1994
March 22, A&M Records releases their debut album: It's A Natural Thang
A reviewer says:
Covering musical styles from Zhané to The Jackson 5 to Miki Howard, Necia, T, Josina and Wendi exhibit exceptional skills and harmonies that easily put them in a class with En Vogue and Brownstone. One listen to the acapella “You Don't Know Nothin'" leaves no doubt that For Real's lack of recognition is through no fault of their own. Though this album doesn't have any real stand-out tracks, it makes for pleasant listening.
Three singles are being released too:
- Easy To Love (the accompanying video clip was made by Jason Hess for ENS Productions, A&M Records;
see Youtube, or Youtube, or AllMusic ) - You Don't Wanna Miss (movie: AllMusic or Youtube)
- You Don't Know Nothin'
The clip accompanying You Don't Know Nothin' was made by the uncle of Necia, Kevin Bray. Remarkably, you can see Mervyn Warren (one of the composers) in the video (around 2:09). See: Youtube or: Youtube or: AllMusic
The song had been written by Hallerin Hill and Mervyn Warren.
The ladies appear in the movie Shake, Rattle and Rock! as the group “The Sirens", Latanyia being “Sireena".
August edition of VIBE contains an interview with them. An part from that interview:
As Josina, 27, will tell you, “For Real means real vocals." Necia, 20, adds, “We wrote 75 percent of the lyrics. A lot of the lyrics where from life experiences." Says LaTanyia, 25, “Our personalities are down-to-earth." Wendi, 28, concludes, “It's a natural thing."
A regular day for these women consist of working out, rehearsing, and having their own private time, which isn't easy. They live together in a five-bedroom, six-bathroom house in the San Fernando Valley.
As Necia explains it, “We take turns getting on each other's nerves. We know how to compromise, so that makes it a lot easier."
Josina adds, “We work, live, and play together, so we're like family."
Actually, Josina and Wendi are cousins. Josina was a member of the original For Real (with different members), Wendi joined after college, and Necia and LaTanyia auditioned four years ago. “We got compared with all the girl groups," says Necia. But like Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell once sang, “Ain't nothing like the real thing, baby."
Stevie Wonder asks the group to collaborate with him on his new album Conversation Peace.
Afterwards he asks them to join him at his “Natural Wonder" tour. They open for him and do occasional BGV's.
1995
In January they are still singing at the “Natural Wonder" tour. A newspaper article tells us that they're backup singers, and are singing one song a cappella.
This year, the song Freedom is released as a single. About the background of this single (source: wikipedia ):
“Freedom" is a cover of a song originally performed by underground R&B singer Joi on her acclaimed 1994 album Pendulum Vibe. The song was re-recorded as the official theme for the award winning film Panther. The song was produced by Dallas Austin and Diamond D. The song featured female R&B singers, who at the time were popular acts in R&B and/or Pop music.
In October, album Inner City Blues – The Music of Marvin Gaye is released. Teaming up with Stevie Wonder, they perform the song Stubborn Kind Of Fellow (track 7).
In November, album Waiting To Exhale: Original Soundtrack is released. Track 14 is by For Real: Love Will Be Waiting At Home. (Youtube (audio only))
They appear in Italian Vogue, modeling men's suits.