Two catalogs built for late-night radio and slow-jam playlists are about to share a Verzuz stage. Joe and Donell Jones have been announced as the next R&B pairing, bringing together singers whose biggest records helped define the genre’s late-1990s and early-2000s run. The event is expected to take place on August 20th.
Jones had already let the news slip before the official rollout. While backstage at the Wine & Slow Jams Festival in Maryland, he revealed that a matchup with Joe was coming and made it clear he was not approaching the night like a grudge match. “For me, it’s not really a Verzuz. It’s a celebration,” he said. He also suggested there would be none of the tension that has occasionally taken over previous Verzuz events.
That tone fits a matchup built less around rivalry than two different lanes of the same R&B era. Jones broke through after signing with LaFace Records and released his debut, My Heart, in 1996. His second album, Where I Wanna Be, became his defining project, led by the title track and “U Know What’s Up,” which featured TLC’s Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes. The latter reached the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 and spent eight weeks at No. 1 on the Hot R&B chart.
Moreover, his résumé extends beyond the songs he recorded himself. Jones co-wrote Usher’s early single “Think of You” and later contributed to 702’s “Get It Together.” He also found an audience with his rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “Knocks Me Off My Feet,” giving him enough material to move between recognizable singles and records that became fixtures for R&B listeners without relying entirely on crossover hits.
Joe arrives with the broader commercial catalog. “All the Things (Your Man Won’t Do)” and “Don’t Wanna Be a Player” established him during the 1990s, while My Name Is Joe pushed him further into the mainstream at the turn of the century. “I Wanna Know” became one of his signature records, and “Stutter” with Mystikal gave him another major hit. His voice also became familiar to Hip Hop audiences through Big Pun’s “Still Not a Player,” while his appearance alongside Mariah Carey and 98 Degrees on “Thank God I Found You” expanded his reach into pop.
The Recording Academy has nominated Joe seven times, including recognition for My Name Is Joe, “I Wanna Know,” and the later album Better Days. That history gives him plenty of obvious records to reach for, but Verzuz has rarely been decided by chart numbers alone. Song placement matters, and so does knowing when a deep album cut carries more nostalgia in the room than the bigger single sitting beside it.
Joe and Jones are also stepping into a Verzuz season that has been moving steadily across both R&B and Hip Hop. Tank and Tyrese faced off in March before Rick Ross and French Montana took over in May. B2K met Pretty Ricky in June, while YG and The Game brought the series back to West Coast Rap in July.”
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Source: HotNewHipHop
