2-4 Family

Last updated
2-4 Family
Origin Germany
Genres Hip hop
Years active1996–2000, 2006
LabelsEpic (International)
Past membersJay Dogg
Joseph Jazz
Essence Woods
Joanna Biscardine
Jo O'Meara

2-4 Family was a rap/hip hop group, that formed in Germany in the late 1990s. The original line-up consisted of Jo O'Meara, Jay Dogg, Joseph Jazz and Essence Woods.

Contents

History

Jay Dogg and Joseph Jazz met each other in the United States Army in 1989 and became friends. They were both DJs, but decided that Dogg would be the DJ and Jazz would be the rapper. As a duo, they entered several talent competitions. When visiting Germany in 1997, they came across Essence Woods at a party. British singer Jo O'Meara was a friend of Woods, so all of them formed the group 2-4 Family in 1998.

Career

2-4 Family released their first single, "Stay", in mid-1998. The song featured lead female vocals from O'Meara, and rapping from the other three members. It peaked at #8 on the Viva Top 100. They released their album Family Business in March 1999. Along with other vocalists, 2-4 Family recorded "Hand in Hand for Children - Children of the World". A week after that had been released, "Stay" was re-released for the holiday season. 2-4 Family also joined with other vocalists to release a cover version of Wham!'s hit single "Last Christmas" under the moniker Rap Allstars.

Shortly after this, O'Meara successfully auditioned to become a part of the soon to be created pop group S Club 7 and left 2-4 Family, leaving the group with three members. Parklane Music received a demo of "Killing Me Softly", recorded by a woman named Joanna Biscardine. She soon joined the group, and 2-4 Family released their second single, "Lean on Me" in January 1999. It peaked at #9 on the Viva Top 100, and #69 on the UK Singles Chart.

Two months later, 2-4 Family released their last album, Family Business, which peaked at #54 on the Viva Top 100. The album contained twelve tracks, including different mixes of some of the songs. The final single by 2-4 Family was released in mid-1999, titled "Take Me Home".

The group went their separate ways in early 2000. Another band with the same name was formed, but with none of the five members that had once been a part of 2-4 Family. The recreation was not working and they soon disbanded after an unsuccessful single.

Discography

Singles

YearSinglePeak chart positions Certifications
(sales thresholds)
Album
AUT
[1]
FRA
[2]
GER
[3]
NED
[4]
SUI
[5]
1998"Stay"249985711Family Business
1999"Lean on Me (With the Family)"697
"Take Me Home"79
2006"Stand up!"-
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warren G</span> American rapper and producer

Warren Griffin III is an American rapper, DJ, and producer known for his role in West Coast rap's 1990s ascent. A pioneer of G-funk, he attained mainstream success with the 1994 single "Regulate", a duet with Nate Dogg. He significantly helped Snoop Dogg's career during the latter's beginnings, also introducing him to Dr. Dre, who later signed Snoop Dogg.

G-funk, short for gangsta funk, is a sub-genre of gangsta rap that emerged from the West Coast scene in the early 1990s. The genre was heavily influenced by the synthesizer-heavy 1970s funk sound of Parliament-Funkadelic, often using samples or recreating the original tracks. It was represented by commercially successful albums such as Dr. Dre's The Chronic (1992) and Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle (1993).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eve (rapper)</span> American rapper, singer, and actress

Eve Jihan Cooper is an American rapper, singer, and actress. In 1999, she released her debut album, Let There Be Eve...Ruff Ryders' First Lady, which reached number one on the Billboard 200, making her the third female rapper to accomplish this feat, and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album produced the hit singles "What Ya Want", "Love Is Blind", and "Gotta Man". That same year, she was featured on The Roots' Grammy Award-winning single "You Got Me", as well as Missy Elliott's "Hot Boyz", the latter of which peaked within the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture Beat</span> German musical group

Culture Beat is a German Eurodance project formed in 1989 by Torsten Fenslau. The act has gone through a number of lineup changes over the years; they achieved the most success whilst fronted by singer Tania Evans and rapper Jay Supreme. Their 1993 single "Mr. Vain" was a number-one hit in eleven European countries, and the act claims to have sold more than 10 million records worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Technotronic</span> Belgian electronic music project

Technotronic was a Belgian electronic music project formed in 1987 by Jo Bogaert, best known for the 1989 single "Pump Up the Jam", which features vocals by Ya Kid K. The song peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. The single and was followed by the album of the same name which was released the same year and peaked at number 10 on the Billboard 200. They achieved further success with the singles "Get Up! " and "Move To This". Technotronic went on to release the albums Body to Body (1991) and Recall (1995).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drop It Like It's Hot</span> 2004 single by Snoop Dogg featuring Pharrell

"Drop It Like It's Hot" is a song by American rapper Snoop Dogg featuring fellow American musician Pharrell Williams. It was released on September 27, 2004, as the lead single from Snoop Dogg's seventh studio album, R&G : The Masterpiece (2005). The song was produced by the Neptunes. It is regarded as an iconic song, with Snoop performing the chorus and the second and third verses while Pharrell performs the first verse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Wills</span> American singer-songwriter (born 1973)

Mark Wills is an American country music artist. Signed to Mercury Records between 1996 and 2003, he released five studio albums for the label – Mark Wills, Wish You Were Here, Permanently, Loving Every Minute, and And the Crowd Goes Wild – as well as a greatest hits package. In that same timespan, he charted sixteen singles on the Billboard country charts, all of which made the top 40. After leaving Mercury in 2003, he signed to Equity Music Group and charted three more singles. Two of these were later included on his sixth studio album, Familiar Stranger, which was released on the Tenacity label in 2008.

