“4 THE CAUSE†has been a group for 16 years. All the members hail from Chicago. The group was formed when their manager, LEROY EDWARDS JR. noticed the group members would always imitate anyone they saw on the videos, and he decided to put that energy to some positive use. MS. LADY started out singing in her church choir. B.J. was the lead singer and bass player of his own group, & is currently touring with Lionel Richie as his bass player and also a up & coming producer. J-ROC is a drummer/producer for local artist in Chicago. Drenyra was the lead singer of her own family group.
“4 The Cause†was first discovered at an Apollo-style talent contest in Chicago. The host of the show (MIKE E) was friends with NFL player, Reggie White from the Green Bay Packers. He was starting a record company, and “4 The Cause†was his first artist on the label. Their first album was called “UP ON IT†and was nominated for a Stellar award in the category of Rap, Hip Hop Gospel Performance of the Year. The album was received very well in the Christian market, under the name “Young Warriors for the Causeâ€.
The summer of 1996, the group did a 10-City Tour with Raven Simone (Olivia, from the Cosby Show), and The Moffats were also on tour. In 1998, the group signed with RCA, in Germany. “4 The Cause†won Best Artist in 1998 and Song of the Year in 1999 at the Cannes Music Festival. The group has also won a Golden Europe Award! “4 The Cause†has performed for Michael Jordan’s Boys & Girls Club across Chicago, the Chicago Gospel Festival and numerous youth rallies across the Chicagoland area. They have also performed at various Prison Ministries. In 2002, they performed for the United States military in Spain and Italy. “4 The Cause†has shared the stage with BON JOVI, N’SYNC, BACKSTREET BOYS, MISSY ELLIOT, RICKY MARTIN, MARY J. BLIGE, BRIAN McKNIGHT, CELINE DION, GLORIA GAYNOR, CHER, SHANIA TWAIN, ENRIQUE EGLESIAS, MARK ANTHONY, MEATLOAF, SARAH BRIGHTMAN, & LENNY KRAVITZ and many others.
Shonna has attended three modeling schools and acting classes; she does acting jobs in her spare time. She also holds the Ms. Jr. Teen Chicago title from a beauty pageant she entered with over 70 girls in her category. Jason loves playing the drums and writing songs. B.J. enjoys playing his bass guitar, singing and writing songs. Drenyra has appeared in American idol commercials! “4 The Cause†has traveled to over 25 different countries in the past few years.
“4 The Cause†did a hip remake of Ben E. King’s timeless pop hit, “Stand by Meâ€; it went platinum in Germany in 7 weeks! Even selling over 30,000 copies in Germany, in one day alone. Now over 40 million units have been sold in Europe alone!! The group has been certified Platinum in South Africa, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, & Belgium! The group is also certified Gold in Austria, Sweden & Switzerland! They are also certified Silver in France! In addition to this, they were receiving heavy rotation on MTV Europe, Viva, and savvy programmers were quickly adding them to their air-play lists. 4TC is ready for the next chapter in their lives. To touch the WORLD with their music!!!!