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Welcome to a new edition of the Daily Music Picks newsletter!
Today’s music pick celebrates the recent 30th anniversary of one of the best R&B records of the mid-90s.
Genre: R&B, Neo-Soul
Label: Motown
Release Date: February 15, 1994
Vibe: 🫶
Zhané, the R&B duo of Renée Neufville and Jean Norris, got their first big break on the hip-hop compilation release Roll Wit Tha Flava. Then known as Jhané, their song “Hey Mr. DJ” impressed producers Naughty By Nature and executives enough to warrant a separate single release, eventually cracking the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. The duo parlayed that success into a record deal with Motown, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Their debut LP, Pronounced Jah-Nay, still stands up as an exercise in soul modernization. The vocals from Neufville and Norris echo the greatest hits from the label’s peak period, taking as many cues from Diana Ross as they do from En Vogue and other early-90s girl groups. The guys in Naughty By Nature wisely put the two singers front and center on every track, careful to provide just enough groove to get heads nodding and hips moving, but never so much that it obscures the airy sweetness at the record’s center.
Besides “Hey Mr. DJ,” Pronounced Jah-Nay produced two other hits: “Groove Thing” and what’s arguably the album’s high point, “Sending My Love.” But, at almost an hour long, those are far from the only highlights. The New Jack Swing vibes are strong on “Changes” and “You’re Sorry Now,” evoking memories of one of R&B’s most glorious mainstream runs. The pair also showcase their facility with jazz-infused ballads, particularly on the exceptional “Off My Mind,” where I wasn’t prepared for how hard some of the lyrics hit (”Lord, why don’t you free my mind/So that I can love again”). At different points, there are nods to artists like Janet Jackson and Sade, but those homages never made this LP feel derivative or stale.
Alas, the momentum didn’t last for Zhané. Their 1997 follow-up, Saturday Night, was a critical and commercial flop, surely part of why the group decided to split two years later. Still, Pronounced Jah-Nay deserves its flowers as one of the best R&B LPs of its era and possibly the decade. Neo-soul has rarely sounded this warm, inviting, or infectious.
👉 Don’t forget to click the album image to stream the album on your favorite platform 👈