Dru Hill is an American R&B group, whose repertoire included

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

hip hop soul Hip hop soul is a subgenre of contemporary R&B music, most popular during the early and mid 1990s, which fuses R&B or soul singing with hip hop musical production. The subgenre had evolved from a previous R&B subgenre, new jack swing, which ha ...

and gospel music. The group was founded in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

in 1992 and is still active. Dru Hill recorded seven

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

hits, and is best known for the R&B number-one hits " In My Bed", "

Never Make a Promise "Never Make A Promise" is a number-one R&B song by group Dru Hill, released in 1997. It is the third single from their eponymous debut album. With a lead by Larry "Jazz" Anthony, the single spent four weeks at number one on the US R&B chart a ...

" and " How Deep Is Your Love". Its original members were lead singer Mark "Sisqó" Andrews, Tamir "Nokio" Ruffin, Larry "Jazz" Anthony and James "Woody" Green. The group achieved popularity in the 1990s. Signing to Island Records through Haqq Islam's University Records imprint, the group released two successful albums, ''

Dru Hill Dru Hill is an American R&B group, whose repertoire included soul, hip hop soul and gospel music. The group was founded in Baltimore in 1992 and is still active. Dru Hill recorded seven Top 40 hits, and is best known for the R&B number-one hits ...

'' and ''

Enter the Dru ''Enter the Dru'' is the second studio album from American R&B group Dru Hill, released October 27, 1998 on Island Records. The album's name comes from Bruce Lee's film, ''Enter the Dragon''. This is the first album that the group were credited a ...

'', before separating for a period from late 1999 to 2002, during which time Sisqó and Woody released solo albums. Dru Hill was influenced by the Dragon and Asian culture, as displayed in their wardrobe and logo. While Woody's album ''Soul Music'' was a moderate success in the gospel music industry, Sisqó's debut album, ''

Unleash the Dragon ''Unleash the Dragon'' is the debut solo studio album by American R&B singer Sisqó of Dru Hill, released on November 30, 1999, on Def Soul. Sisqó recorded the album during Dru Hill's hiatus. It includes the hit songs "Got to Get It", " Incompl ...

'', and its hit singles, "

Thong Song "Thong Song" is a song recorded by American R&B singer Sisqó. It was released on February 15, 2000, as the second single from his solo debut studio album, '' Unleash the Dragon'' (1999). "Thong Song" garnered four Grammy nominations and numero ...

" and "Incomplete", were major pop successes, and established Sisqó as a household name outside of Dru Hill. Sisqó's second album, ''

Return of Dragon ''Return of Dragon'' is the second solo studio album by American R&B recording artist Sisqó of Dru Hill, released on June 19, 2001 on Def Soul Records. The album did very well on the charts but its singles, "Can I Live" and "Dance for Me", wer ...

'', did not perform as well. In 2002, by then part of the

Def Soul Def Soul was an R&B-based division of American multinational record label Def Jam Recordings. It was formed in 1996 by Russell Simmons and Kevin Liles to expand R&B and soul music through Def Jam's said genre-related roster following the successe ...

record label, the group reunited and added fifth member Scola to the lineup for their third album, ''

Dru World Order ''Dru World Order'' is the third studio album by American R&B group Dru Hill, released in late 2002 (see 2002 in music) on Def Jam Recordings' Def Soul imprint. Four years had passed between this release and the group's previous album, ''Enter ...

''; after that album underperformed the group met with New Label President

L.A. Reid Antonio Marquis "L.A." Reid (born June 7, 1956) is an American record executive, A&R representative, and record producer. He is the founder and served as co-chairman of Hitco Entertainment. He also previously served as the chairman and CEO of Ep ...

about a follow-up. Due to the group's failure to produce any new music featuring Sisqo (he chose not to lend his vocals to new recordings), Def Jam cited the group as non-productive and destructive and dropped the group from Def Soul. In 2009, the group signed to Kedar Entertainment Group and released their fourth album, ''

InDRUpendence Day ''InDRUpendence Day'' is the fourth studio album by American R&B group Dru Hill Dru Hill is an American R&B group, whose repertoire included soul, hip hop soul and gospel music. The group was founded in Baltimore in 1992 and is still active ...

'', the following year, with new member Tao taking the place of the again departed Woody.

History

Early career

The members of Dru Hill are natives of Baltimore. The group became known getting jobs at The Fudgery, a local

fudge Fudge is a type of confection that is made by mixing sugar, butter and milk, heating it to the soft-ball stage at , and then beating the mixture while it cools so that it acquires a smooth, creamy consistency. In texture, this crystalline can ...

factory at

Harborplace Harborplace is a shopping complex on the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, Maryland. Description The property is composed of 2 two-story pavilions: the Pratt Street Pavilion and the Light Street Pavilion. Each of these buildings contains many stores an ...

at Baltimore's

Inner Harbor The Inner Harbor is a historic seaport, tourist attraction, and landmark of the city of Baltimore, Maryland. It was described by the Urban Land Institute in 2009 as "the model for post-industrial waterfront redevelopment around the world". Th ...

