Zhané
| Zhané | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Philadelphia, PA, United States |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1993–1999 |
| Labels |
Flavor Unit/Epic Motown |
| Associated acts | Queen Latifah, De La Soul |
| Past members | Renee Neufville Jean Norris-Baylor |
Zhané (pronounced Jah-Nay) was an American R&B/hip hop soul duo, best known for their 1993 hit "Hey Mr. D.J.", which reached No. 6 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Other popular hits include "Groove Thang" (U.S. No. 17) and minor hit "Sending My Love," both released in 1994. The group was part of Queen Latifah's Flavor Unit collective.
Renee Neufville 2009
Jean Baylor 2015
In the early 1990s, Renée Neufville and Jean Norris initially met while both were attending Philadelphia's Temple University and used to sing together at talent shows and other events. Although not a group, they collaborated on each other’s songs. In 1991, the pair met DJ Jazzy Jeff and their first professional recording together was "Ring My Bell" on the same album that featured DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince’s “Summertime”. Former Warner Bros. executive Benny Medina suggested they become a group. For the name, Neufville had the idea of using the French pronunciation of their first names Jean and Renée, which sounded like “Jahnay”. According to Norris "we added a 'Z' for a little flavor and we came up with Zhané."
Given a high-profile spot on the all-star compilation Roll Wit Tha Flava as their first recording opportunity, Zhané came away with one of the hip-hop party anthems of all time, "Hey, Mr. D.J." After meeting Naughty by Nature member Kay Gee, Zhané (then credited as Jhané) impressed the producer enough to go right into the studio to record for Roll Wit tha Flava. When "Hey, Mr. D.J." was released as a separate single as well, it hit number six on the pop charts and earned the group a contract with Motown in 1994. Their debut album, Pronounced Jah-Nay, produced two further Top 40 hits ("Groove Thang," "Sending My Love") and went gold by the end of the year; it achieved platinum status two years later. Zhané kept busy during 1995-1996 with spots on tracks by Busta Rhymes and De La Soul as well as new songs of their own on the NFL Jams and NBA 50th Anniversary compilations and the soundtracks to Higher Learning and A Low Down Dirty Shame — the latter, "Shame," became their fourth Top 40 hit.
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