Koffee Brown

The duo Koffee Brown had major success with their debut single, "After Party," a smooth jazzy dance track that started climbing the charts in December 2000 and was included on their Arista debut album, Mars/Venus. Filling a male/female-singing duo void of the time, Koffee Brown were easily embraced. Singer/songwriters Fonz and Vee were teamed together at the suggestion of J Records head/industry vet/former Arista head Clive Davis. Next member Kay Gee formed his own Divine Mill Records, whose roster included Jaheim and Allstar, the latter of whom produced "After Party" and co-produced (with Teddy Riley) Joe's R&B/pop chart-topper "Stutter." R.L. of Next suggested Fonz leave his native Mississippi to come to Minnesota and audition for Kay Gee. East Orange, New Jersey-born Vee was an old neighborhood friend of Kay Gee and had toured as a background singer with Mary J. Blige and Faith Evans. At times silly, scathing, sexy, and sweet, Mars/Venus, the duo's lone album, was an enticing debut. Due to the Top Ten R&B success of "After Party," the album peaked at number 32 on the Billboard 200. The duo subsequently split. ~ Ed Hogan, Rovi