It eventually became certified multiplatinum, selling millions of copies both in the U.S.

And our thing is: Can you feel us? Can you feel us?”įorever My Lady debuted at #1 on the Top R&B Albums and reached #18 on the U.S. I can flip tracks and make a Babyface-type song, but we’re not trying to make pop songs. We ain’t trying to be hard, we just don’t give a fuck. A song could be mediocre, but by what we do to it, we add what it needs. I think of us as a Black rock ‘n’ roll band. “I don’t think of Jodeci as no boy group or no harmonizing group. In a 1995 interview with VIBE, “DeVante Swing” plainly expressed this sentiment: They would eventually become known as “bad boys of R&B.” Their sound, much like their aesthetic, was also considerably distinct. He incorporated hip-hop fashion into their signature look, which included dark sunglasses, baseball caps, baggy jeans, leather jackets, and Timberland boots. UNSPECIFIED – CIRCA 1992: Photo of Jodeci (Photo by Raymond Boyd/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) When they signed with Uptown Records in 1989 after impressing its founder Andre Harrell (with an introduction from the one and only Heavy D), Jodeci’s development was under the guidance of intern Sean “Puffy” Combs. All of the members grew up in religious families and performed in gospel groups.

In a 1991 Entertainment Weekly album review, critic Arion Berger described the project as “sophisticated beyond the band members’ years,” “lush,” and “propelled by a brash energy.” The Charlotte, North Carolina quartet consisted of two pairs of brothers: Cedric “K-Ci” Hailey, Joel “JoJo” Hailey, Donald “DeVante Swing” DeGrate and Dalvin “Mr. What Jodeci brought to the table was a brand of R&B that was unapologetically sexual, brazen and groundbreaking. By this time, there was plenty of room at the table for different music stylings to prosper. As they transitioned into adulthood, Bobby Brown was infamously pegged as the band’s bad boy and his subsequent solo career capitalized on his trademark raunchiness. However, their youthfulness-along with the pressure Black artists face to appease societal and industry expectations-meant that pushing the envelope came with restrictions.

The ultimate prototype for Black male music groups, New Edition, set the tone for what it meant to have dimensionality both artistically and lyrically.

Jodeci albums and songs