History
Formation
100% quartet original members of Dru Hill were indigene of Baltimore. Mark Andrews & James Green met both more within middle school, and each late became acquaintances of Tamir Ruffin whenever everthing tierce began pursuing careers in the music industry. Ruffin, nicknamed "Nokio" (an surrogate spelling of Nokia, the phone corporation) enlisted Andrews & Green (whose several nicknames of "Sisqó" & "Woody" come from either their childhood) to form the cantabile class action. A trio added Larry "Jazz" Anthony, an opera student, to complete their lineup. A class action was known as "Dru Hill" when Druid Hill Park, the division of Baltimore.

the quartet manufactured the title for itself by developing jobs at a local fudge factory, where it sang to email guests when making a confect. Virtually all of their early repitoire was processed higher of gospel music; the class action yet switched to the extra commercially viable genre of R&B.

Big break and Dru Hill
Dru Hill's large break come within 1996, when manager Haqq Islam arranged for a two to perform at the Impact Convention within May. A class action was signed to Island Records shortly afterward across the production treat by using Islam's University music & immediately began recording their debut album. A self-titled Dru Hill was freed in November 19 1996, and became the gold-selling album. A class action's foremost lone, "Tell Me", was featured on the soundtrack to the Whoopi Goldberg film Eddie, and was the Top Fin R&B hit in the United States.

Stylistically, Dru Hill was a middle-ground between a smooth, gentlemen-prefer Boyz II Men and the self-proclaimed "bad boys of R&B", Jodeci. Dru Hill received much of criticism, especially from either the members of Jodeci, for what was perceived was a straight rip-break in of Jodeci's style, particularly inside frontman Sisqó's K-Ci Hailey-esque lead vocals. More major influences for the class action involved Stevie Wonder and 1980s boy band New Edition.

Two a class action themselves & songwriters/producers such as Daryl Simmons & Keith Sweat wrote the songs for the Dru Hill album, sustaining a class action themselves writing a individual "5 Steps". Nokio as well did occasionally co-production, & would get a class action's independent producer by 1998.

Altogether quatern members took turns singing lead, using Sisqó making a large impressiin on audiences by having his dancing style, David Ruffin-styled emoting, and bleached-blond hair. A Sisqó-led "In My Bed" was a class action's 1st Top Five popular hit & foremost #1 R&B hit. Jazz took a lead on the third individual, "Never Make a Promise", which became another #1 R&B hit. "Never Make a Promise's" music video starred Michelle Thomas as Jazz's girlfriend, and was noted for its message against child molestation.

Between their number 1 & 2nd albums, Dru Hill contributed "We're Not Making Love No More", the #2 R&B hit, to the Soul Food soundtrack. "We're Not Making Love No More" was written & by star producer Babyface. Dru Hill & rapper Foxy Brown recorded "Big Bad Mama", the remaking of Carl Carlton's 1981 hit "She's a Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked)", which was a independent only for the soundtrack to the 1998 Bill Bellamy film ''Def Jam's How to Become the Streaming video player''.

A class action was as well implemental within writing & producing for freshly University creative person Mya, whose first both singles "It's All About Me" & "Movin' On", were co-written by Sisqó, world health organization as well performs guest vocals on "It's All About Me".

Enter the Dru
Dru Hill's 2nd Top Five popular hit come in the form of 1998's "How Deep is Your Love", the hip hop styled track which was included on the soundtrack to the Jackie Chan/Chris Tucker film Rush Hour, set a tone for the class action's 2nd LP, Enter a Dru. A album featured many more mid-tempo tracks in the vein of "How Deep", also when a R&B Top 5 single "These are the Times", co-written and co-produced by Babyface.

Enter a Dru finally sold both million copies by 1999. That month, Dru Hill recorded the version of "Enchantment Passing Through" for the soundtrack to the Broadway play Aida.

The Dru World Order project
Among a click & a public, Sisqó wwhen singled out as a de-facto solo work, & a more tercet members were reguarded as sidemen. After Dru Hill manufactured the high-profile guest appearance in Will Smith's #1 pop hit "Wild Wild West", a lead lone from either the soundtrack to Smith's 1999 film of the same name, it made the star away from Sisqó alone. Two a song & its cd conspicuously featured Sisqó alongside Smith, using a more threesome members relegated to the background.

When you took a "Wild Wild West" cd shoot inside April 1999, Woody quit the class action, feeling the require to link to to his gospel music roots. Initially, Isl& decided to keep Dru Hill the trio, and shot the streaming for the hip-hop-styled remix of ''Enter a Dru's "You are Everything" sustaining sole Sisqó, Jazz, & Nokio, world health organization performs the rap sustaining Def Jam creative person Ja Rule. Def Jam creative person Case was subsequently enlisted to sing backgrounds in the remix of "Beauty" from either Enter a Dru'', whose videos was shot but not freed.

