K-Ci & JoJo is an American R&B duo, consisting of brothers Cedric "K-Ci" Hailey (born September 2, 1969) and Joel "JoJo" Hailey (born June 10, 1971). Natives of

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

, they are also the lead singers of the chart-topping R&B group

Jodeci Jodeci ( ) is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B quartet consisting of members DeVanté Swing, Dalvin DeGrate, Mr. Dalvin, K-Ci, and K-Ci & JoJo, JoJo. Formed in 1988 in Charlotte, North Carolina, Jodeci began as a duo of DeVanté Swing and JoJo ...

with the DeGrate brothers—Donald (better known as

DeVante Swing Donald Earle DeGrate Jr. (born September 29, 1969), better known by his stage name DeVanté Swing, is an American record producer, singer, songwriter and rapper. He is best known as the main songwriter and producer of the R&B group Jodeci, whic ...

) and Mr. Dalvin. They are best known for their 1998 single " All My Life" which peaked atop the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for three weeks and received three

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

nominations. They also guest appeared on the well-known

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur (; born Lesane Parish Crooks; June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor, regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all tim ...

1996 again no.1

multi-platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

song "

How Do U Want It "How Do U Want It" is a song by American rapper 2Pac from his fourth studio album, '' All Eyez on Me'' (1996). It was released on June 4, 1996 as a double A-sided single with "California Love" from the same album and was his final single to be r ...

", which was nominated for

Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group The Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group was awarded between 1991 and 2011, alongside the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance. Previously a single award was presented for Best Rap Performance. The award was discontinue ...

in 1997. K-Ci & JoJo also achieved mainstream success with the 1999 hit "

Tell Me It's Real "Tell Me It's Real" is a song recorded by American contemporary R&B, R&B duo K-Ci & JoJo. The track was produced for K-Ci and JoJo's second studio album, ''It's Real (K-Ci & JoJo album), It's Real'' (1999). The song spent 20 weeks on the Hot 100, ...

", which peaked at number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Their 2001 song, "

Crazy Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors caused by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to other ...

", was included on the ''

Save the Last Dance ''Save the Last Dance'' is a 2001 American dance film produced by MTV Films, directed by Thomas Carter and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film stars Julia Stiles and Sean Patrick Thomas as a teenage interracial couple in Chicago who ...

'' soundtrack and peaked at number 11 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. K-Ci & JoJo have released five albums. Their debut studio album, ''

Love Always ''Love Always'' is the debut album of American R&B duo K-Ci & JoJo, released on June 17, 1997, by MCA Records. It was recorded at various studios in New York and the Los Angeles area in 1996 and 1997. It was produced by JoJo and several others, ...

'' (1997), has been certified triple platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

, and their subsequent albums '' It's Real'' and '' X'' were both certified platinum.

History

1983–1996: Music beginnings and early work as duo

K-Ci & JoJo first gained recognition as members of a family gospel quartet, Little Cedric and the Hailey Singers. The group released 3 albums on the AIR (Atlanta International Records) label: ''I'm Alright Now'' in 1983, ''Jesus Saves'' which hit number 4 on the Billboard Gospel chart in 1984 and ''God's Blessings'' which hit number 22 in 1985. They joined brothers Donald "DeVanté Swing" DeGrate and Dalvin "Mr. Dalvin" DeGrate to form the R&B group Jodeci in 1988. K-Ci & JoJo's first sign of independence came in 1992 when K-Ci recorded the duet "I Don’t Want to Do Anything" with

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and entrepreneur. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Qu ...

on her debut album ''

What's the 411? ''What's the 411?'' is the debut album by American R&B singer Mary J. Blige. It was released on July 28, 1992, by Uptown Records and MCA Records. After signing a record contract with Uptown, Blige began working on the album with producer Sean " ...

''.

K-Ci Cedric Renard Hailey (born September 2, 1969), known professionally as K-Ci (formerly Little Cedric as a member of Little Cedric and the Hailey Singers), is an American singer, songwriter and member of K-Ci & JoJo and Jodeci. Although Hailey i ...

also covered

Bobby Womack Robert Dwayne Womack ( ; March 4, 1944 – June 27, 2014) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Starting in the early 1950s as the lead singer of his family musical group the Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guitarist, Womack's ...

's "

If You Think You're Lonely Now "If You Think You're Lonely Now" is a song recorded and released by American soul singer-songwriter Bobby Womack in 1981 from his album '' The Poet''. It was initially released as the B-side to his song "Secrets" but proved to be the more popular ...

