Sisqo's album Unleash the Dragon made the biggest impression via the smash novelty single "Thong Song."
#NOKIO FROM DRU HILL HOW TO#
Jazz took the lead on the third single, "Never Make a Promise", which became a second #1 R&B hit.īetween their first and second albums, Dru Hill contributed "We're Not Making Love No More," a #2 R&B hit, to the Soul Food soundtrack and "Big Bad Mama," a remake of Carl Carlton's 1981 hit "She's a Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked)," to the 1998 Bill Bellamy film Def Jam's How to Be a Player.ĭru Hill's second album, Enter the Dru, another platinum smash that featured the Top 5 pop hit "How Deep is Your Love," a hip hop styled track which was included on the soundtrack to the Chris Tucker film Rush Hour.īetween November 1999 and November 2000, each member released a solo album: Sisqo a pop album, Jazz a traditional R&B/soul album, Nokio a hip hop album, and Woody a gospel album. The Sisqo-led "In My Bed" was the group's first Top 5 pop hit and first #1 R&B hit. Dru Hill received a lot of criticism, especially from the members of Jodeci, for what was perceived was a direct appropriation of Jodeci's style, particularly in frontman Sisqo's K-Ci Hailey-esque lead vocals. All four members took turns singing lead, with Sisqo making the biggest impression on audiences with his dancing style, David Ruffin-styled emoting, and bleached-blond hair. Stylistically, Dru Hill was the middle-ground between the smooth, gentlemen-like Boyz II Men and the self-proclaimed "bad boys of R&B," Jodeci. The first single, "Tell Me", was featured on the soundtrack to the Whoopi Goldberg film Eddie, and was a Top 5 R&B hit in the United States. The self-titled Dru Hill album was released in 1996, and became a gold-selling album. The group was signed to Island Records' "Island Black" division shortly afterward through a production deal with Islam's University Music, and immediately began recording their debut album.
The group was named "Dru Hill" after Druid Hill Park, a popular park on the West side of Baltimore. Most of their early repertoire was made up of gospel music the group eventually switched to the more commercially viable genre of R&B.ĭru Hill's big break came in 1996, when manager Haqq Islam arranged for them to perform at the Impact Convention in May.
The trio added Larry "Jazz" Anthony, an opera student, to complete their lineup.
Ruffin, nicknamed "Nokio" (an acronym for "Nasty on Key in Octave") enlisted Andrews and Green (whose respective nicknames of "Sisqo" and "Woody" came from their childhood) to form a singing group. Mark Andrews and James Green met each other in middle school, and both later became acquaintances of Tamir Ruffin when all three began pursuing careers in the music industry. Dru Hill was fone of the most popular vocal groups of the 90s, a group that bridged old school and new school, but which never reached its huge commercial possibilities due to internal and external strife.įounded in Baltimore, Maryland, Dru Hill consisted of Tamir "Nokio" Ruffin, Mark "Sisqo" Andrews, Larry "Jazz" Anthony, and James "Woody Rock" Green.
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