Post by Jewlnmbr1 on May 10, 2003 14:12:42 GMT -4
Hey guys, I work for a website that a friend of mine runs called TeensAndTheArts.com and it's pretty much a site about all things music. I told her that I would write an article on Dru Hill and their reunion. She even got me a Dru Hill press kit from Def Soul which I thought was pretty cool - it came with a CD of the "I Love You" single, a bio, and a whole bunch of recent magazine articles from VIBE, JET, Sister 2 Sister, Billboard...and some other things. Anyways, I would like to hear some opinions on it before I submit it. Check it out:
The Dru World Order Has Begun: The Story and Return of Dru Hill
The men of R&B are back! The top-selling R&B supergroup, Dru Hill, has returned to renew their crown as one of the best R&B groups of our time. It has been four years since their last dated material was released, but with their latest album, Dru World Order, Sisqo, Woody, Jazz, Nokio, and new member Scola, are ready for the world to re-embrace them once again.
Dru Hill began as four regular teenage boys working at a local fudgery in the Inner Harbor of Baltimore. They were founded by local talent show agents who watched as the boys would entertain the crowds by singing and dancing while making fudge. With this new album, the once-boys-but-now-men of Dru Hill are ready to bring back that fresh new energy they had when they first came out.
“This is really more of an addition to the evolution than an actual comeback,” Nokio told MTV Networks. “It’s a continuation of the whole Dru Hill movement and culture and everything we started with ‘Tell Me’ in ’96.”
“Tell Me” was Dru Hill’s debut single and was included in the soundtrack of the movie Eddie. The single went platinum and became a Top 20 pop hit and shot to the top of the R&B charts, becoming the first of a string of Dru Hill singles to do so. Their self-titled debut album harbored a plethora of hits such as “Never Make A Promise”, “5 Steps”, and “In My Bed” – Billboard’s #1 single for 1997. The album was certified platinum in just 6 months, making Dru Hill one of the hottest debuts in R&B. It was impossible to resist the amazing four-part harmonies, sensual lyrics, and off-the-corner street edge that these four Baltimore-natives brought.
In 1998, Sisqo, Woody, Jazz, and Nokio released their second album, Enter The Dru, debuting at #2 on the Billboard 200 album chart. The album yielded songs such as the upbeat hit, “How Deep Is Your Love” and the slow jams “These Are The Times”, “Beauty”, and “You Are Everything”. Enter The Dru went on to sell over 2 million copies, putting Dru Hill back at the top of the music industry. Their success seemed endless as they were set to work in the studio with music moguls such as Will Smith and the king of pop himself, Michael Jackson. However, in early 1999, just as the group was ready to embark on their own headline nationwide tour, group member Woody decided to depart from Dru Hill. With a sick mother and a goal of creating a solo gospel album, Woody could not find time to keep up with the hectic schedule that he was obligated to in being apart of the group.
However, the show must go on. The new trio finished their project with Will Smith and their song “Wild Wild West” became a huge smash. They continued on with the tour and even released a remix to “You Are Everything”, featuring Ja Rule and Nokio rapping. Even though it seemed to the world that Dru Hill might be able to continue working as a three-man group, the guys of Dru Hill knew it couldn’t. Sisqo talked Woody back into joining the group once again, but Woody said it would only be that way if he could release a gospel album first. His mother had passed by then, and Woody felt that it was only right of him to do a gospel album in honor of his mother for the strong teachings of God that she instituted in him.
But what were they to do until Woody finished up his solo album? The entire group knew that something different needed to be done because of what the history of past R&B groups was telling them – once the third album came around, the groups began to lose their audience and disappear from the industry. Jazz suggested they all put out solo albums to broaden their audience, and then come back together for a third group album. They all agreed to this new plan, soon dubbed as the “Dru World Order”.
