MoKenStef

Forming an R&B trio in Los Angeles, Monifa Bethune, Kenya Hadley, and Stephanie Sinclair adopted the name MoKenStef by combining the opening syllables of their first names. The group signed with Outburst, an independent label that had joined Lyor Cohen and Russell Simmons’ Rush Associated Labels roster, and made its debut in 1995. Their slow jam “He’s Mine,” which drew from Zapp’s “Be Alright” and Prince’s “Do Me Baby,” reached number two on Billboard’s R&B chart and number seven on the Hot 100. An uptempo remix featuring a guest verse from Grand Puba prolonged the track’s run by borrowing the groove of Patrice Rushen’s “Remind Me.” The parent album Azz Izz failed to enter the upper half of the Billboard 200, while follow-up single “Sex in the Rain” quickly faded after a modest showing. After appearing on the Phat Beach soundtrack, the trio fell silent aside from contributions to late-’90s releases by Luniz and Domino.