Lo-Key? is an American hip hop/ R&B band that formed in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

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Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. Their single, "I Got a Thang 4 Ya!" (1993), reached No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot R&B Singles chart, and No. 27 on the

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 ...

History

Lo-Key? formed in

and

, consisting of singer/trumpeter Darron "D" Story, singer/multi-instrumentalist Andre "Dre" Shepard, bassist Tyrone "T-Bone" Yarbrough, producer/keyboardist Lance Alexander and rapper/singer Tony "Prof-T" Tolbert. The group honed their skills around the Minneapolis club circuit, where Alexander and Tolbert became in-house

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Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III (born June 6, 1959) and Terry Steven Lewis (born November 24, 1956) are an American R&B/ pop songwriting and record production team. They have enjoyed great success since the 1980s with various artists, most ...

' Flyte Tyme Productions. The group signed to Jam & Lewis' record label,

Perspective Records Perspective Records is an American record label, launched in 1991 by the producing team Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, through a joint venture with A&M Records—which Jam & Lewis had had a prosperous working relationship with throughout the 1980s, wit ...

, and released their debut album, ''Where Dey At?'', on October 6, 1992. They had a hit with the single "I Got A Thang 4 Ya!" in 1992, which spent a week at No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot R&B Singles chart, and reached No. 27 on the

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director of photography The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

for the independent film ''

Daughters of the Dust ''Daughters of the Dust'' is a 1991 independent film written, directed and produced by Julie Dash and is the first feature film directed by an African-American woman distributed theatrically in the United States.Michel, Martin (November 20, 2016)" ...

'' (1991), directed the video for the single.McAdams, Janine (October 17, 1992). "Lo-Key? Well, Not really... Hi-Energy Quintet's Time Has Come". ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

''. Alexander and Tolbert also were hitmaking songwriters and producers in their own right. Among the hit songs they've produced for other artists were "

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Love Makes No Sense ''Love Makes No Sense'' is the fifth studio album by American recording artist Alexander O'Neal. The album was O'Neal's final release for Tabu, and his first album made without formal production from Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Sales of the albu ...

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Alexander O'Neal Alexander O'Neal (born November 15, 1953) is an American R&B singer, songwriter and arranger from Natchez, Mississippi. O'Neal came to prominence in the mid-1980s as a solo artist, with eleven Top 40 singles on the US R&B chart, three of whic ...

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Shanice Shanice Lorraine Wilson-Knox (née Wilson; born May 14, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and dancer. Shanice had the ''Billboard'' hit singles "I Love Your Smile" and "Silent Prayer" in 1991 and "Saving Forever for You" in 1993. ...

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. Tolbert continued to work with Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, appearing as a songwriter and background vocalist on albums by

Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, big band, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million re ...

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

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. Lance Alexander later went on to form his own label called Baby Honey Records during which time he teamed up with Minneapolis producer Christopher Starr and formed the group V.IP. which released the single entitled Lil Mama How Ya Do Dat featuring Juvenile.

Discography

Albums

*''Where Dey At?'' (

, 1992) No. 121 ''Billboard'' 200, No. 18 US R&B Chart

Allmusic.com *''Back 2 Da House'' (Perspective Records, 1994) No. 64 US R&B Chart

Singles

*"Kansas City" (1992) *"I Got a Thang 4 Ya!" (No. 27 ''Billboard'' Hot 100, No. 1 US R&B Singles, 1992)

Billboard Singles A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large out-of-home advertising, outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboard ...

Allmusic.com *"Hey There Pretty Lady" (No. 56 US R&B Singles, 1993) *"Sweet on U" (No. 91 Billboard Hot 100, No. 13 US R&B Singles, 1993)

Avoid

* ShadowLand Shop Unreliable, unsafe source

References