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 Monroe, North Carolina, they are also the lead singers of the chart-topping R&B g ...

and

Jodeci Jodeci ( ) is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B quartet consisting of members DeVanté Swing, Dalvin DeGrate, Mr. Dalvin, K-Ci (singer), K-Ci, and K-Ci and JoJo, JoJo. Formed in 1989 in Charlotte, North Carolina, Jodeci's members began their mu ...

. 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 cover of Bobby Womack's "If You Think You're Lonely Now" in 1994.

Early life

Hailey was born in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

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

Baltimore, MD Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

where they performed gospel music. The family would later return to Charlotte when Cedric was a teen. He would eventually go on to attend

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

Music 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, rapper and songwriter. He is the older brother of fellow Jodeci member Dalvin DeGrate. Career In his ea ...

" DeGrate and

Dalvin DeGrate Dalvin Ertimus DeGrate (born July 23, 1971, in Hampton, Virginia) is an American R&B and soul musician, singer and rapper, best known for his days as Mr. Dalvin, one-quarter of the R&B group Jodeci. Career The rapper for the group, DeGrate ra ...

, 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, his cover of

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

'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 ...

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

Jason's Lyric ''Jason's Lyric'' is a 1994 American erotic romantic psychological drama film, written by Bobby Smith Jr., directed by Doug McHenry, who co-produced the film with George Jackson and Marilla Lane Ross, and starring Allen Payne, Jada Pinkett, B ...

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

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' 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), radio play, and online streaming ...

Personal life

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

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

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 R&B singer and actress. She rose to fame as the winner of the third season of the reality television series ''American Idol'' in ...

Dave Hollister David Le Chaine Hollister (born August 17, 1968) is an American R&B singer who found fame during the 1990s as one quarter of the R&B quartet Blackstreet, before going on to have a solo career. Hollister is best known for his 2000 gold-certifie ...

Calvin Richardson Calvin Richardson (born December 16, 1976) is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter. In 1999, he released his debut solo album ''Country Boy''. Career In the mid 1990s, Richardson went solo and signed with Universal Records. His debut al ...

, and

Stephanie Mills Stephanie Dorthea Mills (born March 22, 1957) is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to stardom as "Dorothy" in the original seven-time Tony Award winning Broadway run of the musical ''The Wiz'' from 1974 to 1979. The song " Home" from t ...

. He is married to the Cassandra Hailey.

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 along ...

'' (1991) *'' Diary of a Mad Band'' (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.Jo ...

'' (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'' (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 African-American Christians Musicians from North Carolina Songwriters from North Carolina African-American songwriters 21st-century African-American people American male songwriters