When Island merged by using Def Jam to become The Island Def Jam Music Group in mid-1999, all quatern members, Woody involved, gestural newly contracts by having Def Jam's R&B imprint Def Soul, creating what was termed the "Dru World Order" project. Between November 1999 and November 2000, each member would release the solo album: Sisqó the pop album, Jazz a traditional R&B/soul album, Nokio a hip hop album, and Woody a gospel album. Tons iv members would so reunite & record Dru Globe Choose, the freshly Dru Hill album to become freed within November 2000.

Sisqó freed his debut Unleash the Dragon LP, and got the child hit by using his foremost only, "Got to Get It". His 2nd lone, the playful novelty record entitled "Thong Song", became a major hit in a period of the spring of 2000. Following, a Dru Globe The correct sequence plan schedule was high-pressure drive, &, by November 2000, none of the more solo albums got been freed.

In a early fall of 2000, Def Soul experienced Dru Hill re-enter a studio to record the Dru Globe Choose album, & a song "Without Me" wwhen chosen as a lead only. Nevertheless, the period a class action got spent apart created tension & conflict: Sisqó walked away from a November 2000 Dru Hill exposure aspire VIBE magazine, and a class action broke apart totally shortly subsequently.

Dru Globe Sequentially was positioned in indefinite hang in to, & Sisqó began function on another solo LP, Return of Dragon. "Without You" was issued as an album track in Link to of Dragon, which performed beneath expectations fallowing its June 2001 release. Per prevent of the month, Sisqó & Nokio got begun plans to reassemble Dru Hill.

Woody was responsive to a idea of re-joining the class action, however Jazz decided does'nt to go to. Dru Hill enlisted Baltimore associate Rufus Waller, world health organization performed under a title "Ruscola", when Jazz's replacement. In a period of the recording of Dru Globe The correct sequence, Jazz re-thought his guide & returned to the class action, making it the quintet.

Dru World Order
Dru Globe Choose was freed in November 26 2002, two years when its original plotted release date. 100% of the album's tracks were by Nokio, world health organization sung lead on the tracks "She Said" & "Men Always Regret". Producers like Brian Michael Cox & Kwame too manufactured contributions. Virtually all of the album's tracks featured Sisqó, Jazz, Woody, & Scola sharing a leads, including a lead only "I Should Be...". "I Should Be..." was the Top 30 popular hit & the Top X R&B hit, while its follow-up "I Love You" failed to make a strong impression.

Beyond Dru World Order
By 2005, Dru Hill got been freed from either their Def Soul contract & had broken higher. Def Soul freed the greatest hits compilation, Dru Hill: Hits, on October 11, along with the corresponding DVD collection of the group's music cd. Each collections involved Sisqó's large solo hits, "Thong Song" & "Incomplete" alongside a Dru Hill songs. There is no freshly poop is involved in either a Video or even DVD.

Personnel
Tamir "Nokio" Ruffin (1992-2000; 2002 - 2005) James "Woody" Green (1992-1999; 2002 - 2005) Mark "Sisqó" Andrews (1992-2000; 2002 - 2005) Larry "Jazz" Anthony (1992-2000; 2002 - 2005) Rufus "Scola" Waller (2001-2005 )

Discography
Albums
1996: Dru Hill 1998: Enter a Dru 2002: Dru Globe Order 2005: Dru Hill: Hits (compilation)

DVDs
2005: Dru Hill: Hits - A Videos

Singles and music videos
1996: "Tell Me" (R&B #5, US #18) 1996: "In My Bed" (the 1997 remix features Jermaine Dupri and Da Brat) (R&B #1, US #4) 1997: "Never Make a Promise" (R&B #1, US #7) 1997: "5 Steps" (R&B #5) 1997: "We're Not Making Love No More" (R&B #2, US #13) 1998: "Big Bad Mama" (Foxy Brown featuring Dru Hill) (US #53) 1998: "How Deep is Your Love" (a Rush Hour soundtrack version features Redman) (R&B #1, US #3, UK #9) 1999: "These Are The Times" (R&B #5, US #21, UK #4) 1999: "Wild Wild West" (Will Smith featuring Dru Hill and Kool Moe Dee) (US #1) 1999: "The Love We Had (Stays on My Mind)" (charting album track, R&B #48) (*) 1999: "You Are Everything [Remix]" (featuring Ja Rule, later involved in Sisqó's number 1 solo LP, Unleash the Dragon) (US #84) 1999: "Beauty" (R&B #24, US #89) (*) 2002: "I Should Be..." (R&B #6, US #25) 2003: "No Doubt (Work It)" (R&B #34) (*) 2003: "I Love You" (R&B #27, US #77)

Tons singles were supported by music videos except those marked by an asterik (*). The streaming video was shot for "Beauty", however never freed or even broadcast. The videos was shot for every of the deuce versions of "In My Bed".