Death (band)

Murphy also has been stricken with cancer, and is organizing a Death tribute album to be released this year. A video was shot for each of the two versions of "In My Bed", and the video for "Beauty" was shot, but never released or broadcast. James Murphy has formed numerous projects such as Disincarnate and has made a name for himself. All listed singles had music videos shot for them except "Five Steps". DiGiorgio is now a permanent member of both Sadus and Testament. The group also performed live on Stevie Wonder's BET Walk of Fame Celebration, with Woody, Scola, Jazz, and Sisqó taking turns leading on Wonder's 1974 single "Livin' In the City". Ralph Santolla also ended up with Iced Earth, as did Steve DiGiorgio momentarily. During the same year, Dru Hill appeared on LL Cool J's song "Unconditional Love" from his 10 LP; the chorus, led by Jazz, was borrowed from The Spinners' 1974 soul standard "Sadie".

Richard Christy went on to gigs with Acheron and Iced Earth before joining the Howard Stern Show. Although "I Should Be..." was a Top 30 pop hit and a Top 10 R&B hit, its follow-up "I Love You" failed to make a strong impression, and Dru World Order became the slowest Dru Hill album to reach gold selling status. Others went on to do so, such as Sean Reinert, who formed the legendary Cynic with fellow Death member Paul Masvidal. Ironically, both of these pioneering death metal musicians have ended up in a sensitive pop band laced with delicate guitars and Masvidal's soft croon, named Aeon Spoke. Most of the album's songs featured a concious effort to balance the group dynamics, with Sisqó, Jazz, Woody, and Scola frequently all sharing leads on the same song, including the lead single "I Should Be...". Some, such as Gene Hoglan from Dark Angel and Andy LaRocque from King Diamond, already had made a name for themselves. Nearly all of the album's tracks were produced by Nokio, who was spotlighted on the tracks "She Said" and "Men Always Regret", with producers such as Brian Michael Cox and Kwame also making contributions. The members of Death have dispersed all throughout the landscape of extreme metal. Dru World Order was finally issued on November 26, 2002, exactly two years after its original planned release date.

But their markedly unfinished state and lack of vocals led few to pay attention to what was obviously an unlistenable product. During the recording of Dru World Order, Jazz re-thought his decision and returned to the group, making it a quintet. In 2004, Hammerheart Records released a CD made up of both old, pre Scream Bloody Gore demos, and partial demos of the unfinished album, under the name Chuck Schuldiner, not Death. Dru Hill therefore enlisted Baltimore associate Rufus Waller, who performed under the name "Ruscola", as its new fourth member. The second Control Denied release is yet to be completed and is mired in a variety of odd legal problems involving their label, Chuck's mother, and the musicians who have publicly stated their desire to complete the album. Woody was responsive to the idea of re-joining the group, but Jazz decided not to rejoin the group. And as he worked on the second release, the disease overcame him, and he passed from this earth. By the end of the year, plans were under way to reassemble Dru Hill.

As Chuck finished their debut album, he was stricken with brain cancer, forcing them to scrap plans for a tour. "Without You" would up as an album track on the Sisqó's June 2001 LP Return of Dragon, which failed to find an audience. Clendenin was cashiered in favor of Steve DiGiorgio, who was once again available, and an underground power metal singer named Tim Aymar. Dru World Order was placed on hold, and Sisqó began work on a second solo LP. After the album and a supporting tour, Chuck dissolved Death to pursue Control Denied with Christy and Hamm from his last album. Sisqó walked out of a November 2000 photo shoot with the band for VIBE magazine, and the group broke apart completely shortly afterward. Somehow this did not pan out, and he reformed the band with Florida musicians Richard Christy, Shannon Hamm, and Scott Clendenin, to record 1998's The Sound of Perseverance with his new label Nuclear Blast. However, the time the group had spent apart created tension and conflict among the members.

After Symbolic, Chuck dissolved the band and all ties with Roadrunner Records and began writing songs for Control Denied. A song called "Without Me" was recorded as the lead single. Afterwards, for 1995's Symbolic, Santolla and DiGiorgio were cashiered for Kelly Conlon and Bobby Koelbe, underground Florida musicians. Dru Hill appeared together on the 2000 remix of Kelly Price's "Love Sets You Free", and after the pop-mania surrounding Sisqó's "Thong Song" died down after the summer of 2000, beganimmediate plans to record the Dru World Order album. Chuck replaced them with Gene Hoglan of the recently dissolved thrash metal band Dark Angel, and for Individual Thought Patterns, worked with guitarist Andy LaRocque from King Diamond, LaRocque being obligated to his band, Chuck hired Ralph Santolla as touring guitarist. The fully-completed Jazz solo LP, on the other hand, was never released, although some of its songs turned up on movie soundtracks and promotional Def Jam mixtapes. Nokio never finished his solo album, but did outside production work for DMX's 1999 and Capone-N-Noreaga. In 1993, Reinert and Masvidal left the group to continue with Cynic, Chuck being unable to persuade them otherwise. Woody sought a release from the label for his solo deal, and would finally release his solo LP, Soul Music, on Kirk Franklin's Gospocentric Records in May 2002.

