Full Clip: K-Ci & JoJo Run Down Jodeci's Catalogue, MJB And More
K-Ci: “When Jodeci first started it was JoJo and DeVante. I had a gospel group of my own called Little Cedric & The Hailey Singers. I’m a quartet singer and always will be. So I brought that quartet element to the group. JoJo and DeVante already had the harmonies and the melodies. But when I came to the group I brought that soulful David Ruffin, Bobby Womack, Al Green sound. And JoJo would listen to Babyface and the Deele.”
JoJo: “Exactly. That was who I listened to the most.”
K-Ci: “And me and DeVante would listen to Guy and the Gap Band. By the time Dalvin joined the group we just blended it all together and became Jodeci.”
JoJo: “I would describe Jodeci in 1989-1990 as a baby taking his first steps. The difference between coming from North Carolina to New York was crazy. We didn’t know where we were going. This was before we met Heavy D and Puffy (Sean “Diddy” Combs, former A&R and producer at Uptown Records) and got signed. Me, K-Ci, DeVante, and Dalvin had intentions on getting a record deal. But we didn’t know who to talk to so it was kind of scary. We were on the edge and so anxious. We were willing to crawl and go through what was necessary for us to be successful in this music industry.”
K-Ci: “The first record we were featured on was Father MC’s ‘Treat Them Like They Want to Be Treated.’
JoJo: “We look really young in that video [laughs].”
K-Ci: “I don’t know what we were thinking [laughs]. But I remember when they brought us the demo for that Father MC song to our house when we were staying in New Jersey. Me and JoJo were like, ‘We can do this song in one-take.’ And that’s what happened. We did ‘Treat Them Like They Want to Be Treated’ in one take in just an hour. If you ask me, that’s Jodeci’s biggest hit because it was our first feature. When we got into this business, we never thought we were going to be this big and have platinum records. Everybody from Puffy to to Heavy, Mary [J. Blige] and the whole clan that was there at Uptown Records pretty much started off at the same time. Puff wasn’t really a producer back then. He used to throw parties at Howard University. But he understood sound and how to put a look together. He could put together a total package. Puffy was one of those anxious guys that was starving and willing to take that chance on us. Just the energy level that he has and his creativity is very strong. That’s why Puffy’s still around today.”
JoJo: ‘Treat Them…’ ended up introducing people to Jodeci’s soulfulness that would set us apart from everybody. We were in a good position after that song.”
"Treat Them Like They Want to Be Treated"--Father MC feat. Jodeci (1990)
Forever My Lady--Jodeci (1991)
K-Ci: “Puffy went to Andre (Uptown label head Andre Harrell) and said, ‘Look, there’s a new group that’s coming out called Boyz II Men. They are going to be wearing suits and sing the same harmonies as Jodeci. We have to separate Jodeci from that group.’ It was Puffy’s idea for us to wear the boots and have our pants sagging. He was like, ‘K-Ci, you should have your hat to the back.’ This was Puffy’s exact words: ‘This group Jodeci should look like they are singing on the street corner for their homeboys and their women.’ That was Puffy’s and Mr. Dalvin’s idea for Jodeci’s image. And it worked out great, man. It separated Jodeci from Boyz II Men and all the other vocal groups.”
JoJo: “Puffy’s creativity was just awesome.”
K-Ci: “The Jodeci sound was a blend of the Gap Band and the Deele. When you blend all those influences and sounds together you get songs like ‘Stay,’ ‘Come And Talk To Me,’ and ‘Forever My Lady.’ Just listen to those songs.”
JoJo: “What was it like recording our first album (Forever My Lady)? Well, outside of being excited and walking around New York in disbelief it was wonderful. Back then we had our own personal little groupies [laughs]. It was fun. We recorded that album at the Hit Factory in New York. Every song we did just felt right. We took our time and really focused on the music. But we have to credit to DeVante. All those great baby-making songs came from DeVante’s mind. K-Ci and I sang them and we arranged them and brought our own thing to them. But DeVante had the music and the mind.”
