Jodeci

I think it should have been.

We watched Varnell Hill on his show with Jodeci and all of that.

I think that should be the show.

It's Tommy Davidson as Varnell Hill, but it's a real show.

We will forgive that.

We will be like, we're watching Varnell Hill.

Jodeci could have been the first episode.

Jodeci could

How would you feel?

I'd be like Jodeci.

I'd be in some leather in the desert begging.

Begging.

So when we came, Damage in the early 90s, we were alongside the people like Take That and the Boyzones from a British perspective.

From an American perspective, it would be Jodeci, Boyz II Men, Shy.

And most of these guys were called boy bands.

So I think we just naturally inherited that title as well as us being boys at the time.

So our roots musically were in R&B, soul, lover's rock, reggae, soca, blues.

And all of that shaped the early kind of beginnings of Damage, as well as huge artists like Boyz II Men.

You've got, I think, the first Boyz II Men album, Cooley High Harmony, and the first that, you know, kind of... few years of the 90s, bands like Jodeci, as I said, Shai, these were huge American bands.

And the tendency would have been to start using American twang or using American words or dress in an Americanized way.

Yeah.

You know? I like a, I like, you know, I'm a Jodeci fan, you know? I want you on your knees.

Oh, I miss that 1994-ass R&B.

I want you to scream it for me.

Yes.

Remember the episode when Jodeci was on? No.

Vaguely.

You don't remember? In, in Varnell Hill, Tommy Davidson played a late night talk show host called Varnell Hill.

What made Playa so special was that even before their debut album, they were already at the center of the new sound of R&B and hip-hop.

They had a stamp of approval from one of the members of Jodeci.

They found their footing immediately as producers and songwriters of Jodeci's third album, and they also collaborated with some of the biggest stars, or at least growing stars at the time, in hip-hop.

The group's respective debut, which showcased outstanding songwriting, revolutionary production, and also hailed two very strong lead singles, it didn't really land well for the era, despite aging into the cult classic among huge R&B and hip-hop fans.

Their lead single, Cheers to You, showcased the transition in R&B from the stacked vocals of the group members to its almost new age kinda Afro futuristic electronic sound, and it also became a heavy fan favorite at the time

So by high school when Smokey and Black were taking music more seriously, they recruited Statik through a friend of theirs, and soon they were known as a trio called A Touch of Class.

Since Smokey and Black had already kind of been a duo and performing, like, locally through Louisville, they already had some decent connections in the music scene.

That included Dalvin DeGrate from Jodeci, and he heard the two of them singing once before when they were performing locally.

I- Who I would like to see, and we talk about like songs, I wanna see Dru Hill put a album out.

I wanna see Jodeci put a album out.

I wanna see Ginuwine put an album out.

And I'm talking about like, like old.