All four original members of Dru Hill were natives of Baltimore. Mark Andrews and James Green met each other in middle school, and both later became acquaintances of Tamir Ruffin when all three began pursuing careers in the music industry. Ruffin, nicknamed "Nokio" (an alternate spelling of Nokia, the phone corporation) enlisted Andrews and Green (whose respective nicknames of "Sisqo" and "Woody" came from their early years) to form a singing group. The trio added Larry "Jazz" Anthony, an opera student, to complete their lineup. The group was named "Dru Hill" after Druid Hill Park, a section of Baltimore.
