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

and

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 ...

. Although Hailey is best known as the lead singer of Jodeci and second-lead singer of K-Ci & JoJo, he participated on different solo projects as K-Ci, most notably his 1994 cover of

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 ...

", which peaked at number 17 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Early life

Hailey was born in

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 ...

, to Anita and Cliff Hailey both of whom were gospel singers. For a time, the Hailey family lived in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

where they performed gospel music. The family later returned to Charlotte when Cedric was a teen. He attended

Garinger High School Garinger High School (sometimes referred to simply as Garinger or The G) is a high school located in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. History Garinger was in essence the relocation of Central High School, making it one of the oldest rem ...

Career

Along with younger brother, Joel (known professionally as "JoJo") and his father, Hailey recorded three gospel albums as "Little Cedric and the Hailey Singers" beginning with the 1983 release ''I'm Alright Now'' by Atlanta International Records, Gospel. Though the album failed to place on any ''Billboard'' magazine charts, the next two releases, 1984's ''Jesus Saves'' and ''God's Blessing'' in 1985, both placed upon the ''Billboard'' Gospel Albums chart; the former at No. 4 and the latter at No. 22. Cedric and Joel's gospel singing eventually connected them with the DeGrate brothers, Donald "

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 ...

" DeGrate and

Dalvin DeGrate Dalvin Ertimus DeGrate (born July 23, 1971), better known by his stage name Mr. Dalvin, is an American R&B and soul singer, songwriter, record producer, and rapper. He is one-quarter of the R&B group Jodeci, and the younger brother of Jodeci m ...

, with whom they formed the R&B group

. As lead vocalist for the group, Hailey and

would release three multi-platinum albums between 1991 and 1995. In 1996, the group announced a hiatus from recording and releasing music. Hailey continued to record with his brother as the duo

, releasing five albums between 1997 and 2013. As K-Ci, he recorded the 1992 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 " ...

''. Also, his cover of

's "

" was featured on the soundtrack to the 1994 film, ''

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), ...

''. It was released as a single and peaked at number 17 on the

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), ...

Personal life

Hailey dated fellow R&B singer and then label-mate

from 1992 to 1997. Blige stated that they were engaged, but Hailey denied that they were going to get married. The two Hailey brothers are cousins of R&B singers

Fantasia Barrino Fantasia Monique Barrino-Taylor (born June 30, 1984), known professionally by her mononym Fantasia, is an American singer and actress. She rose to prominence in 2004 for her performance of the ''Porgy and Bess'' standard " Summertime" during th ...

Dave Hollister David Le Chaine Hollister (born August 17, 1968) is an American singer from Chicago, Illinois who found fame during the 1990s as one quarter of the R&B group Blackstreet, before going on to have a solo career. Hollister is best known for his ...

Calvin Richardson Calvin Richardson (born December 16, 1976) is an American R&B singer-songwriter. He signed with Universal Motown Records to release his debut studio album, ''Country Boy'' (1999). His second album, '' 2:35 PM'' (2003), was released by Hollywoo ...

, and

Stephanie Mills Stephanie Dorthea Mills (born March 22, 1957) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to stardom as Dorothy Gale in the original seven-time Tony Awards, Tony Award winning Broadway theatre, Broadway run of the musical ''The Wiz'' ...

. Hailey has two sons, Devin Hailey and Deven Cedric Renard.

Discography

;with Jodeci *''

Forever My Lady ''Forever My Lady'' is the debut studio album by American R&B quartet Jodeci, released May 28, 1991, by Uptown Records and MCA Records. Background The album's production and composition was largely attributed to DeVante Swing, who worked alon ...

'' (1991) *''

Diary of a Mad Band ''Diary of a Mad Band'' is the second studio album from American R&B group Jodeci, released December 21, 1993, on Uptown Records and distributed through MCA Records. The album also featured the first-ever album appearances from Timbaland & Mag ...

'' (1993) *''

The Show, the After Party, the Hotel ''The Show, The After Party, The Hotel'' is the third studio album from American R&B group Jodeci, released July 18, 1995, on Uptown Records and distributed through MCA Records. The album was recorded at Dajhelon Studios in Rochester, New York.J ...

'' (1995) *'' The Past, The Present, The Future'' (2015) ;with K-Ci & JoJo * ''

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) * '' 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) ;Solo album * '' My Book'' (2006)

References

{{Authority control 1969 births Living people American contemporary R&B singers 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers Musicians from North Carolina Songwriters from North Carolina African-American songwriters 21st-century African-American musicians American male songwriters