*Former Broadway musical star and Grammy-winning R&B singer Stephanie Mills recently revealed that she’s not the only powerful singer in the family.
It turns out that Mill’s real cousins are K-Ci (Cedric Hailey) and JoJo (Joel Hailey) lead vocalists of the R&B group Jodeci which formed in the late 1980s.
The group, with the Hailey brothers, elevated its style of R&B music to include, hip hop, soul, gospel, and new jack swing. Over the past three decades, “Jodeci” has scored numerous Top-10 hits to include “Forever My Lady,” “Stay,” “Come and Talk to Me,” “Cry for You,” “Feenin” and “What About Us.” The two brothers, between 1996 and 2013, released five albums as a duo, all of which charted nationally and internationally.
MORE NEWS: Debmar-Mercury & Will Packer’s ‘Central Ave’ Debuts in 200+ Markets This Weekend!
Mills said recently that she will soon release a new single, titled “Afraid to Love,” which will include duets with her cousins K-Ci and JoJo. And to show the extended power of the family’s musical DNA, Mills, K-Ci and JoJo have other famous singing cousins. There’s Dave Hollister, who once sang lead vocals for the R&B group “Blackstreet.” Hollister is featured on the group’s smash hit “Before I Let You Go.” He later recorded and performed as a solo artist.
According to industry sources, Dave’s father and K-Ci and JoJo’s fathers are brothers. The family tree of music also includes Grammy-winning R&B singer Fantasia, who is a first cousin to K-Ci and JoJo; their fathers are brothers, as well. Like her cousin Stephanie Mills, Fantasia, has starred on Broadway, when the American Idol winner dazzled audiences in the classic production, “The Color Purple.”
While this is an amazing story of cousins with powerful musical genes and a strong singing DNA, Mills began it all for the family when she starred on Broadway as “Dorothy” in “The Wiz” in the mid-1970s. In the 1980s, she charted many R&B hits to include “Home,” “I Have Learned to Respect the Power of Love,” “I Feel Good All Over,” “(You’re Puttin’) A Rush on Me,” “What Cha Gonna Do With My Lovin’ ” and “Something in the Way (You Make Me Feel).” Mills also won a Grammy for the R&B hit “Never Knew Love Like This Before.”
With so much vocal power and talent in the family, will there be a music project that will feature the cousins, Stephanie Mills, K-Ci, JoJo, Dave Hollister, and Fantasia? Inquiring minds want to know!
We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!
