d'angelo always, not to hype about jodeci

www.jodecimusic.com


Editor's Note: For the 2nd installment of Urban Outlook, we welcome NJS4E's Member of The Year 2005, the one and only "Initiator," "Dynamo," and leading light in the emerging entity that is NJS4E Europe, and that is none other than Jodecidal. Fittingly, JOde along with forum icon StevieSwing were able to meet up with Jo-Jo, Devante, K-Ci, and Mr. Dalvin, perhaps best known to the world as Jodeci on the morning of Saturday, February 11th. We were able to get some updates from the original "Bad Boys of R&B" while they were in town for their multi-night stand in the UK. Jodeci fans, rejoice. Read on! -- Andrew Knyte

The Return Of The Mad Band

By Vijay "Jodecidal" Chandegra

They have not released an album with new material for over 10 years. They haven’t performed together in Europe for over 10 years, so why is it that the promoters for these recent shows in the UK have managed to sell out FOUR shows? Why is this group still relevant today? It’s not like they have any new material out at present and they certainly haven’t been in the limelight.

Jodeci consists of four band members, made up of two sets of brothers: Jo-Jo (JO) Hailey (Lead Vocals), DeVante "Swing" (DE) Degrate (Producer, vocals), K-Ci (CI) Hailey (Lead vocals) and Dalvin Degrate (Producer, vocals). They started their musical journey from North Carolina with little money and made their way to Uptown Records in New York City. They were overheard singing an accapella by Uptown Records artist Heavy D who then convinced Andre Harrell (CEO of Uptown Records) to sign them. They signed that same day and that original demo tape was to become their first album, Forever My Lady (1991), selling over 3 million copies. Their follow up came in 1993, with Diary of A Mad Band, selling over 2 million copies. Their last album was released in 1995, The Show, The After Party, The Hotel, selling over 1 million copies. The band had several songs out on soundtracks before they went to pursue different projects. K-Ci & Jo-Jo have released 4 albums as a duo and have sold millions of records in that configuration.

So after a lengthy hiatus, Stevieswing and I were a little apprehensive as to how they would be when I ran into them at their London hotel. DeVante was the first person I spoke to. He was wearing a long fur coat with his trademark walking stick.


VC: ‘DeVante Swing in the house! How are you doing, man?’

DeVante: ‘I’m cool’, he says with a big smile on his face.

VC: ‘Did you think that 10 years on Jodeci would be able to sell out four shows the way they have, here in the UK?’

DeVante: ‘Yeah, it’s incredible. We have the promoters to thank for that’

VC: ‘So why have Jodeci been away so long? You’ve clearly been missed, after selling out all these shows?’

DeVante: ‘We’ve been doing other stuff. But, now it’s all about Jodeci. We have an album coming out soon, which we have finished and it’s very good.’

VC: ‘So, who will be distributing this album?’

DeVante: ‘At the moment its with me. We have a few people interested in it but, for now its with me.’

VC: ‘What can we expect from Jodeci with the forthcoming shows in the UK?’

DeVante: ‘The shows are gonna be tight. Y’all will have to come down and see for yourself.’

VC: ‘OK! Well I will be there at the Valentines show, so that is something I will be looking forward to. Did you record some stuff for Michael Jackson? What happened to that stuff?

DeVante: ‘Yeah, we did about 30 tracks for him but, he didn’t use it. We will be doing some other stuff with him, so look out for it’

VC: ‘You have another brother Derek! Did you do any production work with him?

DeVante: ‘Yeah, we did a track together but we never got around to finishing it’

VC: ‘This is one of those things that has always had me stumped. You are credited as the mixer on a track by Hi-Five, called ‘I Just Cant Handle It’. How much of that track did you actually do? And how much was done by Teddy Riley? It sounds like a hybrid of your two sounds from that time.

DeVante: ‘Man, that was a long time ago. I just did the mixing on it but, there were versions that I did some additional remix work on. I would have to hear the mix that you are talking about. But, I can’t even remember. Teddy Riley is ‘The Man’, though’. His s*** is tight’.

VC: ‘Its good to see you together, how are you feeling about being together again?’

K-Ci: ‘We’re feeling good. It’s been too long. But, we’re back. You can see it for yourself, all four of us are together again…Jodeci are back’

VC: ‘What can we expect from K-Ci in the future?’

K-Ci: ‘We have the new Jodeci album. Which is done. I am also releasing a new solo album through Head Start Music.’

