UNSUNG- JODECI

Yes, Jodeci is one of the most underated groups of all time!!! It seems like everyone forgot about Jodeci. JoJo, KC, Dalvin and Devonte! They were the oringal R&B thugs..

Let go back. One of my favorite Jodeci videos.



Jodeci is a musical group, whose repertoire includes R&B, soul music, and new jack swing. The group consists of two pairs of brothers from Hampton, Virginia and Charlotte, North Carolina: the DeGrates (Donald "DeVante Swing" DeGrate, the group founder/leader, and Dalvin DeGrate) and the Haileys (main lead singer Cedric "K-Ci" Hailey and second lead singer Joel "Jo-Jo" Hailey). The group's name is a combination of the names of all of its members: Jo-Jo, DeGrate (including both Dalvin and DeVante) and K-Ci.

Both from a Pentecostal background, the Haileys and DeGrates originally performed and recorded, and eventually met each other through their girlfriends. However, it turned out that Dalvin DeGrate was dating K-Ci Hailey's girlfriend. This led to a small confrontation between the two in which K-Ci allegedlly pulled out a gun on Dalvin, according to DeVante Swing in an interview. The Hailey brothers and DeVante eventually became friends and discussed possibly recording songs together.
On May 28, 1991, Jodeci released their debut album, Forever My Lady, which included the singles "Gotta Love", "Forever My Lady", "Stay", "Come and Talk To Me", and "I'm Still Waiting". Three of these singles hit #1 on the R&B charts and the album sold over three million copies. Jodeci won an American Music Award for Come and Talk to Me.

On most of the tracks on Forever My Lady and subsequent releases by the group, K-Ci and Jo-Jo share lead vocals, and all four members contribute backgrounds. DeVante and Uptown labelmate Al B. Sure! produced the album, while DeVante wrote every song with help from K-Ci on "Gotta Love" and Al B. Sure! on the title track. K-Ci and Jo-Jo also worked with Al B. as background vocalists when Al B. and Kyle West produced a few tracks on T.E.V.I.N., Tevin Campbell's debut LP. DeVante went on to co-produce tracks on Al B.'s Sexy Versus album in 1992.

On February 6, 1993, Jodeci, along with Uptown labelmates Father MC, Heavy D, Mary J. Blige, and Christopher Williams, recorded the "Uptown Unplugged" episode of MTV Unplugged, which aired on MTV on May 31, 1993. After performing live versions of "Forever My Lady," "Come & Talk to Me" and "Stay," the group closed their session with a cover of Stevie Wonder's 1980 single "Lately". The song became their first and only Top 5 pop hit.

As it came time to release the second Jodeci album, there was dispute between Uptown and the band, who felt they were being treated unfairly by the label. Diary of a Mad Band was finally released on December 21, 1993, with very little initial promotional backing from the label, but eventually went platinum. The album spawned such hits as "Feenin'" and the #1 R&B hit "Cry For You"; the video for the latter was directed by a then-relatively unknown Sean "Puffy" Combs. It was around this time that Death Row Records CEO, Suge Knight approached the group and signed them to Suge Management as a part time manager and consultant.


In 1994, DeVante was robbed of over $160,000 in jewelry, clothes, and other items in a home invasion at gunpoint.

On July 18, 1995, Jodeci released their third and to date, final album, The Show, The After Party, The Hotel. The album was another step forward in terms of DeVante's production and the group's songwriting skills, assisted on some tracks by Missy Elliott and Timbaland

For all of its success, The Show, The After Party, The Hotel proved to be the last album the group would release. K-Ci and Jo-Jo performed guest vocals on Tupac's 1996 single "How Do U Want It", and were anxious to begin a side project. K-Ci and Jo-Jo, alongside Aaron Hall & Danny Boy, did "Toss It Up" on Pac's Makaveli album. Jodeci went on an indefinite hiatus in 1996, with the Haileys forming the more pop-flavored vocal group K-Ci and JoJo, scoring hits such as "All My Life", "Tell Me It's Real", and "Crazy" (from the Save The Last Dance Soundtrack)


Let's give it up for Jodeci!