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K-Ci

American singer

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
People and ideasInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 24, 2026
Entity authorityQ20177156 ↗
Source-derived summary

Cedric Renard Hailey (born September 2, 1969), known professionally as K-Ci (formerly Little Cedric as a member of Little Cedric and the Hailey Singers), is an American singer, songwriter and member of K-Ci & JoJo and Jodeci.

Although Hailey is best known as the lead singer of Jodeci and second-lead singer of K-Ci & JoJo, he participated on different solo projects as K-Ci, most notably his 1994 cover of Bobby Womack’s "If You Think You're Lonely Now", which peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Early life

Hailey was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, to Anita and Cliff Hailey both of whom were gospel singers. For a time, the Hailey family lived in Baltimore where they performed gospel music. The family later returned to Charlotte when Cedric was a teen. He attended Garinger High School.

Career

Along with younger brother, Joel (known professionally as "JoJo") and his father, Hailey recorded three gospel albums as "Little Cedric and the Hailey Singers" beginning with the 1983 release I'm Alright Now by Atlanta International Records, Gospel. Though the album failed to place on any Billboard magazine charts, the next two releases, 1984's Jesus Saves and God's Blessing in 1985, both placed upon the Billboard Gospel Albums chart; the former at No. 4 and the latter at No. 22.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “K-Ci” as american singer. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around K-Ci, American and singer.

Editorial reviewA productive starting point for separating a subject’s documented career from later reputation and commemoration. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1969, 1994, 1983, 1984—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1969-09-02. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with K-Ci, American and singer providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “K-Ci”, the useful work is to connect “american singer” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q20177156. VIAF identifies the subject as 36558194. The Library of Congress control number is no99082970. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1969, 1994, 1983 and 1984.

Critical limits

Public reputation and documentary evidence do not always develop together; absence from a summary is not evidence of historical absence. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “K-Ci”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow K-Ci primary sources, K-Ci archive and K-Ci research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “K-Ci”?
  2. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
  3. Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “K-Ci” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.