Jade's first hit was "I Wanna Love You" on the Class Act soundtrack in 1992, followed by "Don't Walk Away," which reached #2 on the R&B chart and was certified gold by the RIAA in 1993. The album Jade to the Max went platinum with additional successful singles "Looking for Mr. Do Right" and "One Woman", leading to a tour and appearances on The Tonight Show, The Arsenio Hall Show, and the U.K.'s Top of the Pops.

The group Jade originally consisted of Joi Marshall, Angela Slates, and Debra Mitchell, called JAD. Producer Vassal Benford initially sold the song "I Wanna Love You" before recording Marshall, Slates, and Mitchell's voices. To keep the song on the 1992 Kid 'n Play comedy Class Act soundtrack, Benford had to re-record the song with the actual vocalists. When that couldn't be done, Benford asked the record label to remove Slates and Mitchell and add Di Reed and Tonya Kelly, who were the voices on the song and signed to his production company. Tonya Kelly and Di Reed joined the group under Benford and the name was changed to Jade.

Jade performed on BET's Listening Party Live and released a CD in 1993. They were the only group with an album from the show. In 1994, they were in the movie The Inkwell and released their second album, Mind, Body & Song, where they also helped write and produce it. The singles "5-4-3-2 (Yo! Time Is Up)" and "Every Day of the Week" made the album go gold. They appeared on Beverly Hills, 90210 in 1995 and sang "Every Day of the Week". Later, Tonya Kelly left but briefly came back in 1997 for a song on The Sixth Man soundtrack. They also performed with other female singers on the song "Freedom", from the Panther soundtrack. "5-4-3-2 (Yo! Time Is Up)" was used in an episode of New York Undercover.