Little Cedric
| Little Cedric | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Cedric Renard Hailey |
| Also known as | Little Cedric, K-Ci |
| Born |
September 21, 1969 Monroe, North Carolina |
| Origin | Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Genres | CCM, gospel, traditional black gospel, urban contemporary gospel |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, organist |
| Instruments | vocals, singer-songwriter |
| Years active | 1983–1985 |
| Labels | Atlanta International, AIR Gospel |
| Associated acts | The Hailey Singers, K-Ci & JoJo, Jodeci |
Cedric Renard Hailey (born September 21, 1969), who goes by the religious stage name Little Cedric while using secular stage name K-Ci, is an American gospel musician and member of K-Ci & JoJo and formerly of Jodeci. He started his music career, in 1983, with the release of, I'm Alright Now, by Atlanta International Records. The next two albums, 1984's Jesus Saves and 1985's God's Blessing, were released by AIR Gospel, and they both achieved placements upon the Billboard magazine Gospel Albums chart.
Early life
Hailey was born on September 21, 1969 in Monroe, North Carolina as Cedric Renard Hailey,[1] whose younger brother, Joel Lamont "JoJo" Hailey was born on June 10, 1971 in Monroe, North Carolina.[2] They grew up with the two DeGrate brothers, Donald "DeVante Swing" DeGrate and Dalvin, whose father was a preacher in a Pentecostal church, and they frequently made the rounds throughout the Southeastern United States singing gospel music.[2] Cedric and Dalvin had their eyes set on one particular woman, which they were both dating at the time, and they almost come to fisticuffs over the situation.[2] Their saving grace was their love of music, and their dream of becoming stars, which almost got thrown away.[2] When DeVante bolted for Minneapolis, Minnesota, for a position at Prince's Paisley's Park that he was denied the opportunity.[2] He came back home, and the quartet settled in Charlotte, North Carolina.[2] They went on a trip to New York City in order to procure a record deal, and they stopped by Uptown Records that at the time the president of the label was Andre Harrell, yet he did not care about the group in particular.[2] So, Heavy D eavesdropped on a playing of their demo cassette tape, and enjoyed their tunes, which he urged Harrell to take a listen and he did.[2] He liked what was playing, and coined the name Jodeci that's an amalgamation of their stage names.[2] Later the group would be just the two brothers, K-Ci & JoJo.[2]
Music career
Little Cedric's gospel music recording career was short lived, with the 1983 release of I'm Alright Now by Atlanta International Records, Gospel,[3] yet this release failed to place on any Billboard magazine charts.[4] His next two releases, 1984's Jesus Saves and God's Blessing in 1985,[3][4] both placed upon the Billboard Gospel Albums chart, with the first at No. 4, while the second at No. 22.[4]
Personal life
The two Hailey brothers were arrested for tax evasion in April of 2003.[1]
Discography
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions[4] |
|---|---|---|
| US Gos | ||
| I'm Alright Now |
|
– |
| Jesus Saves |
|
4 |
| God's Blessing |
|
22 |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Billboard (April 7, 2003). "K-Ci, JoJo Free After Tax Evasion Arrest". Billboard. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 Carpenter, Bil (2005). "Uncloudy Days: The Gospel Music Encyclopdia". p. 253.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 AllMusic. "Litte Cedric : Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Billboard. "Little Cedric : Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
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