Sisqo was the first to put out a solo album in late 1999, entitled Unleash The Dragon. It included such hits as “Got to Get It”, the title track “Unleash the Dragon”, “Incomplete”, and the international smash “The Thong Song”. The album went to sell more than 6 million copies – more than both Dru Hill albums combined. Solo success soon captivated Sisqo into a new world of pop superstardom – launching TV and movie opportunities galore. Not only that, but the record company was pushing for a second solo album from Sisqo, although it was not in the original plan. The second album, Return of Dragon, had high expectations to live up to. It debuted at #7 on the Billboard 200 album chart, and was certified platinum in four weeks. It seemed like Sisqo was on the road to do it again, but an intimidation message he sent to all the R&B artists was mistaken as an ego-tripping problem. In return, the album began to slip in sales and soon disappeared on the charts.
Not to be forgotten, Woody finished his gospel album and released it in April 2002, appropriately titled Soul Music. Dedicated to his mother, the album was Woody at his best. Nearly every song featured a guest of the gospel music industry as well as mainstream artists. A close friend to Woody and to the guys of Dru Hill, Ruscola, was one of the instrumental people in the creation of the album.
Ruscola was a solo artist that was well known in the Baltimore area when he first came out in 1996 with his debut single “Let’s Get Personal”. Although there was not much national airplay, Ruscola was still respected by artists who knew him for his dedication to his music. When Woody went back to the studio to work on the third album with the rest of the guys of Dru Hill, Ruscola accompanied him. The guys soon decided that it was time to add Ruscola to the group, an idea they had when they first heard his music but was not possible at the time because of contractual issues. Ruscola, now known as Scola, had no objection to their proposal.
After four long years, the patiently waiting Dru Hill fans had their prayers answered. In September 2002, “I Should Be (Steps)” was released to radio stations across the nation as the first single to the new Dru Hill album, Dru World Order. This eagerly anticipated album features production and songwriting contributions from Case, TQ, Bryan Cox of Jagged Edge, Warryn Campbell, Everyday, and of course, Dru Hill themselves. With Nokio responsible for 80 percent of the production credits, this is the album that fans have been waiting for and Dru Hill has always wanted to create. “I really feel that this album is our best effort to date,” Sisqo said. “We all came to the project really focused and with more energy, intensity, and desire and you can definitely hear it.”
For the fan of beautiful harmonies, powerful instrumentals, and the right balance of upbeat songs and ballads, this is truly R&B at its best. The new and improved Dru Hill is ready for all the pressure that comes with a reunion, but the question is, “Can YOU handle the DRU?”
- Julie Oka
#nosmileys
The Dru World Order Has Begun: The Story and Return of Dru Hill
The men of R&B are back! The top-selling R&B supergroup, Dru Hill, has returned to renew their crown as one of the best R&B groups of our time. It has been four years since their last dated material was released, but with their latest album, Dru World Order, Sisqo, Woody, Jazz, Nokio, and new member Scola, are ready for the world to re-embrace them once again.
Dru Hill began as four regular teenage boys working at a local fudgery in the Inner Harbor of Baltimore. They were founded by local talent show agents who watched as the boys would entertain the crowds by singing and dancing while making fudge. With this new album, the once-boys-but-now-men of Dru Hill are ready to bring back that fresh new energy they had when they first came out.
“This is really more of an addition to the evolution than an actual comeback,” Nokio told MTV Networks. “It’s a continuation of the whole Dru Hill movement and culture and everything we started with ‘Tell Me’ in ’96.”
“Tell Me” was Dru Hill’s debut single and was included in the soundtrack of the movie Eddie. The single went platinum and became a Top 20 pop hit and shot to the top of the R&B charts, becoming the first of a string of Dru Hill singles to do so. Their self-titled debut album harbored a plethora of hits such as “Never Make A Promise”, “5 Steps”, and “In My Bed” – Billboard’s #1 single for 1997. The album was certified platinum in just 6 months, making Dru Hill one of the hottest debuts in R&B. It was impossible to resist the amazing four-part harmonies, sensual lyrics, and off-the-corner street edge that these four Baltimore-natives brought.
