If Boyz II Men are portrayed as a clean-cut, wholesome R&B vocal group, then Jodeci's wild, sexual, bad-boy image represents the other side of the coin. Made up of two sets of brothers, the group's name is a consolidation of three members' aliases: "JoJo" Hailey, Donald "DeVante Swing" DeGrate, and Cedric "K-Ci" Hailey; the group also includes Dalvin DeGrate. Natives of Charlotte, NC, all four members toured the South as young boys singing gospel music, even recording albums; both families belonged to the Pentecostal church, and the DeGrates' father was a minister. The boys were able to hear each other's gospel songs played on the radio, and eventually were introduced through girlfriends as teenagers. However, when they did meet, K-Ci was with a girl Dalvin had been dating, and a fight nearly broke out. The Hailey brothers and DeVante started hanging out together, partying and talking about making R&B records together, coming up with the name Jodeci at this time.
At age 16, DeVante ran away to Minneapolis to get a job in Prince's organization, but was refused. He returned to Charlotte, where he wrote a song and recorded JoJo singing it. The two planned on going to New York to shop the demo around by themselves, but both K-Ci and Dalvin decided to tag along at the last minute. By the time they got to New York, they had demo recordings of 29 songs, which they brought to the offices of Uptown Entertainment. They were almost rejected, but rapper Heavy D overheard the tape and talked Uptown president Andre Harrell into hearing the group. Harrell was impressed, and just like that, Jodeci signed a recording contract. In 1991, they recorded Forever My Lady, which featured the gold single "Come and Talk to Me" and went on to sell over three million copies. A minor feud resulted over the band's follow-up album, Diary of a Mad Band; Jodeci, unhappy with their treatment by Uptown, flirted with the idea of leaving for Dr. Dre's Death Row Records, which resulted in almost zero promotion for their new album. It didn't matter much, as Diary went platinum. The group's troubles got worse in 1993; DeVante and K-Ci were involved in an incident with a woman K-Ci met at a club and brought back to DeVante's apartment. The woman filed charges against the two, saying that K-Ci had threatened her and fondled her breast, while DeVante pointed a gun at her. Both pleaded guilty, but that wasn't all; shortly afterwards, DeVante's house was robbed of over 160,000 dollars in jewelry and clothes as the singer was held with guns in his mouth and at the back of his head.
Jodeci's third album, The Show, the After Party, the Hotel, was released in the summer of 1995. DeVante also was afforded the opportunity to work with Al Green, one of his idols, writing and producing the song "Could This Be the Love." ~ Steve Huey, Rovi
Jodeci Albums:
* 1991: Forever My Lady #18 US (3x platinum)
* 1993: Diary of a Mad Band #3 US (2x platinum)
* 1995: The Show, The After Party, The Hotel #2 US (platinum)
* 2005: Back to The Future: The Very Best of Jodeci (300,000)
Jodeci Singles:
* 1991: "Gotta Love"
* 1991: "Stay" (US #41, R&B #1)
* 1991: "Forever My Lady" (US #25, R&B #1)
* 1991: "Come and Talk to Me" (US #11, R&B #1)
* 1993: "Cry For You" (US #15, R&B #1)
* 1993: "Feenin'" (US #25, R&B #2)
* 1993: "Lately" (US #4, R&B #1)
* 1993: "Let's Go Through the Motions" (US #65)
* 1994: "What About Us" (R&B #14)
* 1995: "Freek'n You" (US #14, R&B #3)
* 1995: "Love U 4 Life"
* 1996: "Get on Up" (US #22, R&B #4)
Jodeci Side-Projects:
(K-Ci & JoJo)
* 1997: Love Always
* 1999: It's Real
* 2000: X
* 2002: Emotional
* 2005: All My Life "Their Greatest Hits"
(Dalvin Degrate)
* 2000: Met.A.Mor.Phic
(K-Ci Solo)
* 2006: My Book
Lately
Jodeci Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With no vivid reason here to find
Yet the thought of losing you's been hanging 'round my mind
Far more frequently you're wearing perfume
With you say no special place to go
But when I ask will you be coming back soon
You don't know, never know
Well, I'm a man of many wishes
But what I really feel my eyes won't let me hide
'Cause they always start to cry
'Cause this time could mean goodbye
Lately I've been staring in the mirror
Very slowly picking me apart
Trying to tell myself I have no reason with your heart
Just the other night while you were sleeping
I vaguely heard you whisper someone's name
But when I ask you of the thoughts your keeping
You just say nothing's changed
Well, I'm a man of many wishes
I hope my premonition misses
But what I really feel my eyes won't let me hide
'Cause they always start to cry
'Cause this time could mean goodbye, goodbye
Oh, I'm a man of many wishes
I hope my premonition misses
But what I really feel my eyes won't let me hide
'Cause they always start to cry
'Cause this time could mean goodbye
In Jodeci's song "Lately," the singer expresses a sense of unease and worry about the state of their relationship, despite not having any clear reason for concern. The thought of losing their partner keeps haunting them, even though they can't put their finger on why. However, they notice that their partner is wearing perfume more often and acting distant when asked about their whereabouts. The singer tries to reassure themselves that there's nothing wrong, but they can't shake the feeling that their partner may be seeing someone else. Even in their sleep, they hear their partner whispering someone else's name. The singer is a "man of many wishes" who hopes their premonitions are wrong, but their eyes betray them when they start to cry.