K-Ci: “Most of the songs that Jodeci made we never lived them through. They mostly came from DeVante’s experiences. That’s what made DeVante’s songwriting great. If you can sing a song that people can feel like they have lived by that’s special. That just goes to show you that DeVante had a lot on his mind [laughs].”
"I Don't Want To Do Anything" Mary J. Blige and K-Ci (1992)
K-Ci: “I’ve never liked talking about my past relationship with Mary (The on-again, off-again turbulent and troubled relationship between Mary. J. Blige and K-Ci has been well documented.) But I do remember recording [‘I Don’t Want To Do Anything’]. When me and Mary did that song, we didn’t do it as a couple. We were not in a relationship at that time. People thought that song was about us as a couple, but it wasn’t. JoJo wrote the song.”
JoJo: “Sometimes you just get to the point where things just come to you on a natural vibe. That song was nothing where I sat down and had to think about writing it. Mr. Darryl Pearson (Originally of DeVante Swing’s Swing Mob collective) did the track. The words just poured out, man. It was incredible. But early on, I was just joking around with it. Next thing you know, I have this entire song. And it turned out to be a big record for Mary.”
"Lately"-- Jodeci (Uptown MTV Unplugged, 1993)
JoJo: “The idea to cover Stevie Wonder’s ‘Lately’ came from Andre Harrell (Uptown Records founder). Before we did the Unplugged show on MTV it took us a day to learn that song. It went no. 1 hit for us and charted higher than Stevie’s version, which was crazy.”
K-Ci: “But we had never heard the song before we performed it!”
JoJo: “That’s true. When we performed it on the Arsenio Hall Show we were very nervous. And then Stevie Wonder came out onstage to sing ‘Lately’ with us! That just let us know, ‘Yes, Jodeci is somebody.’ We cried like newborn babies.”
K-Ci: “[Around that time] we went out on our first big tour with MC Hammer. It was Hammer, Jodeci, Boyz II Men, and TLC. Those were the good days. There wasn’t any violence at the shows. And the groupies were crazy on that tour…please believe it. Them girls were crazy.”
JoJo: “Every city we went to was crazy. This was our first major tour. Everyone on that Hammer tour had albums that were doing well. Everybody was on the charts fighting for position. We had water fights and barbecues in every town we went to. It was like we were a huge family.”
K-Ci: “Of course Jodeci stole the show every night.”
JoJo: "K-Ci would say that [laughs].”
Diary of A Mad Band--Jodeci (1993)
JoJo: “When we recorded ‘Cry For You’ we were going for another ‘Forever My Lady.’ But as far as that video shoot, yes we did get mad at Puffy because he had us out there in 110 degree desert wearing all leather.”
K-Ci: “Puffy had us out there all day for that ‘Cry For You’ video! [laughs]”
JoJo: “But that song went on to become another no. 1 hit for us. That’s all that mattered. We did some great vocals on that record. But again, credit should go to DeVante for writing that song. And I want to thank Diddy for directing the video. It all came out perfect. Another video I remember filming was ‘Feenin.’ That was one video that was very interesting. We got the chance to show off some of our acting skills because we had to [come off] like we were crazy. We were really having fun.”
K-Ci: “When you listen to Diary of A Mad Band [it’s obvious] that DeVante was writing from hurt to horny. There was a [sexual energy] on that album. We liked singing those sex songs. Really, what’s wrong with having sex [laughs]? Back then everybody had their own thing. But when it came down to groups like Jodeci, Boyz II Men, H-Town and Silk, we were all about vocals. It was just that time for groups to really start singing again. There was nobody acting like they were better than each other.”
"If You Think You're Lonely Now"--K-Ci (Jason's Lyric Soundtrack, 1994)
K-Ci: “This is one of those classic songs you would hear when your mother and father on a Friday night would invite their sister and brother-in-laws over to house to play spades. We would always hear those old school songs when they made us go to bed. Bobby Womack’s ‘If You Think You’re Lonely Now’ is one of those songs that will never get lost in the catalogue. Andre Harrell called me to do that song [for the movie Jason’s Lyric]. But I was scared to do it because I never did a song without JoJo, DeVante and Mr. Dalvin. To this day when I perform it, I still feel scared because that’s a solo joint. But the song turned out to be another hit. I was just happy that people supported it.”