, beginning a store tradition of singing and performing to entertain guests while making fudge. The group's name comes from Baltimore's

Druid Hill Park Druid Hill Park is a urban park in northwest Baltimore, Maryland. Its boundaries are marked by Druid Park Drive (north), Swann Drive and Reisterstown Road (west and south), and the Jones Falls Expressway / Interstate 83 (east).local vernacular to "Dru Hill". Between their first and second albums, Dru Hill contributed "We're Not Making Love No More", a number 2 R&B and number 13 pop hit, to the ''

Soul Food Soul food is an ethnic cuisine traditionally prepared and eaten by African Americans, originating in the Southern United States.Soul Food originated with the foods that were given to enslaved Black people by their white owners on Souther ...

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...

. "We're Not Making Love No More" was written and produced by producer

Babyface Babyface or Baby Face can refer to: Nicknames * Lester Joseph Gillis a.k.a. Baby Face Nelson, an infamous 1930s bank robber * Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette (1933–1971), an American hard bop and soul-jazz musician * "Baby Face", Jimmy McLarnin ...

. Dru Hill and

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

Foxy Brown recorded "Big Bad Mama", a remake of

Carl Carlton Carl Carlton (born May 21, 1953) is an American R&B, soul, and funk singer-songwriter, best known for his hits "Everlasting Love" and " She's a Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked)". Career Carlton was born in Detroit, Michigan, and beg ...

's 1981 hit "She's a Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked)", which was the main single for the soundtrack to the 1997

Bill Bellamy William Bellamy (born April 7, 1965) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. Bellamy first gained national notoriety on HBO's Russell Simmons' ''Def Comedy Jam'', where he is credited for creating or coining the phrase "booty call", descri ...

film ''

Def Jam's How to Be a Player ''Def Jam's How to Be a Player'' is a 1997 sex comedy film, starring Bill Bellamy, Natalie Desselle and Bernie Mac. The film was directed by Lionel C. Martin, and written by Mark Brown and Demetria Johnson. The '' How to Be a Player Soundtrack'' ...

''. The group was also instrumental in writing and producing for new University artist

Mýa Mya Marie Harrison (; born October 10, 1979), (stylized as Mýa), is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actress. Born into a musical family, she studied ballet, jazz, and tap dance as a child. Initially, Mýa began her career as a VJ ...

, whose first two singles "

It's All About Me 'It's All About Me' is a song by American singer Mýa. It served as her debut single from her self-titled debut studio album and recorded as a duet with R&B singer Sisqó. A psychedelic R&B slow jam, "It's All About Me" was written and compose ...

" and " Movin' On", were co-written by Sisqó, who also performs guest vocals on "It's All About Me". In 1997, Dru Hill filed a lawsuit against Island Records, seeking a release from its contract, after an Island employee hit one of the group's managers, Keith Ingram, over the head with a

pool cue A cue stick (or simply cue, more specifically billiards cue, pool cue, or snooker cue) is an item of sporting equipment essential to the games of pool, snooker and carom billiards. It is used to strike a ball, usually the . Cues are tapered stic ...

.Brown, Ann (March 1998)
"Taking stocks of the Wall Street Project: Jackson-led group marks King holiday with three-day conference – Jesse Jackson's project to monitor racism in corporate US holds gala on January 15, 1998, Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday"
''

Black Enterprise ''Black Enterprise'' is a black-owned multimedia company. Since the 1970s, its flagship product ''Black Enterprise'' magazine has covered African-American businesses with a readership of 3.7 million. The company was founded in 1970 by Earl ...

''. Retrieved November 5, 2006. It was discovered that the employee in question had a criminal record. At an October 1997 deposition hearing, Eric Kronfeld, president and

chief operating officer A chief operating officer or chief operations officer, also called a COO, is one of the highest-ranking executive positions in an organization, composing part of the " C-suite". The COO is usually the second-in-command at the firm, especially if ...

of Island's parent company PolyGram, was asked why he had hired such an individual. His response was that if he were not to hire African-Americans with criminal records, then "there would be virtually no African-Americans employees in our society or in our industry." Kronfield's remarks set off a wave of controversy when word of them reached the media in November. The Reverend Jesse Jackson became personally involved, publicly stating that the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

-based PolyGram had "a pattern of race and sex exclusion." Jackson met with PolyGram chairman Alain Levy and several other executives, who issued a public apology for Kronfield's statement, and replaced Kronfield as president with Motown Records' chairman Clarence Avant. By the end of the month, Dru Hill had settled with Island Records, and issued a joint statement with the label, stating in the agreement that they would remain on the label.

