the short-haired songstresses professionally known as john a stood out in the heavily saturated 90s r
b world with their soulful hits and striking look their talent for blending multiple genres
together like r b jazz and hip hop led them to create classic and timeless music
however they disbanded and disappeared from the music scene after producing only two albums let's
find out whatever happened to john a even after more than 25 years it's not uncommon to attend
a party and see everyone rush the dance floor as soon as they hear the infectious urban party jam
hey mr dj the first single and subsequent hit for john a reached number six on the us billboard hot
100 and officially put the duo on the music map now let's take it back to the beginning
temple university served as the backdrop for renee noofville and jeanne norris to meet in the early
90s as not only students but also roommates jean was able to hone her singing skills at a young age
while a member of the choir of the church where her father was a pastor in new jersey
brooklyn born renee was the youngest of three children by jamaican parents
after realizing that they could both sing write and play the piano they got together
to perform at talent shows and other events to pay bills then dj jazzy jeff entered the picture
a philadelphia native he got word about these two talented students that he just had to meet
he eventually signed them to his production company a touch of jazz during this time jeff was
also working with will smith who was the fresh prince then on their soon to be platinum album
homebase the timing was perfect for jean and renee to get on one of the album's tracks and they did
with the second single ring my bell they were however conspicuously left out of the music video
even though they collaborated on each other's songs and would sing together whenever they could
they never thought to team up permanently until former warner brothers executive benny medina
suggested that they do renee had the idea to use the french pronunciation of their first names jean
and renee which sounded like ja nae then suggested that they switch the j to a z to add a little more
flavor as far as their unique look is concerned renee took the lead with that as well their height
difference with renee at five nine and a half and gene five two and one being dark-skinned and the
other light-skinned was a huge opposite so to tie everything together renee suggested they
sport similar hairstyles she would wear her as low as finger waves and jean would get a buzz cut
before their debut album was released the group once again got the opportunity to do another
feature after meeting naughty by nature member kg he became so impressed with the duo's talent
that he encouraged them to get into the studio immediately to record for roll with the flava a
hip-hop compilation album executive produced by queen latifah for some reason even though
there were much bigger artists on the album djs began playing the track hey mr dj and it blew up
this unsuspecting song that renee wrote sitting on her bedroom floor lit the flame and it didn't
hurt that it included an amazing sample of michael wyckoff's 1982 hit looking up to you
and a fierce rap verse from rotten rascal's member fam now janae had to scramble to finish
their album shoot the music video and get signed to a record label the track was released as a
separate single as well helping john a finally land a contract deal with motown records in 1994.
their debut album pronounced john a also produced two other smash hits groofang and sending my love
raising them to gold status and platinum a couple of years later the writing was one of the
biggest standouts of the album and renee can take credit for that having penned all of the tracks
she pulled from the influences she was exposed to growing up
in the 70s and 80s like patrice russian and atlantic star
to further capitalize on their growing success john a kept busy with numerous features
on other artists projects like for more by de la soul and it's a party by busta rhymes
they even made a very noticeable cameo in the notorious big music video for one more chance
their own work ended up on various compilations and movie soundtracks one of which shame from the
1994 keenan ivory wayans comedy a low down dirty shame became another top 40 hit for the group
saturday night their far more soulful and jazzier follow-up album
finally released in 1997. both jean and renee knew they had to mix things up on this album so
as not to be pigeonholed as a group that only made party music the album did a fantastic job
showcasing the growth in the duo's writing and vocal talent while it featured the hit request
line and the follow-up crush it did not even come close to matching the success of their debut
this ultimately became their final album after disbanding in 1999 at the suggestion of gene she
felt it was the best way to exercise her creative freedom independent of a major record label
even though saturday night didn't produce the numbers they'd hoped they still managed
to go out with a bang with a 1999 feature on naughty by nature's top 10 hit jamboree
music still continued to be at the forefront of both of the women's lives over the years
gene norris now baylor married a musician in 2000 marcus baylor drummer of the jazz fusion ensemble
the yellow jackets after many years of relaxing and enjoying married life she released a solo r
b soul album and a contemporary christmas album between 2007 and 2011. in 2017 jean and her
husband formed an r b jazz duo named the baylor project and they also released their debut album
of the same name that year their hard work was rewarded when the duo received two grammy awards
nominations under best jazz vocal album and best traditional r b performance renee hosted
a live web series called 88 soul which featured many r b and neo soul artists such as jill scott
carl thomas and joe she also contributed to albums and videos by india arie heather
headley and aliyah amongst others she also became heavily involved in jazz musician roy hargrove's
rh factor which served as the biggest influence for her first solo release watching me in 2015.
her latest release is 2020 something to believe a beautiful tribute ballad to hargrove who passed
away in 2018 after a long battle with kidney disease over the years many fans have asked
whether a john a reunion would ever happen so far the duo have not made any plans for one
and they both seem to be quite content focusing on their own solo projects
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