All American Entertainment Named to Inc. Best Workplaces in 2022. Read more
Fee Range:Please Contact
Availability:Please contact
Years Active: 1989 (1989)–1996 (1996), 2014–present (2014–present)
Genre:r&b, soul
1.9MScrobbles
286.6KListeners

Jodeci is an American musical group, active from 1990 to 1996, whose repertoire included R&B, soul music, and new jack swing. The group consisted of two pairs of African-American brothers from Charlotte, North Carolina: the DeGrates (Donald "DeVante Swing" DeGrate, the group founder/leader, and Dalvin DeGrate) and the Haileys (main lead singer Cedric "K-Ci" Hailey and second lead singer Joel "Jo-Jo" Hailey).

The group's name is a combination of the names of its members: Jo-Jo, DeVante and Dalvin, and K-Ci.If Boyz II Men are portrayed as a clean-cut, wholesome R&B vocal group, then Jodeci's wild, sexual, bad-boy image represents the other side of the coin.

Made up of two sets of brothers, the group's name is a consolidation of three members' aliases: "JoJo" Hailey, Donald "DeVante Swing" DeGrate, and Cedric "K-Ci" Hailey; the group also includes Dalvin DeGrate.

Natives of Charlotte, NC, all four members toured the South as young boys singing gospel music, even recording albums; both families belonged to the Pentecostal church, and the DeGrates' father was a minister.

The boys were able to hear each other's gospel songs played on the radio, and eventually were introduced through girlfriends as teenagers. However, when they did meet, K-Ci was with a girl Dalvin had been dating, and a fight nearly broke out.

The Hailey brothers and DeVante started hanging out together, partying and talking about making R&B records together, coming up with the name Jodeci at this time. At age 16, DeVante ran away to Minneapolis to get a job in Prince's organization, but was refused.

He returned to Charlotte, where he wrote a song and recorded JoJo singing it. The two planned on going to New York to shop the demo around by themselves, but both K-Ci and Dalvin decided to tag along at the last minute.

By the time they got to New York, they had demo recordings of 29 songs, which they brought to the offices of Uptown Entertainment. They were almost rejected, but rapper Heavy D overheard the tape and talked Uptown president Andre Harrell into hearing the group.

Harrell was impressed, and just like that, Jodeci signed a recording contract. In 1991, they recorded Forever My Lady, which featured the gold single "Come and Talk to Me" and went on to sell over three million copies.

A minor feud resulted over the band's follow-up album, Diary of a Mad Band; Jodeci, unhappy with their treatment by Uptown, flirted with the idea of leaving for Dr. Dre's Death Row Records, which resulted in almost zero promotion for their new album.

It didn't matter much, as Diary went platinum. The group's troubles got worse in 1993; DeVante and K-Ci were involved in an incident with a woman K-Ci met at a club and brought back to DeVante's apartment.

The woman filed charges against the two, saying that K-Ci had threatened her and fondled her breast, while DeVante pointed a gun at her. Both pleaded guilty, but that wasn't all; shortly afterwards, DeVante's house was robbed of over 160,000 dollars in jewelry and clothes as the singer was held with guns in his mouth and at the back of his head.

Jodeci's third album, The Show, the After Party, the Hotel, was released in the summer of 1995. DeVante also was afforded the opportunity to work with Al Green, one of his idols, writing and producing the song "Could This Be the Love.

" ~ Steve Huey, RoviJodeci Albums: * 1991: Forever My Lady #18 US (3x platinum) * 1993: Diary of a Mad Band #3 US (2x platinum) * 1995: The Show, The After Party, The Hotel #2 US (platinum) * 2005: Back to The Future: The Very Best of Jodeci (300,000)Jodeci Singles: * 1991: "Gotta Love" * 1991: "Stay" (US #41, R&B #1) * 1991: "Forever My Lady" (US #25, R&B #1) * 1991: "Come and Talk to Me" (US #11, R&B #1) * 1993: "Cry For You" (US #15, R&B #1) * 1993: "Feenin'" (US #25, R&B #2) * 1993: "Lately" (US #4, R&B #1) * 1993: "Let's Go Through the Motions" (US #65) * 1994: "What About Us" (R&B #14) * 1995: "Freek'n You" (US #14, R&B #3) * 1995: "Love U 4 Life" * 1996: "Get on Up" (US #22, R&B #4)Jodeci Side-Projects:(K-Ci & JoJo) * 1997: Love Always * 1999: It's Real * 2000: X * 2002: Emotional * 2005: All My Life "Their Greatest Hits"(Dalvin Degrate) * 2000: Met.

A.Mor.Phic(K-Ci Solo) * 2006: My Book

Jodeci performs r&b, soul music and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, or other music performances. The estimated booking fee range to book Jodeci for your event, Please Contact. Jodeci has more than 286.6K listeners worldwide and really knows how to entertain your audience. Similar artists are  Keith Sweat, Dru Hill, Shai, Johnny Gill, New Edition, Ginuwine, Blackstreet, After 7, Jon B. . Contact AAE Music agency for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Jodeci for an upcoming event.

This website is a resource for event professionals and strives to provide the most comprehensive catalog of popular musicians and bands to consider for performances at corporate events, fundraising galas, or university events. A listing or profile on this website does not imply an agency affiliation or endorsement by the talent.

All American Entertainment (AAE) exclusively represents the interests of talent buyers, and does not claim to be the agency or management for any artist or celebrity on this site. AAE Music is a talent booking agency for paid events only. We do not handle requests for donation of time or media requests for interviews, and cannot provide celebrity contact information.

If you are the talent, and wish to request removal from this catalog or report an issue with your profile, please click here.

The 2022 Speaking Industry Benchmark Report
This is a standard notification.

Report an issue with my profile

Please use this form to report an issue with your artist profile or to request removal from our online catalog.

Leave your message and contact information below. We will send you a confirmation message or reach out if we have questions.

    Please update my profile
    Please delete my profile