Jodeci’s ‘Diary Of A Mad Band’ To Receive 30th Anniversary Reissue

Jodeci’s sophomore album, Diary Of A Mad Band, will receive an anniversary reissue on tan 1LP vinyl to celebrate its 30th birthday. The seminal album features hits like hits like, “Feenin,” “Cry For You,” and “My Heart Belongs To U.”

The record peaked at No.1 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop charts and features Timbaland, Redman, and Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot.

Writer Varaidzo for Complex UK situated the album in a recent feature, writing, “When Diary Of A Mad Band came out, the cover had to follow suit. Now award-winning heartthrobs, the band were no longer as covered up and lowkey as they were on their debut album.

“Instead of black winter beanies, K-Ci and JoJo are wearing caps, and unlike the heavy duty jackets on Forever My Lady, Mr. Dalvin and Devante Swing are both topless. The quartet’s matching neoprene overalls—worn as trousers and rolled down to the waist, paired with heavy duty black Timberland boots—are the makings of a real spectacle.”

Jodeci wasn’t the first soul singing R&B group to turn tales of lust and love into music. Their innovation was adding sinewy gospel-tinged harmonies and raunch unlike any R&B previously recorded, and trading in the usual coordinated tailored suits for leather vests, baggy jeans, and combat boots. Their message was clear from the beginning: They were not the typical straight-laced R&B group. While Boyz II Men were careful to be not too hard and not too soft, Jodeci had their shirts off and were ready for anything.

Jodeci, comprising two sets of brothers—Donald “DeVante” DeGrate Jr. and Dalvin “Mr. Dalvin” DeGrate, and Cedric “K-Ci” Hailey, and Joel “JoJo” Hailey”—got their respective starts singing in southern churches and touring on the gospel music circuit. The North Carolina boys eventually found each other and formed Jodeci—an amalgamation of their names—and made their way to New York City to pursue secular music. The rest is history.

Buy or stream Diary Of A Mad Band’s (30th Anniversary).

Diary Of A Mad Band’s (30th Anniversary) Tracklist:
Side A
My Heart Belongs To U
Cry For You
Feenin’
What About Us
Ride & Slide
Alone

Side B
You Got It
Won’t Waste You
In The Meanwhile
Gimmie All You Got
Sweaty
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