Zhané ( ) was an American R&B duo, best known for their 1993 hit " Hey Mr. D.J.", which reached No. 6 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Other popular hits include "

Groove Thang "Groove Thang" is a song by American R&B group Zhané from their debut album, '' Pronounced Jah-Nay'' (1994). Released in January 1994, it was produced by and features a rap verse from Naughty by Nature. The song is based on a sample of " Have ...

" (U.S. No. 17) and minor hit " Sending My Love", both released in 1994. The group was part of

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album ''All Hail the Que ...

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collective.

Biography

Beginnings

Renée Neufville and Jean Norris initially met in the early 1990s, while both were attending

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

; they would sing together at talent shows and other events. In her youth, Norris' father, Dennis, was a pastor at the Second Baptist Church in

Moorestown, New Jersey Moorestown is a Township (New Jersey), township in Burlington County, New Jersey, Burlington County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is an eastern suburb of Philadelphia and geographically part of the South Jersey region of the state. As of ...

, and Norris herself was a member of the choir. Although they were not yet a group, Neufville and Norris collaborated on each other's songs. In 1991, the pair met

DJ Jazzy Jeff Jeffrey Allen Townes (born January 22, 1965), known professionally as DJ Jazzy Jeff (or simply Jazz), is an American disc jockey (DJ) and music producer. He was a member of DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince with Will Smith. He is credited, alon ...

and did their first professional recording together, "Ring My Bell", which was on the same album that featured

DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince were an American hip hop duo from West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, consisting of rapper Will Smith (the Fresh Prince) and disc jockey Jeff Townes (DJ Jazzy Jeff). Active full time from 1986 to 1994 and occasion ...

's popular hit "Summertime". Former

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

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." The twist they gave their name is similar to naming patterns that have been used all around the world, especially in Black communities.

Breakthrough & ''Pronounced Jah-Nay''

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 Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

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 Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver ...

and

De La Soul De La Soul () is an American hip hop trio formed in 1988 in the Amityville area of Long Island, New York. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative ...

as well as new songs of their own on the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

Jams and

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

50th Anniversary compilations and the soundtracks to ''

Higher Learning ''Higher Learning'' is a 1995 American drama, drama film written and directed by John Singleton and starring an ensemble cast. The film follows the changing lives of three incoming freshmen at the fictional Columbus University: Malik Williams (Om ...

'' and ''

A Low Down Dirty Shame ''A Low Down Dirty Shame'' is a 1994 American action comedy film written, directed by, and starring Keenen Ivory Wayans. The film also stars Charles S. Dutton, Jada Pinkett, and Salli Richardson. Plot Former LAPD detective Andre Shame is a priva ...

'' — the latter, "Shame," became their fourth Top 40 hit.

''Saturday Night''

Norris and Neufville released the follow-up album ''Saturday Night'' in 1997, co-produced by Kay Gee, Eddie F., and themselves. The release featured the hit single "Request Line." A remix with different lyrics and raps by

followed. It peaked just outside the Top 40.

Group dissolution and solo projects

Since the group's dissolution, Jean Norris married musician Marcus Baylor, perhaps best known as the drummer in jazz fusion ensemble, the

Yellowjackets A yellowjacket is a black-and-yellow vespid wasp. Yellowjacket(s) or Yellow Jacket(s) may also refer to: Places * Yellow Jacket, Colorado, an unincorporated town * Yellow Jacket, Florida, an unincorporated area in Dixie County, Florida Arts, e ...

from 2000 to 2010. Jean Baylor released the solo album ''Testimony: My Life'' in 2007 and a contemporary Christmas album entitled ''Light Up the World'' in November 2011. She later formed an R&B/jazz duo with her husband named

The Baylor Project The Baylor Project is an American jazz duo from New York City. Its members are husband and wife Marcus and Jean Baylor. Marcus Baylor is from St. Louis, Missouri and was previously the drummer for The Yellowjackets. Jean Baylor was previously a me ...

and they released their debut album ''The Baylor Project (The Journey)'' in February 2017. In November 2017, the duo received two

60th Grammy Awards The 60th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 28, 2018. The CBS network broadcast the show live from Madison Square Garden in New York City. The show was moved to January to avoid coinciding with the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongch ...

-nominations under Best Jazz Vocal Album and Best Traditional R&B Performance. Neufville hosted an early live internet series called ''88 Soul'' where guests included well-known R&B/Neo-Soul artists such as Jill Scott, Carl Thomas, Kelis, and Joe. She later contributed to albums and videos by the likes of India.Arie, Will Downing, Heather Headley, Leela James and Aaliyah amongst others. She became involved in

Roy Hargrove Roy Anthony Hargrove (October 16, 1969 – November 2, 2018) was an American jazz musician and composer whose principal instruments were the trumpet and flugelhorn. He achieved worldwide acclaim after winning two Grammy Awards for differing styles ...

's RH Factor project and figured prominently on the 2006 release ''Distractions'' playing keyboards and contributing lead vocals.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

; Note Did not chart on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart (''Billboard'' rules at the time prevented album cuts from charting). Chart peak listed represents the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (previously known as Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay) is a chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the top R&B and hip hop songs in the United States, based on audience impressions from a panel of radio stations monitored ...

chart.

Featured singles

References

External links

Renee Neufville's MySpace page

Jean Baylor's MySpace page
(formerly Jean Norris)
Jean Baylor Official Site
* T-Mad's Music Interviews Jean Baylo
Link 1Link 2
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhane American musical duos African-American musical groups American contemporary R&B musical groups American girl groups Contemporary R&B duos Motown artists Female musical duos