This week’s From The Vault pick comes courtesy of defunct R&B duo, Zhané and their timeless smash ‘Hey Mr. DJ’.
R&B at its finest, ‘DJ’ was the first single from their 1993 debut, the aptly titled ‘Pronounced Jah-Nay’ (in case you were wondering). It was a Billboard Hot 100 smash, charting at #6 and managed to crack the Top 40 of various other countries like the U.K and Australia where it peaked at #26 and #9 respectively.
The funky cut was accompanied by a fitting “bloc-party” video, which – like much of the 90’s Urban output – evoked a real “feel good” aura. An aura referenced by some today’s artists, ala Beyonce on ‘Party’, yet one generally overlooked in an era which sees most trying to embrace the “dark” and “edgy”.
*****
Zhané scored themselves a few hits after ‘DJ’, such as ‘Groove Thang’ and ‘Sending My Love’, but ultimately called it quits as golden-decade of the 90’s drew to a close.
Though the journey ended rather abruptly for the talented pair, solace can be sourced in that they cooked up a hit which remains ever-fresh.
Zhané, we salute you.
It was also sampled in Mariah Carey’s Honey so so def remix.
Yes. Essential 90s cut. Their song Crush is still dope too. Love the sound and vibe.
Thank u for posting this – although I don’t always agree with your comments I appreciate your posts about talented artists from the early ’90s. Zhane’s run indeed ended abruptly and although they only had 2 albums, they made some memorable music that lives on in my ipod 🙂
Jah -Nay’s run may have ended blunt, but their work will remain fresh forever.