In 1998, Sisqo, Woody, Jazz, and Nokio released their second album, Enter The Dru, debuting at #2 on the Billboard 200 album chart. The album yielded songs such as the upbeat hit, “How Deep Is Your Love” and the slow jams “These Are The Times”, “Beauty”, and “You Are Everything”. Enter The Dru went on to sell over 2 million copies, putting Dru Hill back at the top of the music industry. Their success seemed endless as they were set to work in the studio with music moguls such as Will Smith and the king of pop himself, Michael Jackson. However, in early 1999, just as the group was ready to embark on their own headline nationwide tour, group member Woody decided to depart from Dru Hill. With a sick mother and a goal of creating a solo gospel album, Woody could not find time to keep up with the hectic schedule that he was obligated to in being apart of the group.
However, the show must go on. The new trio finished their project with Will Smith and their song “Wild Wild West” became a huge smash. They continued on with the tour and even released a remix to “You Are Everything”, featuring Ja Rule and Nokio rapping. Even though it seemed to the world that Dru Hill might be able to continue working as a three-man group, the guys of Dru Hill knew it couldn’t. Sisqo talked Woody back into joining the group once again, but Woody said it would only be that way if he could release a gospel album first. His mother had passed by then, and Woody felt that it was only right of him to do a gospel album in honor of his mother for the strong teachings of God that she instituted in him.
But what were they to do until Woody finished up his solo album? The entire group knew that something different needed to be done because of what the history of past R&B groups was telling them – once the third album came around, the groups began to lose their audience and disappear from the industry. Jazz suggested they all put out solo albums to broaden their audience, and then come back together for a third group album. They all agreed to this new plan, soon dubbed as the “Dru World Order”.
Sisqo was the first to put out a solo album in late 1999, entitled Unleash The Dragon. It included such hits as “Got to Get It”, the title track “Unleash the Dragon”, “Incomplete”, and the international smash “The Thong Song”. The album went to sell more than 6 million copies – more than both Dru Hill albums combined. Solo success soon captivated Sisqo into a new world of pop superstardom – launching TV and movie opportunities galore. Not only that, but the record company was pushing for a second solo album from Sisqo, although it was not in the original plan. The second album, Return of Dragon, had high expectations to live up to. It debuted at #7 on the Billboard 200 album chart, and was certified platinum in four weeks. It seemed like Sisqo was on the road to do it again, but an intimidation message he sent to all the R&B artists was mistaken as an ego-tripping problem. In return, the album began to slip in sales and soon disappeared on the charts.
Not to be forgotten, Woody finished his gospel album and released it in April 2002, appropriately titled Soul Music. Dedicated to his mother, the album was Woody at his best. Nearly every song featured a guest of the gospel music industry as well as mainstream artists. A close friend to Woody and to the guys of Dru Hill, Ruscola, was one of the instrumental people in the creation of the album.
Ruscola was a solo artist that was well known in the Baltimore area when he first came out in 1996 with his debut single “Let’s Get Personal”. Although there was not much national airplay, Ruscola was still respected by artists who knew him for his dedication to his music. When Woody went back to the studio to work on the third album with the rest of the guys of Dru Hill, Ruscola accompanied him. The guys soon decided that it was time to add Ruscola to the group, an idea they had when they first heard his music but was not possible at the time because of contractual issues. Ruscola, now known as Scola, had no objection to their proposal.
After four long years, the patiently waiting Dru Hill fans had their prayers answered. In September 2002, “I Should Be (Steps)” was released to radio stations across the nation as the first single to the new Dru Hill album, Dru World Order. This eagerly anticipated album features production and songwriting contributions from Case, TQ, Bryan Cox of Jagged Edge, Warryn Campbell, Everyday, and of course, Dru Hill themselves. With Nokio responsible for 80 percent of the production credits, this is the album that fans have been waiting for and Dru Hill has always wanted to create. “I really feel that this album is our best effort to date,” Sisqo said. “We all came to the project really focused and with more energy, intensity, and desire and you can definitely hear it.”
For the fan of beautiful harmonies, powerful instrumentals, and the right balance of upbeat songs and ballads, this is truly R&B at its best. The new and improved Dru Hill is ready for all the pressure that comes with a reunion, but the question is, “Can YOU handle the DRU?”
- Julie Oka
#nosmileys
. What kind of things didn't you know about?