1991's Human was their best selling album yet, receiving many accolades and some MTV play. While the members of Dru Hill made periodic appearances with Sisqo during the "Thong Song" period, the Dru World Order project schedule was continually pushed back, and, by November 2000, none of the other solo albums had been released. Chuck hired Steve DiGiorgio and recruited Sean Reinert and Paul Masvidal from the underground Florida band Cynic. His second single, a playful novelty record entitled "Thong Song", became a overwhelming pop sensation, and was practically omnipresent during the spring of 2000. Chuck then abandoned the idea of a band altogether and continued working with session musicians only. The project started out as planned: Sisqó released his debut Unleash the Dragon LP, and had a minor hit with "Got to Get It". However as part of the disagreement, Bill and Terry continued Death to tour Europe and recruited Walter Trachsler (guitar) and Louie Carrisalez (vocals) to replace Chuck, much to Chuck's disgust. All four members would then reunite and record Dru World Order, a new Dru Hill album to be released in November 2000.

Soon, in 1990 the entire band dissolved once again. After Island merged with Def Jam to become The Island Def Jam Music Group, all four members--Woody included--signed new contracts with Def Jam's R&B imprint Def Soul in the summer of 1999, creating what was termed the "Dru World Order" project. Between November 1999 and November 2000, each member would release a solo album that defined their personal style: Sisqó a pop album, Jazz a traditional R&B/soul album, Nokio a hip hop album, and Woody his gospel album. More and more melody was added to the band. Then, Def Jam artist Case was enlisted to sing backgrounds on a remix of "Beauty" from Enter the Dru, whose video was shot, but not released. Chuck abandoned the "gore" lyrical theme for more social critique and the musical style progressed from simple brutal death metal to complex, technical death metal. At first, Island decided to keep Dru Hill a trio, and shot a video for a hip-hop-styled remix of Enter the Dru's "You are Everything" with just Sisqó, Jazz, and Nokio, who performs a rap with Def Jam artist Ja Rule. With whom in 1990 the third album was recorded: Spiritual Healing. During the "Wild Wild West" video shoot in March 1999, Woody quit the group and walked off the set, feeling a need to return to his gospel music roots.

A replacement was found in James Murphy. Many uninformed pop fans thought Sisqó was "Dru Hill" by himself, as both the song and its video prominently featured Sisqó alongside Smith, but relegated the other three members to the background. But soon thereafter, Rick Rozz was fired in 1989 after lots of gigging around. When Dru Hill made a high-profile guest appearance on Will Smith's #1 pop hit "Wild Wild West", the lead single from the soundtrack to Smith's 1999 film of the same name, it made a star out of Sisqó, but not the group. In 1988, that lineup recorded the Leprosy album. While all four members continued to contribute equally to the group's music, the press had by this point singled Sisqó out as a de-facto solo act, and reguarded the other three members as sidemen. Terry Butler, and Bill Andrews. At the top of their success, the Dru Hill hit machine began to crumble.

There he teamed up with former bandmate Rick Rozz, and two members of Rick's band Massacre viz. A number of similar groups, including Jagged Edge, Next, Ideal, and Profyle, surfaced during this period, and were all based upon Dru Hill's balance of Boyz II Men's smoothness and Jodeci's grittiness. The album was a great success, but nevertheless, Chuck decided to move back to Florida, leaving Chris Reifert behind. The members of Dru Hill performed at Nelson Mandela's 80th birthday celebration in 1998, were the stars of their own two-hour special on BET in early 1999, and recorded a verison of "Enchantment Passing Through" for the soundtrack to the Broadway play Aida the same year. He teamed up with a second guitar player named John Hand, who however never played anything for Death, but showed up on the album cover. The Enter the Dru LP sold over two million copies, and paved the way for more success. The Scream Bloody Gore album was released in 1987. The steady stream of hit records, collaborations, and soundtrack appearances had made Dru Hill staples of urban radio and household names among R&B listeners.

