This is the 1st track on Hot Tracks series 13 issue 1
Original composition: Sheree Brown / Charles Mims, Jr. / Kay Gee / Renee Neufville / Patrice Rushen
© 1994 Hot Tracks
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Given a high-profile spot on the all-star compilation Roll Wit tha Flava as their first recording opportunity, Zhané lived up to the pressure and came away with one of the R&B party anthems of the '90s, "Hey, Mr. DJ." Jean Norris and Renee Neufville met while both were studying music at Philadelphia's Temple University (Norris is originally from Rhode Island, Neufville from Brooklyn). After meeting Naughty by Nature's Kay Gee (Kier Gist), Zhané impressed the producer enough to go right into the studio to record for Roll Wit tha Flava. When "Hey, Mr. DJ" was released as a single, it hit number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned the group a contract with Motown in 1994.
Their debut album released in 1993, Pronounced Jah-Nay yielded hit single after hit single for the better part of a year. Melding classic soul with honey-sweet vocals, hip-hop beats, jazz, disco, and pop, the duo stood out from the onslaught of manufactured R&B acts that dominated the airwaves and pop charts in the early to mid- '90s. The duo scored a Top 20 pop hit with its follow-up single, "Groove Thang," which, although still smooth and infectious, sounds like "Hey Mr. DJ" part two. Other singles included the glorious, elegant, and sleek "Sending My Love," which also managed to crack the pop Top 40, the funky R&B hit "Vibe," and the ballad "You're Sorry Now." The duo seems to shine brightest when tackling jazz ballads, such as the Sade-ish "La, La, La" and "Off My Mind," two songs that were never hits but easily rank as the album's overlooked treasures. The album went gold by the end of the year. Zhané kept busy during 1995-1996 with spots on tracks by Busta Rhymes and De La Soul as well as new songs of their own on the NFL Jams and NBA 50th Anniversary compilations and the soundtracks to Higher Learning and A Low Down Dirty Shame -- the latter, "Shame," became their fourth Top 40 hit.
In April 1997, Norris and Neufville returned with Saturday Night, an infectious set of percolating funk, club beats, and new jack harmonies co-produced by Kay Gee, DJ Eddie F. (Edward Ferrell), and themselves. It peaked just outside the Top 40. Two years later, the duo split.
Norris worked as a solo artist and with the group Free Day (alongside husband Marcus Baylor), and she also collaborated with Elisabeth Withers, Eric Roberson, and SWV. Neufville joined Roy Hargrove's RH Factor and recorded with the likes of Leela James, Terrence Howard, and Pete Rock. - Zhané Biography by John Bush (Allmusic)