''Enter the Dru''

Dru Hill's third Top 20 pop hit came in the form of 1998's "How Deep Is Your Love" (Pop #3), which was included on the soundtrack to the

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born 7 April 1954), known professionally in English as Jackie Chan and in Chinese as Cheng Long ( zh, c=成龍, j=Sing4 Lung4; "becoming the dragon"), is a Hong Kong actor, filmmaker, martial artist, and stuntman known for ...

and

Chris Tucker Christopher Tucker (born August 31, 1971) is an American actor and comedian. Tucker made his debut in 1992 as a stand-up performer on the HBO comedy series '' Def Comedy Jam'', where he frequently appeared on the show during the 1990s. He ap ...

film '' Rush Hour''. The single "This Is What We Do", featuring a guest rap from

Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), better known by his stage name Method Man, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is known as a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He is also half of ...

, set the tone for the group's second album, ''

''. The album featured several other mid-tempo tracks in the vein of "How Deep Is Your Love", as well as the R&B Top 5 single "These are the Times" (Pop #21), co-written and co-produced by Babyface, and featuring guitar work from Atlanta-based session guitarist and former

Earth Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, big band, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million ...

member Dick Smith. ''Enter the Dru'' eventually sold two million copies by 1999 and peaked at number two on the ''Billboard'' 200.RIAA certifications for Dru Hill. Retrieved fro
Recording Industry Association of America
website by way of database search, on May 24, 2007. That year, Dru Hill recorded a version of "Enchantment Passing Through" for the soundtrack to the

Broadway musical Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 Decemb ...

'', which was also featured on Sisqó's album ''Unleash the Dragon''. Sisqó released his debut ''

'' LP, and had a minor hit with his first single, "Got to Get It" featuring ''

Make It Hot ''Make It Hot'' is the debut studio album by American singer Nicole Wray. The album was released in August 1998 through Missy Elliott's Elektra-distributed vanity label, The Goldmind. The album was produced by Missy Elliott and Timbaland. Some ...

''. His second single, "

", became a major hit during the spring of 2000, and his third, " Incomplete", became a number-one hit during the summer.

''Dru World Order''

''Dru World Order'' was released on November 26, 2002, two years after its original planned release date. Nearly all of the album's tracks were produced by Nokio, who sung lead on the tracks "She Said" and "Men Always Regret". Producers such as

Bryan Michael Cox Bryan-Michael Paul Cox (born December 1, 1977) is an American record producer and songwriter who is notable for his work with artists such as Usher, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, and Toni Braxton. Among his most notable productions are "Be Wit ...

, Eric "Nealante" Phillips and Kwamé also made contributions. Most of the album's tracks featured Sisqó, Jazz, Woody, and Scola sharing the leads, including the lead single "I Should Be...". "I Should Be..." was a Top 30 pop hit and a Top 10 R&B hit. Def Soul released a

greatest hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

compilation, ''Dru Hill: Hits'', on October 11, along with a corresponding

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

collection of the group's music videos. Both collections included Sisqó's biggest solo hits, "Thong Song" and "Incomplete", alongside the Dru Hill songs.

Woody's and Scola's departure

In early 2008, the original quartet version of Dru Hill began touring alongside fellow 1990s acts

Tony! Toni! Toné! Tony! Toni! Toné! was an American soul/ R&B band from Oakland, California, popular during the late 1980s and early to mid-1990s. During the band's heyday, it was composed of D'wayne Wiggins on lead vocals and guitar, his brother Raphael Saadiq ...

Bell Biv Devoe Bell Biv DeVoe, also known as BBD, is an American music group from Boston, Massachusetts, formed from members of New Edition, consisting of Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins and Ronnie DeVoe. The band is best known for their debut album, the multi-p ...

, and a former producer on their first album Keith Sweat. The group held a contest in their native Baltimore for a replacement for Woody, settling upon a new singer, Antwuan "Tao" Simpson. The group never said why they did not keep Scola in the group, although it was later stated by Nokio that "five people

ess The suffix ''-ess'' (plural ''-esses'') appended to English words makes a female form of the word. ESS or ess may refer to: Education * Ernestown Secondary School, in Odessa, Ontario * European Standard School, in Dhaka, Bangladesh Governmen ...

up the money".

''InDRUpendence Day''

'' is Dru Hill's fourth album, released on July 27, 2010. It features the group's new member, Tao, who was Woody's replacement. The album has released three singles: "Love MD", "Remain Silent" and "Back to the Future". It was released under the label Kedar Entertainment.

