On Wednesday night at Stifel Theatre, St. Louis wasn’t judging Jodeci against their younger selves. The audience came to celebrate what they’ve meant for 35 years.
Our city had the distinction of being the first stop on Jodeci’s tour commemorating the 35th anniversary of their genre-defining debut, Forever My Lady. The November 4 show launched a more than 30-city run that continues through January 2027.
The theater was filled with Gen Xers and elder millennials. They were eager to revisit the songs, style and attitude that helped redefine what an R&B group could look like. At the turn of the 1990s, the quartet brought leather, combat boots, hip-hop swagger and an edge that made young Black audiences see themselves differently. Three decades later, many of those same fans were back in the room.
The influence was evident before Jodeci ever stepped onstage.
DJ Shaun Nyce, better known as The Blend King, kept the crowd engaged with an hour-long set. His mixes ranged from the 1970s through the early 2000s. Among the artists featured were groups like Dru Hill and Shai, descendants of the lane Jodeci helped create. A mashup of Nelly hits gave the hometown crowd another reason to celebrate.
After The Blend King signed off, anticipation quickly turned into impatience. A chant rolled through the theater.
“Jodeci! Jodeci! Jodeci!”
The band’s arrival was preceded by a video interpretation of the group’s rise. As the countdown neared its end, the live band built momentum. The response from the crowd suggested that for many in attendance, this was as much a concert as it was a reunion with a soundtrack that helped define a chapter of their lives.
A trio emerged instead of the quartet fans expected. A few whispers of “Where’s Devante?” could be heard as K-Ci, JoJo and Dalvin walked onstage in coordinated gold trench coats and black leather pants.
Any concern about the missing member quickly gave way to excitement once the music started.
Jodeci opened with the midtempo cut “Bring On Da’ Funk.” It was an unconventional choice that nevertheless accomplished its purpose. The audience wasn’t there with a checklist of expectations. They came for the feeling.
That grace became especially apparent as the group worked through a few technical issues early in the show.
“We love you St. Louis,” Dalvin told the crowd. “Thank you for sticking with us.”
The comment could have been appreciation for a patient audience navigating first-night production hiccups. It also felt like gratitude for fans who have continued showing up, singing along and purchasing tickets three-and-a-half decades after Forever My Lady introduced the group to the world.
Dalvin and K-Ci carried much of the performance load, which was understandable given JoJo’s recent health challenges.
JoJo contributed where he could while his bandmates helped fill the gaps. Dalvin supplied relentless energy, moving constantly across the stage and handling the rap portions on uptempo selections like “Gotta Love” and “My Phone.” The group balanced those deeper Forever My Lady cuts with signature hits including “Come and Talk To Me,” “Stay” and the album’s title track.
“How many of y’all have the Forever My Lady album?” Dalvin asked.
The crowd roared.
“How many of y’all have the actual album?”
The response grew louder.
“Now how many of y’all turned the album over to the other side?”
The answer came when fans enthusiastically sang along to lesser-known album tracks like “U and I” and “I’m Still Waiting,” proving their connection to the record runs much deeper than the radio singles.
The title track arrived surprisingly early, about five songs into the set instead of serving as a climactic finale.
K-Ci gave it full value. The familiar ad-libs were still there. So was the gospel seasoning that has always made K-Ci sound like K-Ci.
Moving from one side of the stage to the other, he delivered the passion and intensity that made him one of the defining R&B group frontmen of his generation.
While the show understandably centered on Forever My Lady, Jodeci didn’t ignore the songs that reinforced their legacy throughout the 1990s. Favorites including “Feenin’,” “Freek’n You,” “Love U 4 Life,” “Cry for You” and “What About Us” kept the audience engaged from beginning to end.
A video clip from the group’s memorable appearance on Martin set up a welcome reminder of their acclaimed rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “Lately,” made famous through MTV Unplugged.
St. Louis received an extra surprise when Dalvin invited Chingy to the stage. Serving as the hometown rapper’s hype man, he helped energize performances of “Pullin’ Me Back” and “Right Thurr.”
Later, K-Ci left the stage altogether and ventured into the audience during “My Heart Belongs to You,” creating one of the evening’s most personal moments.
The show closed with the upbeat “Get On Up.” By night’s end, it was clear that the crowd and the group had entered into an unspoken agreement.
Nobody expected Jodeci to be the twenty-somethings who changed R&B in the early 1990s. What they came for was the music and the memories. And they left with smiles on their faces, because they had the opportunity to reconnect with artists whose influence can still be heard and seen throughout the genre.