This enabled them to record the first LP. The now-standard Dru Hill ballads were stll in place, including the R&B Top 5 single "These are the Times", which was co-written and co-produced by Babyface. They recorded the "Mutilation" demo, which led to a deal with Combat Records. 1998, featured more of the group's songwriting and production than Dru Hill, and also featured a harder, more upbeat nature on many of its tracks. He returned to Florida, but then moved quickly to San Francisco, where he joined with Chris Reifert. Enter the Dru, released on October 27. This only lasted two weeks, as he found out it was not his thing. Dru Hill's second Top 5 pop hit came in the form of 1998's "How Deep is Your Love", a hip hop styled track which was included on the soundtrack to the Chris Tucker film Rush Hour, set the tone for the group's second LP, Enter the Dru.

There, in 1986, he got an invitation from Slaughter to play on their album, which he accepted and so he moved to Canada. The group was instrumental in writing and producing for new University artist Mya, whose first two singles "It's All About Me" and "Movin' On", where co-written by Sisqó, who also performs on "It's All About Me". But he was not happy with this incarnation of Death and moved back to Florida, without a band. Dru Hill and rapper Foxy Brown recorded "Big Bad Mama", a remake of Carl Carlton's 1981 hit "She's a Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked)", which was the main single for the soundtrack to the 1998 Bill Bellamy film Def Jam's How to Be a Player. Chuck moved to San Fransisco and recruted DRI's drummer Eric Bregt. "We're Not Making Love No More" was written and produced by star producer Babyface. However, a drummer could not be found; the band dissolved again. Between their first and second albums, Dru Hill contributed "We're Not Making Love No More", a #2 R&B hit, to the Soul Food soundtrack.

Then, Chuck fired Kam and Rick in favour of Repulsion's bassist and guitarist, Scott Carlson and Matt Olivio. The 1997 "Never Make a Promise" music video starred Michelle Thomas as Jazz's girlfriend, and was noted for its message against child molestation. In 1985, the Infernal Death tape was recorded and released. The Sisqó-led "In My Bed" was the band's first Top 5 pop hit and first #1 R&B hit, and Jazz took the lead on the third single "Never Make a Promise", another #1 R&B hit. Another demo was released in called "Reign of Terror". Although all four members took turns singing lead, Sisqó made the bigget impression on audiences with his dynamic dancing style, David Ruffin-style emoting, and bleached-blond hair. New members were found by the same Rick Rozz and Kam Lee. Nokio also did some co-production, and would become the group's main producer by 1998.

In 1984, Chuck, however, dissolved Mantas and quickly started a new band under the name of Death. While Dru Hill's early work relied upon the talents of songwriters/producers such as Daryl Simmons and Keith Sweat, the members, particularly Nokio and Woody, did some of the writing on their first album, including the single "Five Steps". These tapes along with the "Death by Metal" demo circulated through the tape trader world, quickly establishing the bands name. Other major influences for the group included Stevie Wonder and 1980s boy band New Edition. Together with Barney "Kam" Lee, and Rick Rozz, Chuck started to compose songs that were released on several rehearsal tapes in 1984. Stylistically, Dru Hill was the middle-ground between the smooth and gentlemen-like Boyz II Men and the self-proclaimed "bad boys of R&B", Jodeci. Dru Hill received a lot of criticism from a number of people, including the members of Jodeci, for what was percieved was a direct rip-off of Jodeci's vocal and visual stylings, particularly frontman Sisqó's K-Ci Hailey-esque lead vocals. They were a part of and helped define the famous Florida death metal scene. The group's first single, "Tell Me", was featured on the soundtrack to the Whoopi Goldberg film Eddie, and was a Top 5 R&B hit in the United States.

Founded in 1983 by Chuck Schuldiner under the original name of Mantas in Orlando, they pioneered the Death Metal sound along with Morbid Angel, Possessed. The self-titled Dru Hill was released on November 19, 1996, and went on to sell over 500,000 copies, attaining gold status. Death was an influential death metal band from America. The group was signed to Island Records shortly afterward through a production deal with Islam's University music and immediately began recording their debut album. Live In Eindhoven '98 (2001). Dru Hill's big break came in 1996, when manager Haqq Islam arranged for them to perform at the Impact Convention in May. Live In L.A.: Death & Raw (2001). After the group switched to R&B, Woody's mother pulled him out of the act until the other three convinced her to allow him to remain.

Sound Of Perseverance (1998). Most of their early repitoire was made up of gospel music, as Woody came from a strict Christian family. Symbolic (1995). The quartet made a name for itself by getting jobs at a local fudge factory, where they sang to entertain guests while making the candy. Individual Thought Patterns (1993). The group was named "Dru Hill" after Druid Hill Park, a section of Baltimore. Fate: The Best Of Death (1992). The trio added Larry "Jazz" Anthony, an opera student, to compelte their lineup.

