Jodeci

Released: May 28, 1991

Songwriter: DeVante Swing

Producer: DeVante Swing

[Intro: Jodeci, DeVante Swing, K-Ci, Girl]
DeVante: So what's up? Can I call you tonight? What's your number?
(5-5-3 and I'm gettin' nasty)
Think I wanna call her, ha ha ha
I wanna change the pace, fuck up the bass
Excuse me baby, (Mmm, yeah)
(5-5-3 and I'm gettin' nasty)
Excuse me baby, (Yeah, yeah)
(5-5-3 and I'm gettin' nasty)

[Verse 1: K-Ci]
I guess I'm in a trance, my baby don't understand
It's far beyond romance, you still have my love and care
I really need someone who's nasty as can be
Excuse me, baby, that's her with that funky body
She passed her number and said "Call me, anytime"
It seems like every night she pops right in my mind
I only called just to say what could be
She said, "Come over here and baby play with me"

[Chorus: Jodeci]
Excuse me, baby
If you start to wonder
She's just my play thang
Don't know her name
I just know her number
She's just my play thang

[Post-Chorus: DeVante Swing]
Play thang (Yo, JoJo)
Play thang (Yo, K-Ci)
Play thang (Mr. Dalvin)
Play thang, DeVante
Play thang (Yo, JoJo)
Play thang (yo, K-Ci)
Play thang (Mr. Dalvin)
DeVante (K-Ci)

[Verse 2: K-Ci, Jodeci]
Every time I see her smile I see you in her, too
She's got all the thangs that make her sexy, too
I never thought I'd dream of havin' so much fun
Now I know it's my play thang
She's the one that brings me so much
(Joy) So much joy
(Joy) She makes me happy
(Girl, I love you so) She's my
She's my
My play thang

[Chorus: Jodeci]
Excuse me, baby
If you start to wonder
She's just my play thang
Don't know her name
I just know her number
She's just my play thang

[Post-Chorus: K-Ci, DeVante Swing]
Play thang
Play thang
Play thang (She's my)
Play thang
Play thang (She's my play thang)
Play thang
Play thang
DeVante (Let's get mature)

[Verse 3: Mr. Dalvin]
So complex
The definition of a word called sex
You won't find in a work context
And even better when you starts to flex your neck
Yo, I get a wax, legit
And on the board the lady won't quit
And when I'm doin' her in the spring, no doubt
(Sup, D?) Ask her what she wanna get

[Bridge: Jodeci, Girl, K-Ci]
(5-5-3 and I'm gettin' nasty) Let's salsa
(5-5-3 and I'm gettin' nasty) Let's dance, yo
(5-5-3 and I'm gettin' nasty) Let's house, ready?
Let's dance
All the brothas in the house
Let's dance
All the sistas in the house
Let's dance
All the ladies in the house
Let's dance
All the fellas in the house
Let's dance
All the boys in the house
Let's dance
All the girls in the house
Let's dance
(My, my play thang)
Let's dance
All the fellas in the house
Let's dance
(I wanna play with you)
Excuse me, baby (Ayy)
Excuse me, baby (I don't know her name)
Excuse me, baby (I don't know her number)
Excuse me, baby
Excuse-excuse

[Chorus: Jodeci, K-Ci]
Excuse me, baby
If you start to wonder
(She's my)
She's just my play thang
(My, my, my, my, my, my)
Don't know her name
I just know her number
She's just my play thang
(And I don't know)
Excuse me, baby
If you start to wonder
She's just my play thang
(She's my play thang)
Don't know her name
I just know her number
(My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my)
She's just my play thang
(My, my, my, my play thang, baby)

[Outro: Jodeci, K-Ci, DeVante Swing, Girl]
Excuse me, baby
(You gotta excuse me, baby)
(5-5-3 and I'm gettin' nasty)
(I, oh, oh oh)
(5-5-3 and I'm gettin' nasty)
I wanna change the pace, fuck up the bass

Started in 1983, Jodeci is comprised of two sets of brothers—Cedric and Joel Hailey (also known as K-Ci and JoJo) and Donald and Dalvin Degrate (also known as DeVante Swing and Mr. Dalvin). Jodeci were once known as the “bad boys of R&B,” notable particularly because they were actually boys at the time, breaking out as teenagers in 1991 with their debut album and its title ballad, “Forever My Lady.” Natives of North Carolina, they were discovered by Heavy D, who overheard their demo when an A&R at Uptown was in the process of passing on them. Heavy D introduced Jodeci to Uptown founder Andre Harrell, who signed them after they sang in his office, and handed them off to his then-protégé Puff Daddy, who outfitted the group in dark shades and coordinating leather ensembles. The look, along with the streetwise soul found in songs like “Cry 4 U” and “Feenin” (as well as a few run-ins with the law) made them the antithesis to good-guy personas of then-peaking R&B superstars Boyz II Men. Devante, who along with Mr. Dalvin held down production duties for the group, founded the Swing Mob, a collective responsible for the discovery of musical geniuses like Timbaland, Missy Elliott, and Static Major. As a group, Jodeci would go on to release three critically-acclaimed album in the ‘90s, before disappearing from the limelight. K-Ci and JoJo splintered off as a duo in 1997, producing hit single “All My Life” and, eventually, five albums, but adoring fans never let go of their Jodeci obsession. In March, the group released The Past, The Present, The Future, the first Jodeci album in two decades. Jodeci, if y'all reading this, where’d you go?

more tracks from the album

Forever My Lady

From the album

Forever My Lady (1991)

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Forever My Lady