Amyth

Amyth, whose name is voiced as “a myth,” came together as a four-member vocal ensemble when two separate pairs of friends united: Wayne Spears and Otis “Labo” Jupiter from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, alongside Jelani Phillips and Stephen Joyce from St. Louis, Missouri. Spears and Jupiter first crossed paths as students at Southern University and resolved to launch a vocal project. Jupiter then recruited Phillips, after which the three performed together for roughly nine months. Seeking to grow into a quartet, Phillips invited his longtime friend Joyce to join. The completed lineup relocated to New York City, where the members began recording demonstration tracks. Their attorney, who also counted LL Cool J among his clients, passed the material to the rapper; at the time LL Cool J was finalizing a production arrangement with Warner Bros. for his own Rock The Bells imprint and chose Amyth as its inaugural signing. The group’s first single, “1, 2, 3,” appeared during summer 1999 and registered on the R&B charts; the full-length debut album The World Is Ours followed that September.