" for the movie ''

Jason's Lyric ''Jason's Lyric'' is a 1994 American romance film, romantic psychological drama, psychological Drama (film and television), drama film, written by Bobby Smith Jr., directed by Doug McHenry, who co-produced the film with George Jackson (producer), ...

'' in 1994. Early in 1996, K-Ci & JoJo teamed up for the song "How Could You" for the movie ''

Bulletproof Bulletproofing is the process of making an object capable of stopping a bullet or similar high velocity projectiles (e.g. shrapnel). The term bullet resistance is often preferred because few, if any, practical materials provide complete protecti ...

'' starring

Damon Wayans Damon Kyle Wayans Sr. (; born September 4, 1960) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, producer, and writer. A member of the Wayans family of entertainers, Damon performed as a comedian and actor throughout the 1980s, including a brief stint ...

and

Adam Sandler Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. Primarily a comedic leading actor in films, List of awards and nominations received by Adam Sandler, his accolades include an Independent Sp ...

. By July 1996, K-Ci & JoJo were featured guest artists in

2Pac Tupac Amaru Shakur (; born Lesane Parish Crooks; June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor, regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all tim ...

's number-one R&B and

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

hit "

". They are also featured in the 1996 2Pac song " Toss It Up".

1996–1998: ''Love Always''

From 1996 to 1997, the brothers made their side projects into a full album, ''

''. Released on June 17, 1997, the album spawned two top-ten R&B hits: "You Bring Me Up" (Pop #26) and "Last Night's Letter" (Pop #46). The minor success of those singles, however, paled in comparison to the success of the album's third single, " All My Life" (which was dedicated to JoJo's daughter). A supple, lush

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

far removed from the Jodeci material of the early 1990s, "All My Life" was the number-one song on the Hot 100 for three weeks, a feat that K-Ci & JoJo had never achieved with Jodeci. While future singles and albums would be crafted in the vein of "All My Life", it remains the duo's only number-one hit and by far the song they are most widely known for, even amongst non-fans due to its frequent use in film and television. ''Love Always'' went on to sell four million copies, and the success of the album put Jodeci's reunion on hold indefinitely. During the recording of ''Love Always'' they also appeared in the song "I Care 'Bout You" as a member of the R&B supergroup Milestone, along with

After 7 After 7 is an American R&B group founded in 1987 by brothers Melvin and Kevon Edmonds, and their friend Keith Mitchell. The Edmonds brothers are the older siblings of pop/R&B singer-songwriter and record producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, ...

, which appeared on the soundtrack for the movie ''

Soul Food Soul food is the ethnic cuisine of African Americans. Originating in the Southern United States, American South from the cuisines of Slavery in the United States, enslaved Africans transported from Africa through the Atlantic slave trade, sou ...

'' that was written and produced by

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 ...

, who is also part of the track and the group. In 1998, K-Ci & JoJo recorded the song "Money Can't Buy You Love," which was produced for the film

The Players Club ''The Players Club'' is a 1998 American dark comedy drama thriller film written and directed by Ice Cube in his feature film directorial debut. In addition to Ice Cube, the film stars Bernie Mac, Monica Calhoun, Jamie Foxx, John Amos, A. J. ...

. In 1999, K-Ci & JoJo recorded "Life", which was written and produced by

R. Kelly Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967), known as R. Kelly, is an American former singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is credited with prolific commercial success in R&B, hip hop, and pop music recordings, earning nicknames suc ...

, for the soundtrack to the

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He had his breakthrough as a standup comic before gaining stardom for his film roles; he is widely recognized as one of the greatest comedians of all time. H ...

and

Martin Lawrence Martin Fitzgerald LawrenceStated in interview on '' Inside the Actors Studio'' (born April 16, 1965) is an American actor and comedian. Lawrence began his career doing comedy shows, including in '' The Improv''. After his first acting role in t ...

movie ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

''.

1999: ''It's Real''

K-Ci & JoJo's second studio album, '' It's Real'' was released on June 22, 1999. It peaked at number eight on the ''Billboard'' 200, peaked at number two on the R&B/Hip Hop Albums, and was certified platinum by the RIAA. Outside of the US, the album reached top 20 on the Dutch Mega Album Top 100, the

Canadian Albums Chart The ''Billboard'' Canadian Albums is the official record chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given ...

