Old School Saturdays--Zhané and Renee Neufville

photo courtesy of sistafactory.com

It’s Old School Saturday once again, welcome! If you’re in or near my area (DC metro area), I hope you find some time to enjoy this great weather, as we have had such drabby, rainy weather lately.

This week, singer Jean Taylor was the focus of Musical Mondays. She is one half of the 90s group Zhané; the other half goes by the name Renee Neufville (keyboardist/vocalist). Since the singers parted ways, Renee has been touring with the Roy Hargrove, the Grammy award-winning jazz legend and his funky ensemble, RH Factor; they’ve traveled all over the world. She has partnered with the ensemble, blessing three critically acclaimed albums with her soulfully timeless voice. Check out a couple of videos of Renee performing with Roy Hargrove and RH Factor and her Myspace page.

Renee Neufville Myspace Page

Video #1-Crazy Race
Video #2-How I Know
Video #3-Forget Regret

Now, a little more about Zhané.

The duo Jean Baylor and Renee Neufville met while studying music at “Philly’s” Temple University. Neufville is originally from Jamaica and Baylor, from Rhode Island. In 1994, after wooing Kay Gee, the producer and member of the rap group Naughty by Nature, Renee and Jean landed a contract with Motown. All of you who are familiar with this 90s R&B/hip-hop soul group, you know that they had one of the hottest party anthems of all time, “Hey Mr. DJ.” This song, which landed the #6 slot on the pop charts, was released as a separate single, which led to the Motown contract. Pronounced Jah-Nay, their debut album, went Gold, producing two Top 40 hits, “Groove Thang” and “Sending My Love;” 2 years later, the album hit Platinum status. Throughout the late 90s, Zhané recorded songs for soundtracks, collaborated with other artists, and released a sophomore album, Saturday Night.

Although Zhané didn’t stick around very long, they achieved well in their endeavors, receiving many awards and nominations, as well as producing chart-topping hits. In my opinion, the group was way ahead of their time. If “neo-soul” were a term used “back in the day” to describe artists, Zhané would have been one of the groups classified just as that; pioneers of the genre. They had such a smooth, laid-back but vibrant sound that was very different from the R&B that was out around that time.

Zhané still remains, in my book, one of thee best “girl groups” that ever did it! And, as far as their debut album is concerned, I still play it from time to time, as well as blast my car radio if one of their songs comes on. Check out the playlist I’ve put together for your listening enjoyment.

Zhane