Jazzyfatnastees

Vocalists Tracey Moore and Mercedes Martinez constitute Jazzyfatnastees. During 1993 the pair belonged to a vocal quartet that secured a recording contract with Tommy Boy. That agreement collapsed by 1995. Following several years of uncertainty, Moore and Martinez settled in Philadelphia after the original lineup shrank to a duo through member exits. The singers had already crossed paths with the Roots a number of times, having served as opening acts for the group on earlier tours. When preparing their first project under the Jazzyfatnastees name, the duo aligned with Motive Records, the Roots’ MCA-affiliated label. Their self-written and self-produced debut, The Once and Future, surfaced in 1999. Its bright harmonies and relaxed grooves placed the record ahead of prevailing trends, preceding the neo-soul wave that later crested with the emergence of vocalists such as Macy Gray and India.Arie. The Jazzys nevertheless persisted. They established Black Lily, a performance platform dedicated to practitioners working outside conventional boundaries in neo-funk, neo-soul, and organic hip-hop. At the same time they commenced recording a follow-up that reached stores in September 2002. Issued via a fresh arrangement with Coolhunter and Ryko distribution, The Tortoise & the Hare refined Moore and Martinez’s soulful, contemporary, and emphatically groovy aesthetic. As mainstream tastes aligned with that approach, Jazzyfatnastees scheduled a third album for 2003.