"What Hurts the Most" is a song written by American songwriter Jeffrey Steele and English songwriter Steve Robson. Originally recorded by country music artist Mark Wills in 2003 on his album And the Crowd Goes Wild, it was covered by Bellefire a year later. The first version to be released as a single was by pop singer Jo O'Meara in 2005, from the album Relentless. Later that year, country band Rascal Flatts covered the song as well, releasing it as the first single from the 2006 album Me and My Gang, topping the U.S. country and adult contemporary charts with it. German band Cascada later had international chart success with the song in 2007. It was also covered by Eden in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miki Howard</span> American singer-songwriter

Alicia Michelle "Miki" Howard is an American singer and actress who had a string of top 10 hit songs in the mid-1980s and early 1990s, including "Baby, Be Mine" (1987), "Come Share My Love" (1986) and "Love Under New Management" (1990). "Ain't Nobody Like You" (1992) and "Ain't Nuthin' in the World" (1989) both peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard Top R&B Singles chart.

<i>Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told</i> 1998 studio album by Snoop Dogg

Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told is the third studio album by American rapper Snoop Dogg. It was released on August 4, 1998, by No Limit Records and Priority Records. It is his first album following his departure from Death Row Records in January 1998. It is the first Snoop Dogg album to have notable affiliates such as Dr. Dre, Nate Dogg, Warren G and others absent. It was also his first album to be released under a slight change to his stage name "Snoop Dogg" for contractual reasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snoop Dogg discography</span>

The discography of American rapper Snoop Dogg includes 19 studio albums, five collaborative albums, 17 compilation albums, three extended plays, 25 mixtapes, 175 singles, and 16 promotional singles. He has sold over 12.5 million albums in the United States and 37 million albums worldwide. He has garnered 14 top ten singles on the Billboard Hot 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twenty 4 Seven</span> Dutch Eurodance group

Twenty 4 Seven is a Dutch Eurodance group formed in 1989 by Dutch producer Ruud van Rijen. The project is best known in Europe for the hit singles "I Can't Stand It", "Are You Dreaming?", "Slave to the Music", "Is It Love" and "Take Me Away."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Still D.R.E.</span> 1999 single by Dr. Dre featuring Snoop Dogg

"Still D.R.E." is a song by American rapper-producer Dr. Dre, featuring fellow American rapper Snoop Dogg. It was released on November 2, 1999, as the lead single from Dre's multi-platinum second studio album, 2001 (1999).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">JoJo discography</span>

American singer-songwriter JoJo has released six studio albums, two mixtapes, two extended plays (EP), two re-recordings, twenty singles, fifteen promotional singles and 34 music videos. After JoJo competed on the television show America's Most Talented Kids she signed a seven-album record deal with Blackground Records in 2003 and released her eponymous debut album the following year at the age of 13.

<i>All Eyez on Me</i> 1996 studio album by 2Pac

All Eyez on Me is the fourth studio album by American rapper 2Pac and the last to be released during his lifetime. Released on February 13, 1996, by Death Row and Interscope Records, the album features guest appearances from Dr. Dre, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Redman, Method Man, Nate Dogg, Kurupt, Daz Dillinger, E-40, K-Ci & JoJo, and the Outlawz, among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lost!</span> 2008 single by Coldplay

"Lost!" is a song by the British rock band Coldplay. It was co-produced with Brian Eno and Markus Dravs for the band's fourth album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. The song was released on 10 November 2008 as the third official single from the album to generally positive critical reviews. A live version was released via download following a performance of the band and Jay-Z at the 2009 Grammy Awards, spurring high digital sales and giving "Lost!" a new peak at number 40 in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stay (2-4 Family song)</span>

"Stay" is the debut single by hip-hop group, 2-4 Family. It is their only song in which former band member Jo O'Meara sings, because she soon leaves the band, joining S Club in 1999. Jo O'Meara takes the lead vocals, singing dramatically. It charted at #8 on the Viva Top 100. The video was added to YouTube on November 5, 2006. It has had 81,707 views as of June 17, 2009. It is 2-4 Family's most successful song ever released.

<i>Family Business</i> (2-4 Family album) 1999 studio album by 2-4 Family

Family Business is the debut album by hip hop group 2-4 Family. It was released on 16 March 1999.

The discography of K-Ci & JoJo, an American R&B duo made up of Cedric and Joel Hailey, consists of five studio albums, five compilation albums, fifteen singles, and fifteen music videos. K-Ci & JoJo were originally the lead singers of the R&B group Jodeci before signing a record deal with MCA Records. In 1997, they released their debut album, Love Always. In the United States, Love Always peaked at number five on the Billboard 200, and number two on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and was certified triple-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Internationally, the album reached the top 50 on the Swiss, Canadian, and Australian Charts, and appeared on the UK and Swedish Albums Chart. The album produced four singles, including the multi-national number-one song, "All My Life".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jay-Z singles discography</span>

The singles discography of American rapper Jay-Z consists of 68 singles as a lead artist, and 51 singles as a featured artist, as well as 14 promotional singles.

References

  1. Austrian peaks
  2. French peaks
  3. German singles peaks [ dead link ]
  4. Dutch peaks
  5. Swiss peaks
  6. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (2-4 Family)" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie . Retrieved 2011-06-09.

[1]

  1. "German Top 40". Top40-Charts.com. Retrieved 2023-10-01.