VC: ‘Have Head Start found a distribution channel now? As they didn’t have one, when they released the Aaron Hall set’

K-Ci: ‘Yeah, they coming out through Warner Brothers. That Aaron CD is going to be re-released with 4 new songs on it too. I love Aaron; he is like my older brother.

VC: ‘Who else has worked on your album?’

K-Ci: ‘Well we done like 22 tracks for it but, I haven’t decided, which ones to use. The tracks are done by people like ‘Pitboss, Emmanuel Officer and Al B. Sure!’


VC: ‘Mr Dalvin, when your first album came out, you were not so prominent on it but, by the second set, you were clearly an unseen talent with your production work. How much input have you had on this new set?’

Dalvin: ‘I have done a lot of it. Maybe half’

VC: ‘What other artists have you been working on recently?’

Dalvin: ‘I have done a lot of work with Petey Pablo and some Mariah Carey stuff too’

VC: ‘From your point of view, why did Jodeci stop making music?’

Dalvin: ‘Man, we were burnt out. That was at a time when we had 22-25 cars each. We were all driving Ferraris. It was just crazy. We had to stop.

VC: ‘Your solo set was very good. Do you think you will be doing another solo project?

Dalvin: ‘Yeah, I’m working on that now. Maybe later in the year.

VC: ‘ Will you still be releasing that through Maverick?’

Dalvin: ‘No! Maverick doesn’t do R&B anymore. It costs too much to promote an R&B album. I will find an outlet’

VC: ‘How do you feel about Timbaland being such a prominent figure in the charts? As he owes a lot of his initial break through to you and DeVante, right?

Dalvin: ‘Its good for him. I don’t mind. We were together for a long time, with him and Missy (Elliott), we all lived together. When he came to us, he didn’t even know how program a drum machine’

SA: ‘Wow, that’s amazing. That’s hard to believe’

VC: ‘So how are you feeling about the shows?

Dalvin: ‘We have been practising for the last 3 weeks. We hadn’t done that in 10 years. So we are all excited. Just a question for you though, in your opinion do you think Dru Hill would have sold out like that?

VC: ‘I think Dru Hill may have sold out one show but, I think 4 would have been difficult for them!’

Dalvin: ‘What about Sisqo?’

SA: ‘I don’t think he would either’

VC: ‘I think the way you have sold out 4 shows is remarkable. It just goes to show, the difference it makes when you have a good promoter behind you’

...and of course a following of fans that still want to come see you 11 years after your last album was released.

As we were leaving, we heard K-Ci singing an accapella. I can’t reveal what he was singing about but I will say that you would know why they call these guys ‘The Mad Band’. The initial reactions to the first show in Wolverhampton have been very good. Watch out London, Jodeci are in town!

Thanks to Steven Anderson for helping me. Also a very special thanks to Neil from TCO Group who was more than tolerant with us, during our visit to the hotel. You guys keep doing what you do, as without you the UK would not have been able to see this act perform or any of the other acts that you bring over.

This is Vijay signing off for NJS4E, until next time.

JOdecidal is out!

Check out more from TCO at www.tcogroup.co.uk/

Don’t forget to check back for more interviews at www.njs4e.com in the future.

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100MPH said:

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Cool post. Thanks.
I'll have to pick up that special version of Aaron Hall also. I dug the regular release of A hall.

Graycap23 said:

Hey you're welcome .
N-joy your jams

kci i think it was, showed his balls on stage at a kids show a few years back
thats why he went on the down low

im surprised no ones mentioned it

i mean, showing your errect penis to a crowd of kids!!!

LOL!!

DJ Quik pulled them ALL together on his new CD "Trauma" on "Quik's Groove VII". Now I heard a rumor that Quik was working on tracks with them. I hope this is true, cuz I CANNOT take another K-Ci & Jo-Jo CD. NOR a Mr.Dalvin solo CD EVER AGAIN!!!!! I remember seein Jodeci on the Bad Boy tour in 95 in Buffalo, and I remember Devante CLOWNIN" tha S**t outta Boyz II Men THE WHOLE SHOW!!!! They were NOT a bootleg Boyz II Men, but rather the other side of the coin of 90's R&B. Gotta say my favorite Jodeci track EVER is "Success", the bonus track of "Diary Of A Mad Band"!!!!!

woogiebear said:

Dalvin told me they were "going" to with with Prince. I thought to myself, "there goes their career". I'm glad they never did, but it seems that was the end of their career anyway.....strange how things work out.

Can I Talk To You? The remix version of that song is great.