Zhané ( ) was an American R&B duo of Renée Neufville and Jean Norris-Baylor, 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" (U.S. No. 17) and minor hit "Sending My Love", both released in 1994. The group was part of Queen Latifah's Flavor Unit collective.
Biography
Beginnings According to Jean Norris, "We added a 'Z' for a little flavor and we came up with Zhané." Prior to their breakthrough, Norris and Neufville made their recording debut as background vocalists on "Ring My Bell" - the second single from the 1991 DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince album, Homebase.
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 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 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. After the success of their debut album Pronounced Jah-Nay, the duo appeared with TLC, SWV, Jade, En Vogue and others on the single "Freedom (Theme from Panther)" from the soundtrack to the 1995 Mario Van Peebles film Panther.
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 Queen Latifah 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 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 and they released their debut album The Baylor Project (The Journey) in February 2017. In November 2017, the duo received two 60th Grammy Awards-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's RH Factor project and figured prominently on the 2006 release Distractions playing keyboards and contributing lead vocals.
Discography Studio albums Year Album details Peak chart positions Certifications(sales thresholds) US USR&B AUSAustralian (ARIA) chart peaks: Top 50 peaks: Top 100 peaks to December 2010: "Sending My Love", "Vibe" and "Shame": CAN FRA UK 1994 Pronounced Jah-Nay Released: February 15, 1994 Label: Motown Formats: CD, cassette 37 8 50 44 — 89 RIAA: Platinum 1997 Saturday Night Released: April 22, 1997 Label: Motown Formats: CD, cassette 41 8 — 90 26 52 "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Singles Year Title Peak chart positions Certifications Album US Hot 100Billboard Hot 100 peaks: All except specified: "Freedom (Theme from Panther)": USR&BBillboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs peaks: All except specified: "Freedom (Theme from Panther): USDance AUS AUT CAN FRA GER NZ SWI UK 1993 "Hey Mr. D.J." 6 3 2 9 27 2 32 29 20 42 26 RIAA: Gold ARIA: Gold RMNZ: Gold Roll wit tha Flava / Pronounced Jah-Nay 1994 "Groove Thang" 17 2 13 17 — 3 42 99 7 — 34Pronounced Jah-Nay "Sending My Love" 40 5 — 126 — — — — — — — "Vibe" 119 33 — 142 — — — — — — 67 "Shame" 28 12 46 133 — 79 — — 50 — 66 A Low Down Dirty Shame (soundtrack) "You're Sorry Now" — 38 — — — — — — — — — Pronounced Jah-Nay 1997 "Request Line" 39 9 — — — — — — 12 — 22 Saturday Night "Saturday Night" — 69 — — — — — — — — — "Crush" 106 24 — — — — — — — — 44 "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. Note Did not chart on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart (Billboard rules at the time prevented album cuts from charting). Chart peak listed represents the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart.
Featured singles Year Title Artist Peak chart positions Album US USR&B AUS NZ UK1995"By Your Side"Various ArtistsHigher Learning (soundtrack) "Freedom (Theme from Panther)" 45 18 — — — Panther (soundtrack) 1996 "It's a Party" Busta Rhymes 52 27 — 34 23 The Coming "When the Cheering Stops"AZ, Ray Buchanan, Scott GalbraithNFL Jams 1997 "4 More" De La Soul — — — — 52 Stakes Is High 1998"Things Won't Change"Alias LJAlias LJ 1999 "Jamboree" Naughty by Nature 10 4 74 22 51 Nineteen Naughty Nine: Nature's Fury "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
References
External links
Renee Neufville's Myspace Jean Baylor's Myspace (formerly Jean Norris) Jean Baylor official site T-Mad's Music Interviews Jean Baylor Link 1 Link 2