The Show, the After Party, the Hotel--Jodeci (1995)
K-Ci: “‘Love U 4 Life’ was a very mature song for us. Once again it goes back to DeVante’s mind, emotions and the feelings he was going through at the time. I wish like hell that DeVante was here to talk about some of these songs and how they came about. He could give you some great stories.”
JoJo: “He really could. He should be here for this interview.”
K-Ci: “But we were also dealing with some things. We had our struggles [with substance abuse]. When you have four young guys coming into the business from the age of 17 to 19-years old with a record contract and being able to travel the world, we’ve seen everything. We are no different from the Beatles and Guns N Roses or Aerosmith. God gave us a blessing. We pray every night and we still do today. But God will also send stumbling blocks your way. And we stumbled over them. We just thank God that we are still here, man.”
"Freek'n You Remix"--Jodeci feat. The Wu-Tang Clan (1995)
K-Ci: “The ‘Freek’n You’ remix was Mr. Dalvin’s idea. He was a huge Wu-Tang Clan fan and wanted to produce the record. Me and JoJo went to the studio to do some of our vocals over.”
JoJo: “The Wu was very cool. We really had a great time with those guys in the studio.”
K-Ci: “New York gets a lot of love and respect from me when it comes to doing business. [The Wu-Tang Clan] were really down to earth. They came into the studio ready to work. They really became part of the family. They were living out their dreams as well.”
JoJo: “To me that song captures why not just the girls, but guys liked Jodeci. Like K-Ci said, the way Puffy had us looking we came off as street guys. We were singing to dudes’ ladies, but at the same time we kept it gutter. Before that, you had never seen an R&B group with tattoos and their hat to the back. The guys related to that like, ‘Damn, these niggas are on some real shit. I feel these guys. I can sing the same songs and I don’t have to put a suit on.’”
"How Do U Want It" and "Toss It Up"--2Pac feat. K-Ci & JoJo (1996)
K-Ci: “Let me just say this. Suge Knight never managed Jodeci. He was just a consultant for us. He let us know about some of the things to look out for in the music business. We don’t know what he did to anybody else. He was always good to us. But working with 2Pac was great. He was such a genius. If you listen to the original versions of those songs you will hear Pac’s voice singing in the background. He wrote all of the lyrics, even our vocal parts, too. Me and JoJo put our vocals over Pac’s. ‘How Do U Want It’ became a huge hit and it’s one of my favorite collaborations.”
JoJo: “I was mad that I missed my flight for that video shoot.”
K-Ci: “We shot three different versions for ‘How Do You Want It.’ It was censored (the uncensored clip, which portrayed a wild sex party, featured nudity.), but that was alright to me [laughs].”
JoJo: “With ‘Toss It Up’ (a 2Pac song that venomously attacked Jodeci mentor Sean “Puffy” Combs, among others) one thing I can say is we were never in the middle of all that [East Coast/West Coast] BS that was going on. We were still friends with everybody. We did a song with Biggie, too. Whatever all the things that was going on they never brought it around us. We came in the studio to do what we were paid to do. We received love from everybody.”
Love Always--K-Ci & JoJo (1997)
K-Ci: “We wanted to make Love Always because of our age. We came out with the sagging pants, cursing on record and were dealing with a whole bunch of females. But now were getting older. We were having children and raising families. We were outgrowing some of our old ways. We showed we could be [more mature] with ‘Love Your For Life.’ We didn’t need to take our shirts off to sing. We didn’t need to have a lot of women and money to sing. All we needed to do was open our mouths.”
JoJo: “I wrote the song ‘All My Life,’ which was inspired by my daughter. I had just gotten this new keyboard and I was teaching myself to play on it. And the first thing I started to play was the beginning of the song. I kept messing with it until I got it down pat, but I had no words to the song. After that, I was putting my daughter to bed. She closed her eyes and as I was leaving the room she turned around and said, ‘I love you daddy…all my life.’ That was a very happy, emotional moment for me. That’s how ‘All My Life’ came about.”
