Y?N-Vee

Y?N-Vee (Pronounced: why envy) was an American female R&B/Hip hop group that formed in the early 1990s as the first act on PMP Records, who by 1994 linked a deal with the RAL division of Def Jam Music Group. PMP would later find success with R&B artist Montell Jordan in the following year.

The group's first recording was a posse cut for Johnny "J"'s one and only album, I Gotta Be Me and followed that by recording with 2Pac and his affiliate group called Thug Life (who were close people with Johnny "J". Then, they launched their one and only self-titled debut album on October 18, 1994, which peaked at No.75 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

The group's success was short lived; they scored three charting singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, including a cover of Rose Royce's 1976 classic "I'm Going Down" from the Car Wash motion picture soundtrack (around the same time Mary J. Blige's cover officially became a mega-hit) and their biggest hit "Freedom" which was a one-off female supergroup lead track from the Panther soundtrack that featured Aaliyah, BlackGirl, En Vogue, For Real, TLC, Vanessa L. Williams among others.

In 1996 the group appeared in the film Phat Beach starring Brian Hooks.

Former member Natasha Walker also appeared on 2Pac's tracks such as "Lord Knows" from Me Against The World and "Check Out Time" from All Eyez On Me.

As of May 2012, former Y?NVee member Nicole Chaney-Dillon has been married for 17 years to her former background dancer and has turned to faith and hosts her own inspirational talk radio show.

In April 2015 former member Yenan Ragsdale-Winston was diagnosed with cancer. Despite chemotherapy, treatments were not enough to prevent it's progression. December 12, 2015 ended Yenan's battle with cancer.

Yenan leaves behind her husband and three children ages 16, 7 and 4.

Discography

Album

• Y?N-Vee (1994)

Singles