Song:Hey Mr. DJ
Album:Pronounced Jah-Nay
The female duo Zhane scored a top ten hit with Hey Mr. DJ in 1993. It turned out to be their only big hit. But the song is very durable and it gets sampled a lot by hip hop guys. Renee Neufville and Jean Norris met at Temple University in Philadelphia. They sang together on some of the same shows. After they appeared on the 1991 DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince single Ring My Bell, former Warner Bros. exec Benny Medina suggested they become a group. The name Zhane is a mix of their names. The Jah-Nay pronunciation is to make it sound French. It's not a real word. They recorded Hey Mr. DJ for the various artists CD Roll Wit Tha Flava featuring Queen Latifah. Hey Mr DJ did so well as a single from that album that Zhane got a record deal with Motown. Hey Mr DJ reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. Most of the album including Hey Mr. DJ was written and produced by KayGee of Naughty By Nature. KayGee has had a lot of success as a producer and owner of Divine Mill Records. Renee wrote the lyrics of Hey Mr. DJ and most of the album. It samples Looking Up To You by Michael Wycoff, Step To The Rear by Brand Nubian and Troglodyte by Jimmy Castor Bunch. And Hey Mr. DJ has been frequently sampled. The rapper is Abdullah "Fam" Barr from Rottin Razkals. The album Pronounced Jah-Nay was certified Platinum. It's available as a budget CD. Zhane had a couple more hits like Groove Thang and a cover of Evelyn "Champagne" King's Shame from the film A Low Down Dirty Shame. Their 1997 album Saturday Night didn't do as well and then Zhane split up. Jean married drummer Marcus Baylor of Yellowjackets and most of her music has been with him along with studio work. Renee was lead singer of Roy Hargrove's RH Factor and she writes songs for other artists. Here's the video for Hey Mr. DJ by Zhane.
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