Jodeci

Jodeci Sometimes Stylized As JoDeCi Is An American Band 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 Derek DeGrate 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. The Group Had A Successful String Of Hit Singles And Platinum Albums Until The Group Went On Hiatus After 1998. The Hailey Brothers Continued To Perform Together Under The Name K-Ci & JoJo And Had Success On The Pop Charts Beyond That Of The Original Band. In 2009 The Group Rebanded For H-Town Song "Knockin' Your Heels."
Both From A Pentecostal Background The Haileys And DeGrates Originally Performed And Recorded And Eventually Met Each Other Through Their Girlfriends. DeVante Traveled To Minneapolis Minnesota When He Was Sixteen To Audition For Prince's Band But Was Turned Down. He Then Returned To Charlotte North Carolina To Record A Song JoJo Was Performing. Soon The Two Went To New York City To Shop Their Demo Tapes In Hopes Of Getting Signed. K-Ci And Dalvin Both Decided To Tag Along And Joined Their Respective Brothers For The Trip. Eventually Hip Hop Artist And Record Producer Heavy D Heard One Of The Tapes And Loved It. He Talked Uptown Records CEO Andre Harrell Into Listening To The Tape Who Was Impressed Enough To Sign The Group. The Group Was Assigned To Uptown Executive Sean "Puffy" Combs Who Took On The Task Of Developing The New Act. He Helped The Group Create Its Rough Hip-Hop-Based Image. Jodeci Were Exposed To The Public By Singing Background Vocals On A Number Of Singles By Father MC. K-Ci Also Contributed Background Vocals Alongside Uptown Labelmates Terri Robinson And Tabitha Brace On Some Tracks For Ralph Tresvant Produced By Kyle West And Jasmine Guy's Solo Debut Album Produced By D.J Eddie F Of Heavy D And The Boyz. Jodeci Made Their Live Performance Debut On The June 11 1991 Episode Of Soul Train While Their First Television Interview Was On BET's Video Soul A Few Months Earlier.
Most Of The Elements That Were Eventually Combined To Form What Became Known As The "Jodeci Style" Originated With The Work Of New Jack Swing Pioneers Keith Sweat And Teddy Riley With An Important Influence Being The Work Of Riley's Three-Man Group Guy. Other Influences Which While Less Obvious Were Instrumental To Their Style Included The Works Of Bobby Womack Stevie Wonder The Temptations Bobby Brown And New Edition. The Acts Most Heavily Influenced By Jodeci Were Those That They Directly Trained And Developed Including Mary J. Blige And A Number Of The Members Of Their Swing Mob Collective Missy Elliott Timbaland Nealante Magoo Ginuwine Playa Who R&B Singer & Producer Static Major Was A Part Of Suga Who R&B Act Tweet Was A Part Of And Darryl Pearson. The R&B Group II D Extreme's Demo Deal Which Led Them To Getting Signed Was In Part Responsible By DeVante Who Was A Friend Of Band Member D'Extra Wiley. While Hanging Out In A Hotel After A Jodeci Show In Washington D.C. D'Extra Asked DeVante' To Check Out His New Group Outfitted With Johnny Gill's Brother Randy. That Impromptu Audition For DeVante Led Them To New York And Meeting With Devante's Consultants And Business Partners Who Owned Savage Records And Imprint On RCA Records Then On To Gasoline Alley/MCA Records. Mariah Carey Constantly Speaks About Jodeci In Her Song 'The Impossible' Jodeci's Last Manager Was Damon "Smooth" Hart From Newark New Jersey Who Is Associated With Their Former Manager Bert Padell. read less