He’s a cucumber-cool, Chicago-born soul crooner with a knack for composing infectious, urban-edged club bangers and lush, sensual ballads that distinguish him as one of R&B’s most talented performers, so it’s no wonder that Donell Jones is confident in the ability of his fifth studio CD, LYRICS, to reintroduce his music to loyal fans while piquing the attention of new ones.
“This album right here is, to me, the best so far,” says Mr. Jones, who is releasing the collection through his own label, Candy Man Music, and distributing through eOne Music. “I know a lot of artists say that, but I really feel that way. This is one you can play from beginning to end. I like to give a message in the music and I think that with this particular album, I really went into depth about certain situations we find ourselves in. I named it LYRICS because from the very start of my career, that’s what I’ve tried to build on, writing strong lyrics and making sure that whatever I put out there, people can understand.”
And if the success of its first single, “Love Like This,” is any indication, Mr. Jones is definitely on the right track. Currently poised to enter the Top Ten of the Urban AC charts, “Love…” is a sultry mid tempo groove that coaxes a wary woman into giving new love a try, a concept that hits many where they live. “A lot of women have been hurt and they’re scared to give another person their heart,” he explains, “which is understandable, because as I say in the song, I used to be one of those heartbreakers. But once you grow up and become a man, you start to realize what it is to have someone special in your life. Nobody wants to grow old and be alone.”
Other songs on the LYRICS CD explore the emotional gamut of romantic love, such as “It Ain’t About the Sex” and the reality-show-ready track entitled “Blackmail.” Of the former, Mr. Jones says that it describes a synergy between a man and woman that transcends the lusty physical attraction that they share: “It’s talking about a woman I’m so into that the appeal is beyond sex. I’ve got a line in there that says ‘we’re a dark-skinned version of Brad and Angelina, but the opposite of Ike and Tina.’ The message is that sex is great, but when you got somebody that you have just clicked with and you think about what she’s thinking about without her even saying it…..it’s a beautiful thing.”
As for the other track, well… as the title implies, it’s more about angst than ecstasy: “it’s a deep story about a guy who’s been dating a girl and finds out that she has a man. At that same time, he also learns that she’s been making plans to get married. He’s like ‘Yo, I’m about to spill the beans; how’re you gonna break my heart and not let me know the truth?’ That’s why it’s called ‘Blackmail,’” he laughs, “cuz’ if you keep playing with fire, you will be burned.”
It’s that combination of human insight and professional artistry that plucked Donell Jones from the mean streets of his native Chicago (a brush with death ended his short affiliation with a South Side street gang) and into the path of former Heavy D and the Boyz group member, Edward “Eddie F” Ferrell, with whom he formed an alliance at LaFace Records. After scoring a number eight R&B hit as a songwriter with Usher’s 1994 single, “Think of You,” and another smash for the female trio 702, “Get it Together,” Mr. Jones began working on his own debut CD. The 1996 release, My Heart, is best known for its sublime cover of the Stevie Wonder classic, “Knocks Me Off My Feet.” He further cemented his status as a hit maker with the 1999 release of Where I Wanna Be, responsible for the poignant title track and its contagious number one hit, “U Know What’s Up,” featuring TLC member and label mate, Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes. Collaborations on the Shaft soundtrack (“Do What I Gotta Do”), with Big Pun (“It’s So Hard”) and Guru of Gang Starr (“Hustlin’ Daze”) filled in the gap until 2002’s
Life Goes On, containing the songs “Put Me Down” and “You Know That I Love You.”
Unfortunately, by the time he’d released 2006’s Journey of a Gemini, the dissolution of LaFace resulted in his being shuffled over, along with a handful of other acts, to the crowded roster at Jive Records. “They already had Joe, R. Kelly and Justin Timberlake, and now they were getting Usher, Anthony Hamilton and Donell Jones, so what were they going to do with all of these male artists?” Jones didn’t feel as if his album ….Gemini got the support it needed, and this experience led him to create his own music label, Candy Man Music.
Hence, the Sep. 28 release of LYRICS is the beginning of a new and happier phase in Donell Jones’ enduring career, one that signals a larger movement to the return of classically-styled R&B. He’s excited about the resurgence and ready to capitalize on the momentum by connecting with as many listeners as possible, whether it’s through the radio or while performing out on the road later this year.
“I’m glad that the scene is changing and I think that it’s necessary, because we kinda lost the love in the music. I don’t knock what other artists do, but most of today’s music is more sex-driven and talking about money. A lot of these record companies are losing money because they are not developing artists.
I’ve always said that if my fans know that there is a CD in stores, I really feel they’ll go buy it even without hearing it first, because I put my all into making the music. I never focus on just having one or two good songs, I focus on having a great body of work, and I’ve done that throughout my entire career. I’m not trying to leave any stone unturned this time--- it’s like running for president,” he chuckles, “where you have to get out there and shake hands and kiss babies. It’s a new start."