Human (1991). Ruffin, nicknamed "Nokio" (an alternate spelling of Nokia, the phone corporation) enlisted Andrews and Green (whose respective nicknames of "Sisqó" and "Woody" came from their early years) to form a singing group. Spiritual Healing (1990). Mark Andrews and James Green met each other in middle school, and both later became acquaintences of Tamir Ruffin when all three began persuing careers in the music industry. Leprosy (1988). All four original members of Dru Hill were natives of Baltimore. Scream Bloody Gore (1987). The group is currently part of the roster of Def Jam Records' Def Soul imprint, a result of the 1999 Island/Def Jam Merger.

Mutilation (demo, 1986). In 2002, the group reunited and added fifth member Rufus "Scola" Waller to the lineup. Back From The Dead (demo, 1985). Signing to Island Records through Haqq Islam's University Records imprint, Dru Hill released two successful LPs before seperating for a period from late 1999 to 2002, during which time Sisqó and Woody released solo albums. Rigor Mortis (demo, 1985). Founded in Baltimore, Maryland in 1995, Dru Hill has recorded seven Top 40 hits, and are best known for the R&B #1 hits "In My Bed", "Never Make a Promise", and "How Deep is Your Love". Tamir "Nokio" Ruffin is the group's founder and leader; his bandmates include main lead singer Mark "Sisqó" Andrews, Larry "Jazz" Anthony', and James "Woody" Green. Infernal Death (demo, 1985). Dru Hill is an American singing group, most popular during the late 1990s, whose repitoire includes R&B, soul, and gospel music.

Live At Ruby's Pub (live-demo, 1984). Here and Now: This week on the music beat (http://static.highbeam.com/e/entertainmentweekly/january262001/hereandnowthisweekonthemusicbeatbriefarticle/). Entertainment Weekly. Reign Of Terror (demo, 1984). 26 2001). Death By Metal (demo as Mantas, 1984). Willman, Chris (Jan. Shannon Hamm - guitars (1996-1999). ISBN 031-228199-4.

Scott Clendenin - bass (1996-1999). Martin's Press. Richard Christy - drums (1996-1999). New York: St. Bobby Koelble - guitars (1995). Sisqo: The Man Behind the Thong. Chris Williams - drums (1996). Furman, Leah (2001).

Kelly Conlon - bass (1995). 2002: "I Love You" (US #77). Craig Locicero - guitar (1993). 2002: "I Should Be..." (US #25). Ralph Santolla - guitars (1993). 1999: "Beauty [Remix]" (featuring Case) (US #89). Andy LaRocque (Anders Allhage) - guitars (1993). 1999: "You Are Everything [Remix]" (featuring Ja Rule, original version included on Enter the Dru, remix later included on Sisqó's first solo LP, Unleash the Dragon) (US #84).

Gene Hoglan - drums (1993-1995). 1999: "Wild Wild West" (Will Smith featuring Dru Hill and Kool Moe Dee) (US #1). Paul Masdival - guitars (1990-1991). 1999: "These Are The Times" (US #21, UK #4). Skott Carino - Bass (1991-1992). 1998: "How Deep is Your Love" (the Rush Hour soundtrack version feaures Redman) (US #3, UK #9). Sean Reinert - drums (1991-1992). 1998: "Big Bad Mama" (Foxy Brown featuring Dru Hill) (US #53).

Louie Carrisalez - vocals (1990). 1997: "We're Not Making Love No More" (US #13). Walter Trachsler - guitar (1990). 1997: "Five Steps". Steve DiGiorgio - bass (1986, 1991, 1993). 1997: "Never Make a Promise" (US #7). James Murphy - guitars (1990). 1996: "In My Bed" (a 1997 remix features Jermaine Dupri and Da Brat) (US #4).

Bill Andrews - guitars(1987-1990). 1996: "Tell Me" (US #18). Terry Butler - bass (1987-1990). 2002: Dru World Order. Chris Reifert - drums (1986-1987). 1998: Enter the Dru. Albert Gonzalez - guitars (1990). 1996: Dru Hill.

John Hand - guitars (Never played anything live or on any album) (1987). Rufus "Scola" Waller (2001- ). Eric (last name unknown) - bass (1985). Larry "Jazz" Anthony. Eric Bregt - drums (1985). Mark "Sisqó" Andrews. Matt Olivio - guitars (1985). James "Woody" Green.

Scott Carlson - Bass (1985). Tamir "Nokio" Ruffin. Rick Rozz (Frederick DeLillo) - guitars(1983-1985, 1987-1989). Kam Lee (Barney Lee)- drums, vocals (1983-1985). Chuck Schuldiner - rhythm and lead guitars, vocals, main songwriter (1983-1999).

Time: 1983-1999. Status: Dissolved. Country: USA. Genre: Death metal.