Line by Line Meaning
Lately, I have had the strangest feeling
Recently, I've been experiencing a weird sensation
With no vivid reason here to find
Without any clear cause for this feeling
Yet the thought of losing you's been hanging 'round my mind
However, the idea of losing you has been bothering me a lot
Far more frequently you're wearing perfume
I've noticed that you're wearing fragrance more often
With you say no special place to go
Even though you don't have any specific destination
But when I ask will you be coming back soon
But whenever I inquire about your return time
You don't know, never know
You don't have any idea, always uncertain
Well, I'm a man of many wishes
I have many hopes and desires
Hope my premonition misses
I wish my feeling about something is wrong
But what I really feel my eyes won't let me hide
But what I'm truly feeling is impossible to conceal
'Cause they always start to cry
Because my eyes always fill up with tears
'Cause this time could mean goodbye
Because I fear that this instance might lead to saying goodbye
Lately I've been staring in the mirror
Recently, I've been gazing at myself in the mirror
Very slowly picking me apart
Critically analyzing and scrutinizing my own self
Trying to tell myself I have no reason with your heart
Attempting to convince myself that there's no issue with your love for me
Just the other night while you were sleeping
Only the other night when you were asleep
I vaguely heard you whisper someone's name
I somewhat heard you murmuring someone's name
But when I ask you of the thoughts your keeping
However, when I ask you about what's on your mind
You just say nothing's changed
You simply respond that nothing is different
Oh, I'm a man of many wishes
I'm someone who has many hopes and desires
I hope my premonition misses
I wish that my intuition is incorrect
But what I really feel my eyes won't let me hide
However, what I genuinely feel is impossible to conceal
'Cause they always start to cry
As my eyes always start to tear up
'Cause this time could mean goodbye
Because there's a chance that this occasion might bring an end to things
Lyrics © DistroKid, BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Stevie Wonder
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Lyrics
Lately I've had the strangest feeling
With no vivid reason here to find
but yet the thought of losing you's been hanging
Around my mind
Far more frequently you're wearing perfume
And with you say 'No special place to go'
But when I ask, will you be coming back soon
you don't know, never know
I'm a man of many wishes
Hope my premonition misses
But what I really feel
My eyes won't let me hide
Cuz they always start to cry
Cuz this time could mean good, goodbye.
(Oh why don't you tell me)
Lately I've been staring in the mirror
Very slowly picking me apart
Saying I'm trying to tell myself that I have a reason
With your heart
Girl, just the other night while you were sleeping
I vaguely heard you whisper someone's name
But, when I asked you what are the thoughts your keeping
You just said 'Nothing changed'
(2x)
I'm a man of many wishes
Hope my premonition misses
But what I really feel
My eyes won't let me hide
Cuz they always start to cry (yeah yeah baby)
Cuz this time could mean good bye, good bye
carableu
Pure, unadulterated talent... Those voices are a gift from God.
oldskoolrulez1
This was, is and will always be one of the best R&B songs of all time !
carableu
Always…
ALTHEPAL78
I love jodeci, the reason this remake was awesome was because the passion they sang with
ALTHEPAL78
What
Shawn Ostlund
I thought the marvel generation would appreciate the knowledge
Shawn Ostlund
He called it superstition
Damian Rodgers
I know Stevie Wonder was blown away after hearing Jodeci's version of his song!!!
Chad Price
No stevie wonder remake better than intro's ribbon in the sky!!!
Cydwell Lings
Lately I've been thinking of only real music ...That's y I'm here to reminisce ...