Tyrese, Jaheim, Dru Hill, et Ginuwine

Giving actors making forays into pop music a good name the world over, Tyrese Gibson got into show-business at the tender age of 16. He only decided that he wanted to be a singer two years earlier and after being discovered singing while on the bus, he was ushered into the spotlight by appearing in a major advert for Coca-Colla. By the mid-90’s he’d appeared in a number of modelling shoots by the likes of Guess? and Tommy Hilfiger and by 1998 he’d managed to secure a record contract with RCA Records. His first single “Nobody Else”, was a mild hit, squeaking into the top forty of the Billboard Hot 100 at number 36, but his first album would make him a true star.

His self-titled debut was released in September 1998, it debuted on the charts at number 17 and at around the same time, Tyrese became a VJ on the weekday TV Show MTV Jams. The slot on the show catapulted him to an even higher degree of popularity, meaning that his third single “Sweet Lady” reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, stayed on the chart for 25 weeks and netted him a Grammy award nomination for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance mere months after his twentieth birthday. His follow up album “2000 Watts” was also highly succesful, selling over 500’000 copies and being certified Gold with aplomb.

As Tyrese’s acting career grew, his music career may have slowed down but it still produced the hits, with his 2002 single “How You Gonna Act Like That” being a legitimate smash hit that peaked at number seven on the Hot 100. Ever since then, Gibson has been massively succesful at everything he’s tried his hand at. He produces hit albums and singles in his music career to this day. He headlines the Fast and Furious franchise on the silver screen. He is even a New York Times best-selling author twice over with his books “How To Get Your Own Way” and “Manology: Secret’s Of Your Man’s Mind Revealed”. It would be nauseating if he wasn’t so good at what he does, and the best way of seeing his talent is by catching him live as soon as possible. Highly recommended.

It started for Jaheim at a young age, with the influence of his grandfather who had previously sang in The Drifters. He grew up with music all around him, and would take part in talent shows, he won the Apollo Theater’s talent show at the age of fifteen, three times.

He got his break when he recorded a demo tape that found its way into an A&R at Divine Mill Records, which is a division of Warner Bros. Records. He received great reactions from his debut singles, “Could It Be” and “Just in Case”. The former shot right up to number two in the US R&B Charts, and 26 in the Billboard Top 100. Following these singles came the release of an album entitled “Ghetto Love”, released on March 13th 2001. It peaked at #9 on the Billboard 200. His sophomore album “Still Ghetto” followed suit, peaking at #8 on the Billboard 200 chart. Jaheim featured on the song by Nelly, “My Place” which was released on July 16th 2004. His third album however, “Ghetto Classics” released on February 14th 2006, shot right up to the number one spot of the Billboard 200 Chart.

His fourth studio album, “The Makings of a Man”, released on December 18th 2007 saw Jaheim move to Atlantic records, with his album debuting at #11 on the Billboard 200, with upwards of 176,000 copies being sold in the first week. The album “Another Round” followed suit, but reached #3 on the Billboard 200 Chart. “Appreciation Day” released September 3rd 2013, Jaheim’s sixth studio album, reached #6 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Friends since middle school, Tamir Ruffin (aka Nokio) recruited Mark Andres (aka Sisqo) and James Green (aka Big Woody Rock) to join him in a singing group, and they began performing around the Baltimore area; and after a while, Larry Anthony (aka Jazz) joined the group. The group originally would perform gospel music, but made the switch to R&B and in 1996 they caught their big break when they were signed to Island Record’s “Island Black” division.

Immediately after signing the record deal, they started working on their first album. The eponymous album, released in 1996, eventually reached certified gold, and the single “Tell Me” was featured on the soundtrack for the movie “Eddie.” In 1997 the group entered some legal drama, filing a suit to leave their contract with Island Records when their manager was hit on the head by an Island employee, and by the end both sides came to a settlement with Dru Hill still remaining on their contract.

In 1998 the group released their sophomore album, “Enter the Dru” and contained within it was the single “How Deep Is Your Love,” a song that was featured on the soundtrack to the film “Rush Hour.” By the end of the following year, “Enter the Dru” had sold over two million copies; however during their shoot for the music video for Will Smith’s “Wild Wild West,” Woody quit the group to return to his gospel roots, who would eventually be replaced by Def Jam artist, Case.

While working on their next album, “Dru World Order,” Sisqo was simultaneously working on his solo project, and released his debut album, “Unleash The Dragon” in 2000. While his solo album resulted in three fairly successful singles, it also resulted in “Dru World Order” being pushed back and due to conflict between members resulted in the group breaking apart. Luckily, by the end of 2001 the group started to reassemble and “Dru World Order” was finally completed and released in November 2002.

R&B artist, Ginuwine became friends with many musicians who were highly regarded in the rap and R&B industry, who subsequently led him on the path to success. These people included the likes of Missy Elliot and Timbaland, these turned out to become his principal collaborators throughout the 1990s.

Timbaland and Ginuwine worked well together and this was made evident through Ginuwine's first single, titled "Pony". It showcased his charming and smooth vocals together with Timbaland's original production flair. Interestingly, "Pony" proved to be a hit and was used in the film, 2007’s Wild Hogs, and also used in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV in 2008.

However, after the success of Ginuwine’s second album, the duo grew apart. Much to the enjoyment of producers R. Kelly, who helped Ginuwine from then, producing hit after hit.

Ginuwine has achieved great success, this was proved in 2001 when he had a number-four hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with the single "Differences", which also peaked at number-one on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. Just a year later however, the musician’s parents both passed away. This encouraged him to write and produce more sombre songs from the heart, such as , “Two Reasons I Cry".