Dru Hill was fone of the most popular vocal groups of the 90s, a group that bridged old school and new school, but which never reached its huge commercial possibilities due to internal and external strife.
Founded in Baltimore, Maryland, Dru Hill consisted of Tamir "Nokio" Ruffin, Mark "Sisqo" Andrews, Larry "Jazz" Anthony, and James "Woody Rock" Green. Mark Andrews and James Green met each other in middle school, and both later became acquaintances of Tamir Ruffin when all three began pursuing careers in the music industry. Ruffin, nicknamed "Nokio" (an acronym for "Nasty on Key in Octave") enlisted Andrews and Green (whose respective nicknames of "Sisqo" and "Woody" came from their childhood) to form a singing group. The trio added Larry "Jazz" Anthony, an opera student, to complete their lineup. The group was named "Dru Hill" after Druid Hill Park, a popular park on the West side of Baltimore. Most of their early repertoire was made up of gospel music; the group eventually switched to the more commercially viable genre of R&B.
