Dru Hill and Mya

Friends since middle school, Tamir Ruffin (aka Nokio) recruited Mark Andres (aka Sisqo) and James Green (aka Big Woody Rock) to join him in a singing group, and they began performing around the Baltimore area; and after a while, Larry Anthony (aka Jazz) joined the group. The group originally would perform gospel music, but made the switch to R&B and in 1996 they caught their big break when they were signed to Island Record’s “Island Black” division.

Immediately after signing the record deal, they started working on their first album. The eponymous album, released in 1996, eventually reached certified gold, and the single “Tell Me” was featured on the soundtrack for the movie “Eddie.” In 1997 the group entered some legal drama, filing a suit to leave their contract with Island Records when their manager was hit on the head by an Island employee, and by the end both sides came to a settlement with Dru Hill still remaining on their contract.

In 1998 the group released their sophomore album, “Enter the Dru” and contained within it was the single “How Deep Is Your Love,” a song that was featured on the soundtrack to the film “Rush Hour.” By the end of the following year, “Enter the Dru” had sold over two million copies; however during their shoot for the music video for Will Smith’s “Wild Wild West,” Woody quit the group to return to his gospel roots, who would eventually be replaced by Def Jam artist, Case.

While working on their next album, “Dru World Order,” Sisqo was simultaneously working on his solo project, and released his debut album, “Unleash The Dragon” in 2000. While his solo album resulted in three fairly successful singles, it also resulted in “Dru World Order” being pushed back and due to conflict between members resulted in the group breaking apart. Luckily, by the end of 2001 the group started to reassemble and “Dru World Order” was finally completed and released in November 2002.

Mya Marie Harrison was born 10 October 1979 in Washington D.C., U.S. Though she was born in the nation’s capitol city she grew up in a suburb just outside it. Before her interest in music took complete hold, Mya was an invested dance student, taking lessons at a very young age. She briefly fell out with the art, but picked it back up in her preteens. Fueled by the acute finesse of dancers like Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, and Sammy Davis Jr., she became a member of T.W.A. (Tappers With Attitude) and eventually progressed to New York’s Dance Theatre of Harlem. Professional choreographer Savion Glover took her under his wing and helped prep her for a solo performance at the prestigious performing arts venue, Kennedy Center.

Dancing had always been placed at the forefront in regards to Mya’s aspirations, but she also harbored an intense passion for music. This also surfaced during her childhood and was nurtured in a variety of ways including participation in violin and voice lessons. Her father, Sherman Harrison (who was a musician himself) was thrilled to discover his daughter’s talent and interest in singing and staunchly advocated the upstart of Mya’s music career. He encouraged his daughter to record material and helped her pitch demo tapes to various label’s. Interscope records recognized her potential and went on to sign a recording contract with her.

Mya’s self-titled studio debut was recorded between 1996 -1998 in Atlanta Georgia’s Silent Sound Studios and Los Angeles’ “The Record Plant” and was released on 21 April 1998 to critical and commercial acclaim. The album endowed Harrison with two Soul Train Music Award nominations as well as one from NAACP Image Award. This record also produced three singles to enter the top five R&B Singles chart (“Movin On’”, “It’s All About Me”, “My First Night With You”) and featured contributions from hip/hop artists like Silk the Shocker, Wyclef Jean, Missy Elliott, and Babyface. The album spent 53 consecutive weeks on the Billboard Albums chart and has since gone platinum. In addition to releasing her self-titled album she also embarked on 3 highly publicized tours in 1998. She joined an expansive line up of hip-hop artists on the Smokin’ Groove Tour and Lilith Fair tour and opened for Boyz II Men in support of their album “Evolution”.

Mya’s sophomore effort “Fear of Flying” (a reference to the Erica Jong novel) was released in 2000, but initially failed to gain traction. However one of the album’s singles (the aggressive dance track “Case of the Ex”) did exceptionally well, steadily climbing the US Singles chart and eventually topping the charts in Australia. This track was also partly responsible for inciting Interscope to re-release the album. The re-issued version featured a different tracklist, which included the new song “Again & Again” and the soundtrack exclusive “Free” which was recorded specifically for the the Jamie Foxx film “Bait”. Following this album Mya made a few recordings for blockbuster films such as Disney’s “Atlantis: The Lost Empire” and Baz Luhrmann’s “Moulin Rouge”.

Mya took a break from music to pursue acting but returned in 2003 with her 3rd studio album, “Moodring”. This release proved to be her most diverse to date and emphasized genres such as quiet storm, techno, hip-hop, and as to be expected soul and R&B. This album also produced Mya’s biggest single yet, “My Love Is Like...Wo”, on which Missy Elliott oversaw production. Its heavy syncopated chops and sleazy synth lines propelled it to no. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became somewhat of a feminist anthem.

Mya took an even longer break between the release of her next album “Liberation”. It hit the shelves on 22 October 2007 and featured rap artists such as Snoop Dogg, Lil’ Wayne, and Charlie Baltimore.

“Sugar & Spice” followed a year later and was issued through Mya’s own label imprint, Planet 9. Her 6th studio album “K.I.S.S. (Keep It Sexy & Simple)” was also released through Planet 9 and became a relative hit in Japan, debuting at no. 61 on the Japan Album charts. In fact Mya geared this album specifically for a Japanese audience and heavily experimented with the J pop genre throughout.