Mike Johnson (Mike Fresh / Jay Dogg) and Joseph (Jazz) met in the US Army in 1989. Since then they have been good friends. They were both DJ´s and since it turned out that Jay Dogg was the better DJ, Jazz got an idea that “You do the DJ´ing and I do the rapping”. And it was that way, and they took part in many talent-competitions. When they came to Germany in 1997, they met up with Essie Woods on a party. She gave them her number and they called her the next day. Joane, was a friends of Essence so there we have the group 2-4 Family. As you may notice, it isn´t the same person on the first single and video “Stay” as it is in the other tracks. Joane became pregnant and went back to London to give the birth and she wanted to be a mother, more than to be a singer, so she left the group. Later you can spot her in the popular S Club 7, where she was one of the lead singers. In the seacrh of a new singer, the Parklane Music recieved a demo on “Killing Me Softly” by a girl from London called Joanna Biscardine. They liked it a lot, and they contacted her and she got the job. And here we have the 2-4 Family!
In the middle of 1998, during the golden European HipHop and Rap years when artists like Nana, Down Low and C-Block dominated the charts in Europe, a new group could be seen with the single “Stay” The song has a very catchy chorus and some great rappin by the groups members. “Stay” got really big in Europe and it also reached #8 on the famous chart Viva Top 100. Then they made a duet with Down Low, 4 The Cause, 2 Ruff and Sweetbox to made the song “Last Christmas” as Rap Allstars. It became a huge 1998 x-mas hit. The song is a wonderful hip-hop version of Wham!´s old song. The second single from 2-4 Family was “Lean On Me”. This is a wonderful song, and proves that they aren´t a one-hit-wonder band. It also reached number 9 on Viva Top 100. The debut album “Family Business” was released the 16 of March 1999 and is one of the best albums of the European HipHop/Rap era. The 3rd single from 2-4 Family was “Take Me Home” and was released in June, 1999. That was the end of the 2-4 Family. They only released one album.
In 2006, it was time for another strange move from the music business. The producers of the original 2-4 Family, used the group name and formed a new 2-4 Family, with different members.
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