New lineup and ''The Second Coming''

Jazz left the group in early 2018 to work on his solo album and Tao left in early 2019 to work on a solo project because he did not like the direction Dru Hill was going. In August 2018 a new album, ''The Second Coming'', was announced. It was to feature two new members from the group Playa, Smoke and Black, who started performing with them after Jazz left the group. The album was to be released under Dru Hill, LLC and

Empire Distribution EMPIRE Distribution, Records and Publishing Inc. (marketed as EMPIRE) is an American distribution company and record label founded in by Ghazi Shami with offices in New York City, London, Nashville, and Atlanta. It has released albums in vari ...

. The first single from the album, "What You Need", was released in February 2020. Later that month, Nokio confirmed on Magic 95.9 that he has left Dru Hill to spend time with his family. A comeback of the band with the new lineup, Sisqo, Smoke, and Black, was hinted in March 2020. By 2021, Nokio, Jazz, Tao and Scola returned to the group, gearing up to celebrate their 25th anniversary, making them a seven-man group and leaving Woody is the only member no longer active in the group.

Television appearances

Dru Hill had their own television show titled ''Keith Sweat's Platinum House''. It debuted June 28, 2010, on Centric. It focused on their fourth album, ''InDRUpendence Day'', and depicted the progress of returning as a full group, and their work to create new music. The original premiere on July 14, 2009, on the main BET Network was postponed, but aired later on Centric.

Members

Current members

Sisqó Mark Althavan Andrews (born November 9, 1978), known professionally as Sisqó (stylized as SisQó), is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer and actor. He is most prominently known for "Thong Song", his membership in Dru Hill, ...

– (1992–present) * Nokio – (1992–2020; 2021–present) * Jazz – (1993–2018; 2021–present) * Scola – (2001–2008; 2021–present) * Tao – (2008–2019; 2021–present) * Smoke – (2018–present) * Black – (2018–present)

Former members

* Woody – (1992; 1994–1999, 2002–2008)

Discography

;Studio albums * ''

'' (1996) * ''

'' (1998) * ''

'' (2002) * ''

'' (2010)

Filmography

Television

* ''Moesha'' * ''The Parent 'Hood''

TV specials

* ''Breaking Out: The Alcatraz Concert'' * ''24 hours with Dru Hill'' * ''Keith Sweat's Platinum House'' * '' Unsung''

Tours

;Headlining * Enter the Dru Tour ;Featured act * Budweiser Superfest 97 * No Way Out Tour * Budweiser Superfest 98 * Keep the Faith Tour * Luv U Better Tour * Game Changer Tour * The 20th Anniversary Tour * The 25th Anniversary Tour (Sisqo , Nokio ,Jazz.Scola,Smoke.Black) (2022) ;As supporting act * Evolution Tour (supporting Boyz II Men)

Awards and nominations

American Music Awards The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show, generally held in the fall, created by Dick Clark in 1973 for ABC when the network's contract to air the Grammy Awards expired, and currently produced by Dick Clark Pro ...

, - , style="text-align:center;" rowspan=2, 1998 , rowspan=4, Dru Hill , Favorite Soul/R&B Band/Duo/Group , , - , Favorite Soul/R&B New Artist , , - , style="text-align:center;" rowspan=1, 2000 , Favorite Soul/R&B Band/Duo/Group , , - , style="text-align:center;" rowspan=1, 2003 , Favorite Soul/R&B Band/Duo/Group , , - *

Soul Train Music Awards The Soul Train Music Awards is an annual music awards show which previously aired in national broadcast syndication, and honors the best in African-American culture, music and entertainment. It is produced by the makers of '' Soul Train'', the p ...

, - , style="text-align:center;" rowspan=2, 1998 , rowspan=1, ''Dru Hill'' , Best R&B/Soul Album – Group, Band or Duo , , - , rowspan=1, ''In My Bed'' , Best R&B/Soul Single – Group, Band or Duo , , - , style="text-align:center;" rowspan=1, 1999 , rowspan=1, ''Enter the Dru'' , Best R&B/Soul Album – Group, Band or Duo , , - , style="text-align:center;" rowspan=1, 2000 , rowspan=1, ''Beauty'' , Best R&B/Soul Single – Group, Band, or Duo , , - , style="text-align:center;" rowspan=1, 2003 , rowspan=1, ''I Should Be...'' , Best R&B/Soul Single – Group, Band or Duo , * Kids' Choice Awards , - , style="text-align:center;" rowspan=1, 1999 , rowspan=1, Dru Hill , Favorite Group ,

Notes

References

* Furman, Leah (2001). ''Sisqó: The Man Behind the Thong''. New York: St. Martin's Press. . * Willman, Chris (January 26, 2001)
"Here and Now: This week on the music beat"
''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

''.

External links

* {{Authority control African-American musical groups American contemporary R&B musical groups Def Jam Recordings artists Island Records artists Musical groups from Baltimore Musical groups established in 1992