Group, Band or Duo ("All My Life").
  • May 1999: K-Ci and JoJo took home a Blockbuster Award for Best Group - R&B.
  • January 2000: K-Ci & JoJo were nominated for an American Music Award for Favorite R&B Band/Duo/Group.
  • September 2001: K-Ci & JoJo were nominated for an MTV Video Music Award for Best Video from a Film ("Crazy").

References

  1. ^ Dave Hollister: One Woman Man
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