The latter still comes more naturally to Jones, even at age 40, and Forever’s club anthems will be the record’s most memorable tunes. “Like the wind of a hurricane/I want to blow you away/I’m that storm/I gotta get near to you.”įorever is an album that features sensitivity and swagger. Rather, the number refers his lady’s “life path number.” The imagery and metaphors Jones employs on the track “Closer I Get To You” give the tune the urgency and passion not found on the album’s other ballads. Jones is not comparing his lady to tires.
He uses the title track to pay homage to his girl – or his 22. Jones does do some solid ballad work on Forever. “Ride This” is a cut boasting a twerk-ready beat with Jones lending his velvety vocals to every man’s fantasy about a woman who likes to take control in the bedroom. However, he just can’t resist the temptation of blowing his cash on those ladies he sees in the club. The album’s two best song, “You Know,” sports that banging strip club beat and tells the story of a guy fighting a losing battle to stay faithful to his boo. Part of Kelly’s appeal is that his songs play like existential battles between the better and worse angels of his nature.Īfter listening to Forever, I get the feeling that Jones really, really likes hanging out. Kelly is the confirmed master of this craft. Jones’ struggle to resist temptation and stay true to his “22” (more on that later) is a recurring theme in contemporary R&B. An endlessly soulful new jack swing icon who proved himself a true R&B superstar, Harlem-born Keith Sweat burst onto the urban landscape in 1987 with the triple-platinum debut Make It Last Forever. He’s 40, and his eighth studio album, Forever, finds the singer struggling to put away childish things. The album delivered four Top 10 R&B singles, including the chart-topping 'I Want Her' (which also went 5 Pop). Jones, to paraphrase Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy, is a man. What was Jones going to do with all of those assets? You know what’s up. Jones had everything a young man could want – freedom, cool homies (or N-words if you copped the album version), a nice whip and an ample amount of money. The tune melded Jones’ buttery voice that had the right mix of exuberance and mischief to tell the story of youth at the height of its powers.
The track from the album Where I Wanna Be sports a bass line that invites listeners to roll the windows down and turn the volume up. That song, “U Know What’s Up,” was Jones’ first big hit and deservedly so. In 1999, the then 26-year old Chicago native penned one of those songs that goes on to become a summer anthem and continues to be remembered fondly to this day by the people in Jones’ age group cohort. His hit ‘ U Know What’s Up’ has 54 million plays on Spotify and presently, Jones, now at 46 years old, still performs around the US and globally.It’s hard to believe that Donell Jones is 40. After his lackluster 2010 project Lyrics, the leading single off his forthcoming disc Donell Jones Forever, stays true to that nostalgic formula he laid on tracks like Shorty Got. He followed the album with ‘ The Lost Files’ in 2009, ‘ Lyrics’ in 2010 and ‘ Forever’ in 2013. After about a 6 year hiatus, Donell Jones returned with his third album, ‘ Journey of a Gemini’ which hit number 1 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Album Chart. In that same year, Jones won the AMA’s for Best New R&B Artist. In 1999, he returned with his album, ‘ Where I Wanna Be’, with his number 1 hit, ‘ Where I Wanna Be’, now with 32 million plays on Spotify, and ‘ U Know What’s Up’ featuring TLC’s Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes stayed on the Billboard charts for 8 weeks. Donell Jones discography and songs: Music profile for Donell Jones, born. Caron Wheeler) Le bien, le mal (Guru feat. Angie Stone) Kissed The World (Guru feat. Guru & Carl Thomas) Keep Your Worries (Gurus Jazzmatazz feat. Guru) Karma (Comes Back Around) (Adam F feat. He continuously wrote songs for other artists such as Drea’s ‘ Not Gonna Letcha’ amongst other collaborations. Bobby Valentino) Johnny Was (Bob Marley with Guru) Junk (Ferry Corsten feat. It peaked on the 30th spot on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Reid and Babyface pushed Jones to release a solo project, which he prusued and titled his debut album, ‘ My Heart’ in 1996. While with LaFace, Jones wrote Usher’s 1994 smash hit, ‘ Think of You’. Eddie F and Donell Jones formed a partnership with L.A. In the early 90’s, Jones met Eddie ‘Eddie F’ Ferrell, who was the president of Untouchables Entertainment. Donell Jones (born on May 22, 1973) is an American singer born in Chicago, Illinois.