Editing Hi-Five (section)

{{Short description|American R&B quintet}}
{{about|the band||High five (disambiguation)}}
{{redirect-distinguish|Marcus Sanders|Mark Sanders (disambiguation)}}
{{use mdy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox musical artist 
| name                = Hi-Five
| image               = 
| caption             = 
| image_size          = 
| background          = group_or_band
| origin              = [[Waco, Texas]], United States
| genre               = {{hlist|[[Contemporary R&B|R&B]]|[[Soul music|soul]]|[[Pop music|pop]]|[[new jack swing]]}}
| occupation          = 
| years_active        = 1989–1994<br>2005–2007<br>2012–present
| label               = {{hlist|[[Jive Records|Jive]]|[[Giant Records (Warner)|Giant]]|N-Depth|Bronx Most Wanted}}
| current_members     = Marcus Sanders<br>Shannon Gill<br>Treston Irby<br>Billy Covington<br>Faruq Evans
| past_members        = [[Tony Thompson (singer)|Tony Thompson]] <small>(deceased)</small><br>Russell Neal<br>Roderick Clark <small>(deceased)</small> <br>Toriano Easley<br>Terrence Murphy<br>Ricky Smith<br>Andre Ramseur (aka Dre Wonda)
}}

'''Hi-Five''' is an American [[Contemporary R&B|R&B]] quintet from [[Waco, Texas]]. Hi-Five had a No. 1 hit on [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'''s Hot 100]] in 1991 with "[[I Like the Way (The Kissing Game)]]". 

The band was originally formed in 1989 as a trio: childhood friends [[Tony Thompson (singer)|Tony Thompson]], Russell Neal, and Oklahoma native, Toriano Easley. [[Jive Records]] suggested adding childhood friends, Roderick "Pooh" Clark and Marcus Sanders, to the ensemble and later signed these founding members as Hi-Five.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhrNO-LC4OE|title=Hi-Five interview: December 2021 |website=Youtube.com|date=December 15, 2021 }}</ref>

During the release of their debut album, Toriano Easley was charged with a crime, which involved a dispute with his neighborhood friends, rendering him unable to continue with the group. The record label recruited New York native Treston Irby, as a replacement member. After the release of their second album, Russell Neal left the group after financial conflicts with the label. Unfortunately congruently, while the four members of the group were continuing to tour, Roderick "Pooh" Clark was injured in a vehicle collision, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down, resulting in his departure from the group.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2022/04/roderick-pooh-clark-dead-obituary-hi-five-boy-band-1235005553|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220419153048/https://deadline.com/2022/04/roderick-pooh-clark-dead-obituary-hi-five-boy-band-1235005553/|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 19, 2022|title=deadline.com April 2022|website=daedline.com|date=April 19, 2022 }}</ref> The label added Shannon Gill and Terrence Murphy as replacement members.

When the group decided to accept an offer from [[Giant Records (Warner)|Giant Records]] to change labels, while their Jive contract was still pending, Giant Records, instead decided to focus their attention on lead singer Tony Thompson, neglecting the projects related to the group. Because of this discrepancy, the group disbanded. Tony Thompson was later signed to [[Bad Boy Records]]. In 2005, without consulting the initial members of Hi-Five, Tony Thompson put together several new vocalists to form a new incarnation of the band, under the Hi-Five name. This later resulted in a legal battle, between Thompson and former Hi-Five members, which put the band on even more haphazard terms. In 2007, lead singer Tony Thompson, died in drug related circumstances. In 2012, as a result of Thompson's passing, the former members of Hi-Five decided to reunite in Thompson's honor.