Birth name Cedric Renard Hailey Also known as Little CedricK-Ci | Name Cedric Hailey Instruments Vocals | |
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Born September 2, 1969 (age 54) Monroe, North Carolina ( 1969-09-02 ) Origin Charlotte, North Carolina Genres R&BpopCCMgospeltraditional black gospelurban contemporary gospel Occupation(s) Singersongwriterorganist | ||
K ci jojo all my life
Cedric Renard Hailey (born September 2, 1969), known professionally as K-Ci (formerly Little Cedric as a member of Little Cedric and the Hailey Singers), is an American singer, songwriter and member of K-Ci & JoJo and Jodeci. He started his music career as Little Cedric, in 1983, with the release of, I'm Alright Now, by Atlanta International Records. The next two albums, 1984's Jesus Saves and 1985's God's Blessing, were released by AIR Gospel, and they both achieved placements upon the Billboard Gospel Albums chart.
Contents
- K ci jojo all my life
- K ci singing while working out
- Early life
- Music career
- Personal life
- Discography
- References
Although Hailey is best known as the lead singer of Jodeci and second-lead singer of K-Ci & JoJo, he participated on different solo projects as K-Ci, most notably his cover of Bobby Womack's "If You Think You're Lonely Now" in 1994.
K ci singing while working out
Early life
Hailey was born in Charlotte, North Carolina to Anita and Cliff Hailey both of whom were gospel singers. For a time, the Hailey family lived in Baltimore, MD where they performed gospel music. The family would later return to Charlotte when Cedric was a teen. He would eventually go on to attend Garinger High School.
Music career
Along with younger brother, Joel (known professionally as "JoJo") and his father, Hailey would record three gospel albums as "Little Cedric and the Hailey Singers" beginning with the 1983 release I'm Alright Now by Atlanta International Records, Gospel. Though the album failed to place on any Billboard magazine charts, the next two releases, 1984's Jesus Saves and God's Blessing in 1985, both placed upon the Billboard Gospel Albums chart; the former at No. 4 and the latter at No. 22.
Cedric and Joel's gospel singing would eventually connect them with the DeGrate brothers, Donald "DeVante Swing" DeGrate and Dalvin DeGrate, with whom they would form the R&B group Jodeci. As lead vocalist for Jodeci, Hailey would release three multi-platinum albums between 1991 and 1995. In 1996, the group announced a hiatus from recording and releasing music. Hailey would continue to record with his brother as the duo K-Ci & JoJo, releasing five albums between 1997 and 2013.
As K-Ci, his cover of Bobby Womack's "If You Think You're Lonely Now" was featured on the soundtrack to the 1994 film, Jason's Lyric. It was released as a single and peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Personal life
Hailey dated fellow R&B singer and then label-mate Mary J. Blige on and off during the 1990s.
The two Hailey brothers are cousins of R&B singers Dave Hollister and Fantasia Barrino.