, and appeared on the New Zealand Top 40 Albums and the ARIA Charts. The album spawned four singles, including "Tell Me It's Real", which peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was a smash hit. ''It's Real'' received a three star rating from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

2000: ''X''

K-Ci & JoJo returned with ''X'' on December 5, 2000. '' X'', the Roman numeral for ten, was picked as the album title to celebrate the Haileys' tenth anniversary in the music business. They made a strong return to the Billboard Hot 100 early in 2001 with the song "Crazy", also included on the ''

'' soundtrack. "Crazy" peaked at number eleven on the Billboard Hot 100. The album also features a hidden

track entitled "Slip And Fall". Other tracks included "Honest Lover," "One Last Time," and "All the Things I Should Have Known" which Vibe magazine considered "convey a similar mix of hip hop collective that launched Del the Funky Homosapien."

2002–2008: ''Emotional'' and other projects

The fourth K-Ci & JoJo album, ''Emotional'', was released on November 26, 2002, but did not find commercial success. The CD consisted of two singles, "This Very Moment." and the Rodney "Dark Child" Jerkins produced "It's Me". The album contained their personal favorite "How Long" written by Steve Vaughn and Jojo Hailey. In late 2006, K-Ci released his debut solo album entitled ''My Book''. K-Ci & JoJo 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 creat ...

album on February 8, 2005. On February 6, 2008, they released their fifth compilation album called ''

Love Love is a feeling of strong attraction and emotional attachment (psychology), attachment to a person, animal, or thing. It is expressed in many forms, encompassing a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most su ...

'', which was released only in Japan.

2013–present: ''My Brother's Keeper''

In 2010, they signed an exclusive deal with R&B crooner

Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds Kenneth Brian Edmonds (born April 10, 1959), better known by his stage name Babyface, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has written and produced 26 number-one R&B hits and won 13 Grammy Awards. He was ranked number 20 ...

' upstart Soda Pop Records, distributed through

E1 Music MNRK Music Group (pronounced "monarch"), formerly known as Koch Records and Entertainment One (eOne) Music/Records, is an American independent record label and music management company based in New York City. It was formed in 1987 as a music div ...

. On June 25, 2013, they released their new single, "Knock It Off" via

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

through

. On September 30, 2013, '' My Brother's Keeper'', was released.

Media

In 2010, TV One aired the reality docu-series, ''K-Ci & JoJo... Come Clean,'' which featured Cedric "K-Ci" and Joel "JoJo" Hailey, lead singers of

. The series showcased the brothers current struggles with alcohol, as they work to rebuild their relationship and make a comeback. ''K-Ci & JoJo... Come Clean,'' was produced by John Doe Media, with Carl Craig and D. Renard Young serving as executive producers. The series only aired for one season, but still runs several times a year.

Legal issues

In 2001, K-Ci pleaded no contest to four charges of lewd conduct. He had been charged with 24 counts of lewd conduct and indecent exposure following an incident during the December 16, 2000, Jingle Ball concert at L.A.'s Shrine Auditorium during which the singer exposed his genitals twice to the crowd while performing.

Discography

Studio albums * ''

'' (1997) * '' It's Real'' (1999) * '' X'' (2000) * ''

Emotional Emotions are physical and mental states brought on by neurophysiology, neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavior, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or suffering, displeasure. There is ...

'' (2002) * '' My Brother's Keeper'' (2013)

Awards and nominations

American Music Awards

, - , 1999 , , K-Ci & JoJo , , Favorite R&B Band/Duo/Group , , , - , 2000 , , K-Ci & JoJo , , Favorite R&B Band/Duo/Group , ,

Blockbuster Awards

, - , 1999 , , K-Ci & JoJo , , Best Group – R&B , ,

Grammy Awards

, - , 1997 , , "

" , , Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group , , , - , 1999 , , " All My Life" , , Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals , , , - , 1999 , , "All My Life" , , Best R&B Song , ,

MTV Video Music Awards

, - , 1998 , , "All My Life" , , Best R&B Video , , , - , 2001 , , "

" , , Best Video from a Film , ,

NAACP Awards

, - , 1999 , , K-Ci & JoJo , , Outstanding Duo or Group , ,

Soul Train Awards

, - , 1999 , , "All My Life" , , Best R&B/Soul Single, Group, Band or Duo , ,

References

External links

Official websiteK-Ci & Jojo on Soulrnb.com
French group {{DEFAULTSORT:K-Ci and Jojo American soul musical groups African-American musical duos Family musical groups Musical duos from North Carolina Sibling musical duos Contemporary R&B duos American hip-hop singers MCA Records artists EMI Records artists MNRK Music Group artists