K-Ci: “It wasn’t planned for ‘All My Life’ to become this big no. 1 hit that was bigger than any other Jodeci song. It wasn’t even going to be on the album. But when Love Always came out and people in Honolulu started to request ‘All My Life’ it was over! That song is another amazing grace for our career. It sold a lot of albums (Over 3 million copies worldwide). We felt like it was still a success for Jodeci…just under a different name. We all benefited from that.”
It's Real--K-Ci & JoJo (1999)
JoJo: ‘Tell Me It’s Real’ was another song I wrote, this time for [our second album]. I wasn’t thinking about repeating the success of ‘All My Life.’ I would be lying to you if I said I felt pressure. What I did feel was more confidence. I knew I could make a hit. I was on a much higher confidence level as a songwriter.”
X--K-Ci & JoJo (2000)
K-Ci: “What was going on at this moment in our lives was K-Ci & JoJo was for real. We had so many producers coming to us to work on this album. One of those songs was ‘Crazy,’ which was written by Delight. We had some of the best producers on X…Timbaland was on [the album, too].”
JoJo: “We were coming off of ‘All My Life,’ ‘Tell Me It’s Real,’ and now ‘Crazy.’ That song had nothing to do with our personal experiences. But again, our confidence level was very high. We were comfortable with ourselves as a duo. It wasn’t like we were trying to be pop. We didn’t hear that from a lot of people. We kept it K-Ci and JoJo. The producers we were working with made sure that they kept the songs in our environment.”
Emotional--K-Ci & JoJo (2002)
JoJo: “I’m not the one to throw rocks. I think at this point me and K-Ci had gotten too comfortable with our success. We got too cocky. We just wanted to go into the studio, go in the booth and get it over with. Instead of keeping that thirst, we got to the point where we said, ‘Man, the fans will buy it.’ We no longer had that old hunger we had as teenagers.”
My Book--K-Ci (2006)
K-Ci: “JoJo didn’t mess with me for a minute after this album [laughs]. It wasn’t like I was mad at JoJo or anything. I just wanted to make an album by myself, so I decided to go to the studio.”
JoJo: “But I loved it (My Book). If you ask me, it sounded just like an old school Jodeci album. I swear to God. This is my brother, so there wasn’t any problem with him wanting to work on an album by himself. One day, he decided to go to the studio. Here I am waiting for my call time to start work on a new album. And K-Ci was like, ‘You aint got no call time [laughs]. That was a surprise.”
K-Ci: “I told him, ‘JoJo, don’t come up here [laughs]. I don’t need your input on this album. I don’t need DeVante or Dalvin. I can handle this myself.”
JoJo: “We do music because it’s in our blood…it’s not about the fame.”
K-Ci: “So many people asked us why we did a reality show (TV One’s K-Ci & JoJo Come Clean). I just tell them I was taught it takes true character for a man to show all his flaws. We were down, but we got back up. We still love performing. Right now me and JoJo are on tour with Silk, Shai, H-Town and Ginuwine. We are having fun. I said it before, but I really miss our era when artists would actually sing. I don’t know what to call what a lot of the singers are doing today. You tell me. That’s why it’s important for a K-Ci & JoJo to still be here. But there are some people I like that’s out now. Jazmine Sullivan is really good…she has a strong voice.”
JoJo: “[Of course] the question everyone wants to know is will there be another Jodeci album?”
K-Ci: “We have been working on new music [as well] as a new K-Ci & JoJo project. But I’m going to go back to what DeVante said: there will be no new album from Jodeci until we are ready! You don’t want to hurry and put something out just to do it. We want to make sure a new Jodeci album is done right. We just thank God for the blessings and for the gift of music. Where most people mess up at is when they get in the music business for the fame and the fortune. We didn’t get into it for that. We got into it because we loved the gift of song.”
