Zhané’s Hey Mr DJ goes platinum in New Zealand

THIRTY-THREE years ago, the song Hey Mr DJ by the female duo Zhané rose to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

The song was also successful in multiple European countries, making the top 10 in Australia, Canada, Netherlands, and topping out at #26 on the UK Singles chart. It was previously certified gold in the United States and in Australia, was certified platinum in New Zealand two weeks ago.

In an interview with the Jamaica Observer on the weekend, Renee Neufville, who along with Jean Morris comprised Zhané, shared that she had no idea that the song would have been a hit.

“I didn’t know that I was writing a hit record. It took me literally 30 minutes to write that song. However, it is one of a few hit records that God has blessed me to create. So I have to give the honour and the glory to Him,” Neufville, who was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Jamaican parents, told the Observer.

Neufville, who is the cousin of businessman Don Creary of Ribbie’s, said: “When I completed the record I just knew it was right to me. One cannot assume that that would resonate to others; how I tried my best to trust my own taste and judgement. I didn’t know that it was going to be a hit.”

She recalled the first time that she heard the song playing on mainstream radio in America.

“All I could think about was how big God can be. Here is something that you take for granted — your singing voice. I knew we were embarking on something bigger than ourselves. The music itself was considered feel-good music. That was a very powerful moment, one that I never took for granted to this day,” Neufville shared.

Hey Mr DJ was produced by Kay-Gee, a then producer for the rap outfit Naughty By Nature. It was recorded in a home studio which was inside a basement.

The song contains a sample from Michael Wycoff’s Looking Up to You, a song released in the early 1980s.

“The beat was derived from a sample of Michael Wycoff’s Looking Up to You. Kay-Gee presented the 8-bar loop on a tape, and as soon as I heard it the melody came right away. It was the very song that inspired Rihanna’s Pon De Replay as well as songs by Madonna and Missy Elliott. It has been a cultural staple in our music,” said Neufville, who was attending Temple University in Philadelphia and working part-time.

Zhané released two studio albums, the platinum-selling debut 1994’s pronounced Jah-Nay (Motown Records) which scored other hits with Groove Thang, Vibe, You’re Sorry Now and Sending My Love and 1997’s
Saturday Night, which had the hits Request Line and Crush.

After the members of Zhané went their separate ways, Jean Morris and her husband formed a group called Baylor Project in the early 2000s and have released material which have earned them Grammy nominations.

Neufville has been busy touring with jazz great Roy Hargrove’s Collective RH Factor.

“After Zhané, I have been able to maintain a balanced life. I am currently staying close to my father Albert Neufville, who is now 87 years old. He is from Portland and he used to be a teacher in Jamaica. He is aging, and my responsibility is to make sure his golden years are spent in a safe space with pride and dignity,” said Neufville, whose mother, Joyce Errar, once worked as a registered nurse at Kingston Public Hospital, but passed away a few years ago.

“My parents migrated to Brooklyn in the 1960s and they got married. My brothers were however born in Jamaica, and we had a house in Mona. I still have family all over Jamaica to this day. Millie Small was married to my mother’s uncle and retired sprinter Marilyn Neufville is related to my father,” she added.

Last year, Neufville was inducted into the National Museum of African American Music for her contribution to the lexicon of African American culture as a songwriter.

She also contributed to the Sister Nancy documentary Bam Bam, for which she provided commentary.

“Sister Nancy and I shared a bill in December last year and she’s still got it. She’s finally reaping the benefits. She truly is a legend,” said Neufville.

And as it relates to new music, she is cooking up something.

“I have completed mixing a new song written for the people for times such as these. It’s called I Am. It’s a song about affirmation and it’s coming soon. I am looking forward to putting out more new music this year, and I will be releasing my eight EP I Am,” she shared.

Renee Neufville.