Dru Hill

Dru Hill biography

Dru Hill is an American singing group, most popular during the late 1990s, whose repertoire included R&B, soul, and gospel music. Founded in Baltimore, Maryland, and active since 1992, Dru Hill recorded seven Top 40 hits, and is best known for the R&B #1 hits "In My Bed", "Never Make a Promise", and "How Deep Is Your Love". Tamir "Nokio" Ruffin was the group's founder; his bandmates included main lead singer Mark "Sisqó" Andrews, Larry "Jazz" Anthony, and James "Woody Rock" Green. Signing to Island Records through Haqq Islam's University Records imprint, the group released two successful albums, Dru Hill and Enter the Dru, before separating for a period from late 1999 to 2002, during which time Sisqó and Woody released solo albums. While Woody's Soul Music LP was a moderate success in the gospel music industry, Sisqó's debut album, Unleash the Dragon, and its hit single, "Thong Song", were major pop successes, and established Sisqó as a household name outside of Dru Hill. His second album, Return of Dragon, wasn't much of a success. He is currently working on his third album, Last Dragon. In 2002, by then part of the Def Soul record label, the group reunited and added fifth member Rufus "Scola" Waller to the lineup for their third album, Dru World Order. The album was a huge disappointment which forced the group to be released from Def Jam and go on a second hiatus. In 2010, the group signed to Kedar Entertainment Group and released their fourth album, InDRUpendence Day, with new member Tao, after Woody left for the second time.

History

Formation

All four original members of Dru Hill were natives of Baltimore, Maryland. 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. Ruffin, nicknamed "Nokio" (an acronym for "Nasty on Key in Octave") enlisted Andrews and Green (whose respective nicknames of "Sisqó" and "Big Woody Rock" came from their childhood) to form a singing group. The trio added Larry "Jazz" Anthony, an opera student, to complete their lineup. The group was named after Druid Hill Park, a popular park on the West side of Baltimore, the name of which is pronounced "Dru Hill" in the local accent. A dragon is used as a logo for the group.

The quartet made a name for itself by getting jobs at a local fudge factory, "The Fudgery," at the Inner Harbor, where they sang and performed to entertain guests while making fudge (this tradition is still a part of "The Fudgery"). Most of their early repertoire was made up of gospel music as well as an early song by the group, "Please Remove Yo' Shoes"; the group eventually switched to the more commercially viable genre of R&B.

Big break and Dru Hill

Dru Hill's big break came in 1996, when manager Haqq Islam arranged for them to perform at the Impact Convention in May. The group was signed to Island Records's "Island Black" division shortly afterward through a production deal with Islam's University Music, and immediately began recording their debut album. The self-titled Dru Hill was released on November 19, 1996, and eventually was certified gold. The group's 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.

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