Jodeci

Released: July 18, 1995

Songwriter: DeVante Swing

Producer: DeVante Swing

[Verse 1: JoJo]
Promises you made me
All the things you told me
You said you'd never leave me
We'll be together for eternity
Now it's all in the past
Now I know our love will last
Lady I will do all I can
Lady I will be all I am
I'll give you all you had before
So come on in and close the door
Let me show you what I could be
Could you just please tell me

[Chorus]
Do you believe in love
And the promise that it gives
I wanna love you for life
Cause your love is why I live
Do you believe in love
And the promise that it gives
I wanna love you for life
Cause your love is why I live

[Verse 2: K-Ci]
I know that things are rough
But my faith wasn't strong enough
Now my heart is built to last
My heart is beating for you fast
But now I know that you understand
I wanna take you by the hand
And walk with you down that aisle
And with you I will live my life
I'll give you all you had before
So come on in and close the door
Let me show you what I could be
If you just please tell me

[Chorus]
Do you believe in love
And the promise that it gives
I wanna love you for life
Cause your love is why I live
Do you believe in love
And the promise that it gives
I wanna love you for life
Cause your love is why I live

[Bridge]
I want you to know that it's for real
This feeling that I feel
I want you to know that it's so real
Tell me will you

[Chorus]
Do you believe in love
And the promise that it gives
I wanna love you for life
Cause your love is why I live
Do you believe in love
And the promise that it gives
I wanna love you for life
Cause your love is why I live

Do you believe in love
And the promise that it gives
I wanna love you for life
Cause your love is why I live
Do you believe in love
And the promise that it gives
I wanna love you for life
Cause your love is why I live

Do you believe in love
And the promise that it gives
I wanna love you for life
Cause your love is why I live
Do you believe in love
And the promise that it gives
I wanna love you for life

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

The Show, The After-Party, The Hotel

From the albums

The Show, The After-Party, The Hotel (1995)
Back To The Future: The Very Best Of Jodeci (2005)

Jodeci popular songs

Love U 4 LifeJodeci

Jodeci

The Show, The After-Party, The Hotel