Raw Sibling Revelry by New Jodeci

JODECI

“The Show, the After-Party, the Hotel”

Uptown

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Sex, sex and more sex. That just about sums up this record. Though this vocal quartet is now the opposite of clean-scrubbed Boyz II Men, it was once just as wholesome. Jodeci, consisting of two sets of brothers, spent years performing on the Pentecostal gospel circuit. But these days, the group has a hyper-horny image and strong credibility with the hip-hop generation.

This day-in-the-life look at Jodeci is short on coherence but long on hormone-driven fun. If there’s more groupie-laden emphasis on the hotel and after-party than there is on the show, that may tell you all you need to know about Jodeci at this stage in its still-budding career.

The raunchy kick of “Pump It Back” and the funk appeal of “Freek’N You” are album highlights. Vocally Jodeci is undeniably a good group. One day, when it gets more maturity under its belt and extends its musical vision beyond the bedroom, it may well evolve into a great group.

New albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to four stars (e x cellent).