Pronounced Jah-Nay

Pronounced Jah-Nay
Pronounced Jah-Nay
Studio album by Zhané
Released	February 15, 1994
Recorded	1993
Studio	Enterprise (Burbank, California); Encore Studios (Burbank, California); Marion Recording Studio (Fairview, New Jersey); Unique Recording Studios (New York City, New York; Soundtrack Studios (New York City, New York);
Genre	R&B
Length	56:34
Label	Motown
Producer	Naughty by Nature; Zhané;
Zhané chronology
Singles from Pronounced Jah-Nay
	"Hey Mr. D.J."; Released: August 12, 1993; "Groove Thang"; Released: January 1994; "Sending My Love"; Released: May 23, 1994; "Vibe"; Released: August 30, 1994; "You're Sorry Now"; Released: September 27, 1994;

Pronounced Jah-Nay is the debut studio album by American R&B group Zhané. It was released on February 15, 1994, via Motown. The recording sessions took place at The Enterprise Studios and at Encore Studios in Burbank, at Marion Recording Studio in Fairview, New Jersey, and at Unique Recording Studios and at Soundtrack Studios in New York City. The album was produced by Naughty by Nature and Zhané. It peaked at number thirty-seven on the Billboard 200 and number eight on the Top R&B Albums chart. It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America on October 4, 1996.

The album produced five singles: "Hey Mr. D.J.", "Groove Thang", "Sending My Love", "Vibe" and "You're Sorry Now". Its lead single, "Hey Mr. D.J.", became the group's most successful song, reaching number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and receiving gold certification by the RIAA.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
The Baltimore Sun	(favorable)^[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	^[3]
Entertainment Weekly	A−^[4]
Gavin Report	(favorable)^[5]
People	(favorable)^[6]
Spin	(favorable)^[7]

Music & Media wrote, "The concept this female duo–Renee Neufville and Jean Norris–practises is relatively new. Blending sweet soul music with hip hop rhythm tracks, the outcome is not unlike "Sons Of Soul" Tony! Toni! Tone!. Compared to their own streetwise rap records, producers Naughty By Nature were very smooth operators in the studio for this one. Apart from the two singles "Hey Mr. D.J." and "Groove Thang" the beat is rather slow. Pronounce "Ge-nius," we say sans gene."^[8]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Hey Mr. D.J."	Renée Neufville Keir Gist Leon Ware Zane Grey	Naughty by Nature	4:11
2.	"Intro (Interlude)"	Gist	Naughty by Nature	0:35
3.	"Vibe"	Neufville Naughty by Nature Rod Temperton	Naughty by Nature	3:30
4.	"Sending My Love"	Neufville Naughty by Nature	Naughty by Nature David Bellochio (add.)	3:41
5.	"Sweet Taste of Love"	Neufville	Naughty by Nature David Bellochio (add.)	3:50
6.	"Changes"	Neufville	Naughty by Nature Renée Neufville Craig King (co.)	4:44
7.	"You're Sorry Now"	Neufville Naughty by Nature	Naughty by Nature David Bellochio (co.)	4:41
8.	"Love Me Today"	Neufville	Renée Neufville Naughty by Nature	5:25
9.	"Off My Mind"	Neufville	Renée Neufville	4:24
10.	"La, La, La"	Neufville Jean Norris	Jean Norris Naughty by Nature	5:29
11.	"Groove Thang"	Neufville Naughty by Nature Patrice Rushen Charles Mims, Jr. Sheree Brown Freddie D. Washington	Naughty by Nature	3:55
12.	"For a Reason"	Norris	Zhané	6:56
13.	"Hey Mr. D.J. (Remix)"	Neufville Gist Ware Grey	Naughty by Nature	5:13
Total length:				56:34

Sample credits

Track 1 contains a sample from "Lookin' Up to You" performed by Michael Wycoff
Track 3 contains a sample from "Love X Love" performed by George Benson

