The fights between them are more intense and emotionally brutal than ever. Soon, both men have moved from drinking and jealousy to hard drugs. JoJo becomes increasingly resentful of the perception of K-Ci as “genius” and “leader” of the group, while K-Ci seems to only be interested in whatever questions are answered at the bottom of a bottle. We see them play increasingly larger shows and watch (in an animated sequence that sees “All My Life” going from 100 to 73 to 30 to 7 to Number 1 on the Billboard Charts) each new song they release dominate popular music and the mood of the entire country.īut the fame and fortune also shines a brighter light on the group’s issues: What follows is a montage of the boys’ rise to the top.
The next morning JoJo comes over and in the second full performance of the movie, we watch gloriously as the two men sing the completed ballad together and finally truly become K-Ci & JoJo. Then comes the moment that changes everything:Īs K-Ci watches his daughter sleep one night, he begins composing the song that becomes “All My Life”. – The group’s genre-shattering songwriting begins to take shape when we witness K-Ci sit at the piano for the first time to play his brother a new song he’s been working on (which turns out to be the eventual hit single “Crazy”).īut even in these early scenes, we notice a darkness underneath: The way JoJo insists on getting credit for his contributions to K-Ci’s earliest songs K-Ci pounding shot after shot of Hennessey right before a show The competitiveness between the two brothers when a pretty girl walks in the bar…And more.
– As the two brothers work their way through a series of low-rent gigs at dangerous clubs (first full-song performance seen during a montage of gigs), we see the bond between them grow stronger. – We observe the magic when JoJo first attempts to harmonize with his brother (on a Motown song To Be Determined) while they clean dishes at the dive bar that pays them $3 an hour. Starting with the boy’s time as the group Jodeci and moving through their earliest mainstream success singing back-up vocals on 2Pac’s ‘How Do U Want It’, the first stages of the transcendent career that lay ahead for K-Ci & JoJo are meticulously charted:
“All My Life” is the true story of the fame, the fights, the highs, the lows, the accolades, the shame, and most importantly, the music, of K-Ci & JoJo.
Over the next 30 years, the two brothers would form the R&B Group K-C & JoJo and redefine the popular music landscape in America while setting the course for everyone who came after them.īut the dizzying fame and success, a natural off-shoot of the genius that seemed to emanate from the brothers’ every pore, ultimately took its toll on the two men in ways they could never have predicted. On June 10 th, 1971 his brother Joel “JoJo” Hailey (Anthony Mackie) joined him. On September 2nd, 1969 Cedric “K-Ci” Hailey (Cuba Gooding Jr.) was born in Monroe, North Carolina.