Personnel

Renée Neufville – vocals, lyrics (tracks: 1, 3-11, 13), piano (track 8), strings (track 12), producer (tracks: 6, 8, 9, 12), executive producer
Jean Norris – vocals, lyrics & producer (tracks: 10, 12), keyboards (track 10), piano (track 12), executive producer
Keir "Kay Gee" Gist – vocals (track 2), drum programming (tracks: 6–8, 10, 13), executive producer
Wendell & Face – vocals (track 2)
Les – additional vocals (track 3)
Voe Harris – keyboards (track 3)
Naheem "Pop Holiday" Bowens – keyboards (track 3)
David Bellochio – keyboards (tracks: 4, 5, 7, 8), piano (track 9), additional producer (tracks: 4, 5), co-producer (track 7), recording (tracks: 1–8, 10–13)
Alan Goldsher – bass (track 9)
Steve Williams – drums (track 9)
Frank Gravis – bass (track 10)
Paul Levant – guitar (track 10)
Kevin Batchelor – trumpet (track 10)
Naughty by Nature – producers (tracks: 1–8, 10, 11, 13)
Craig King – co-producer (track 6)
Angela Piva – recording (tracks: 1–8, 10–14), mixing (tracks: 1–7, 9-14)
John Van Nest – mixing (track 8)
Frank Fagnano – recording (track 9)
Quincy Jones III – remixing (track 13)
Ed Miller – recording assistant
Fred Kelly – recording assistant
John Buttigieg – recording assistant
Mufi – recording assistant
Rob Polhemus – recording assistant
Scott Blockland – recording assistant
Scott Canto – recording assistant
Steve McKeever – executive producer, liner notes
Jonathan Clark – art direction
Shauna Woods – design
James Minchin III – photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1994)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[9]	50
UK Albums (OCC)^[10]	89
US Billboard 200^[11]	37
US Top R&B Albums (Billboard)^[12]	8

Year-end charts

Chart (1994)	Position
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[13]	31

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions
Year	Single	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	U.S. Dance Music/Club Play Singles	U.S. Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales	U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	U.S. Rhythmic Top 40	U.S. Top 40 Mainstream
1993	"Hey Mr. D.J."	6	2	1	3	2	16
1994	"Groove Thang"	17	13	1	2	4	33
	"Sending My Love"	40	—	16	5	26	—
	"Vibe"	119	—	14	33	—	—
1995	"You're Sorry Now"	—	—	—	38	—	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)^[14]	Platinum	1,000,000^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

^ ^a ^b Promis, Jose F. "Pronounced Jah-Nay Zhané". AllMusic. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
^ Considine, J.D. (June 10, 1994). "Books & Music: Album Reviews". The Baltimore Sun. p. G3. Retrieved January 7, 2023 – via Bangor Daily News.
^ Larkin, Colin (2000). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press.
^ Bernard, James (February 11, 1994). "Pronounced Jah-Nay". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
^ Martinucci, John (February 11, 1994). "Gavin Picks — Albums" (PDF). Gavin Report. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
^ "Picks and Pans Review: Pronounced Jah-Nay". People. March 21, 1994.
^ Bernstein, Jonathan (May 1994). "Heavy Rotation". Spin. p. 24. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
^ "New Releases: Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. April 9, 1994. p. 8. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
^ "Australiancharts.com – Zhané – Pronounced Jah-Nay". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
^ "Billboard 200 Chart: Week of March 12, 1994". Billboard. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart: Week of March 12, 1994". Billboard. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1995". Billboard. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
^ "American album certifications – Zhane – Zhane". Recording Industry Association of America.

External links

Pronounced Jah-Nay at Discogs (list of releases)

[RnB-1] Promis, Jose F. "Pronounced Jah-Nay Zhané". AllMusic. Retrieved March 12, 2021.

[2] Considine, J.D. (June 10, 1994). "Books & Music: Album Reviews". The Baltimore Sun. p. G3. Retrieved January 7, 2023 – via Bangor Daily News.

[3] Larkin, Colin (2000). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press.

[4] Bernard, James (February 11, 1994). "Pronounced Jah-Nay". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 12, 2021.

[5] Martinucci, John (February 11, 1994). "Gavin Picks — Albums" (PDF). Gavin Report. Retrieved March 14, 2022.

[6] "Picks and Pans Review: Pronounced Jah-Nay". People. March 21, 1994.

[7] Bernstein, Jonathan (May 1994). "Heavy Rotation". Spin. p. 24. Retrieved January 27, 2023.

[8] "New Releases: Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. April 9, 1994. p. 8. Retrieved May 19, 2021.

[ac_Australia_Zhané-9] "Australiancharts.com – Zhané – Pronounced Jah-Nay". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 12, 2021.

[ac_UK2_-10] "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 12, 2021.

[11] "Billboard 200 Chart: Week of March 12, 1994". Billboard. Retrieved March 12, 2021.

[12] "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart: Week of March 12, 1994". Billboard. Retrieved March 12, 2021.

[13] "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1995". Billboard. Retrieved March 12, 2021.

[United_StatesZhaneZhanealbumCertRef-14] "American album certifications – Zhane – Zhane". Recording Industry Association of America.

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