What REALLY Happened to R&B Singer Jon B?

[Music] jonbi rose to fame as a songwriter before embarking on a solo career he experienced instant success with his back-to-back platinum albums with songs such as they don't know and are you still down featuring Tupac he broke down barriers and became one of the most successful R&B singers of the 90s despite having impeccable songwriting skills and support from other influential artists he didn't stay at the top for long this is a tale of depression divorce creative differences and rediscovery here's what really happened to John B John buck was born in Rhode Island on November 11th 1974 when he was four years old he and his family moved to Pasadena California his father was a musician at a local university while his mom was a concert pianist music was a huge part of their family and his parents required John and his two siblings to each master an instrument his younger brother played the cello his sister learned how to play the violin and when he was in fourth grade he taught himself how to play the keyboard guitar and drums classical music was the only music his parents allowed in their home but John's grandparents owned a record store and that's where he came across vinyl records by the Beatles and the Bee Gees he fell in love with funky beats and smooth soulful voices at the age of nine he got on his keyboard and wrote his very first song called Caroline he performed it at a talent show and the reception he received from the crowd got him hooked things took a turn when he enrolled at john muir high school because he loved to hang out with his friends and dance he would go to all the parties where R&B music was being played but some of his fellow classmates weren't happy that a white boy was embracing their culture during his episode of unsung john said that the teasing was really rough and became too much for him to handle his parents pulled him out of school and enrolled him at LA County High School for the Arts he was still rejected by some students who believed he was faking his love for black culture and music but he finally found acceptance with a group of tight knit friends he told the LA Times that the positive response he received from his peers during talent shows and school performances encouraged him to keep writing music one day he went to a friend's house and they listened to records by Keith Sweat and gerald levert but it was babyfaces voice that really caught John's attention he knew he wanted to write heartfelt songs just like that one day at school he joined the Gospel Choir which was taught by a woman who was a former member of the 60s R&B group the fifth dimension john told the electronic urban report that she was the one who taught him how to sing correctly john said the experience really helped him believe in himself as a vocalist it was during his teenage years that he met his girlfriend and fellow singer music Galloway at the time he had no idea their rocky relationship would be the source of inspiration for one of his greatest hits while other seventeen year olds were preparing for graduation John had his sights set on superstardom with some help from his dad he built a mini studio in his home then they shopped his demo around the LA recording industry according to the New York Daily News he got turned down time and time again John said most of the companies were okay with him writing songs but they wanted him to stay in the background and never be seen he started to believe that maybe becoming a performer wasn't in the cards for him but he continued writing and producing music soon enough everything changed a BMI representative gave John and his dad the heads up about a new company called Y AB Yom entertainment which was founded by babyfaces wife Tracey Edmonds Tracey told the LA Times she wasn't concerned about John's raise it was his songwriting skills that immediately impressed her she added I knew that with careful career planning he was an artist who could be accepted by both the R&B and pop audiences regardless of color John told the New York Daily News he had a two-hour meeting with Tracey and babyface where he shared his dreams and the kind of records he wanted to make as a songwriter and producer his vision was so inspiring he not only got signed to Tracey's yab young entertainment as a later but baby-faced helped him land a recording contract with Sony epic as well babyface and Tracy hatched a plan to get John's feet wet in the industry by building his relationships with established artists babyface set up production opportunities with Color Me badd and after seven John told the New York Daily News he wasn't sure if people would take him seriously since he was so young but he immediately discovered that other musicians respected his opinion and his talent then it was time for him to record his solo project babyface wrote the song someone to love and when it came time for John to record babyface decided to hop on the track and turn it into a duet in 1995 John released bonafide and the album was certified platinum someone to love received a Grammy nomination and pretty girl rose to the top of the charts he went from being the guy who sounded like babyface to a star in his own right because of the success of someone to love and pretty girl the label decided he should cross over and experiment with pop music John was hesitant to move away from his passion so he pushed back and began crafting the sophomore album he knew his fans would love behind the scenes he was dealing with a very tumultuous time in his life and his relationship with his girlfriend music was rockier than ever he wrote the song they don't know as a way to express the rumors that were tearing their relationship apart when his 1997 album cool relax was released they don't know reached number two on the R&B chart and the track don't say reach number 34 on Billboard's Hot R&B chart but it was the track are you still down featuring Tupac that made John feel like he was finally accepted as an R&B artist his third single was the track I do what you say boo he made sure the music video for the song reflected his real life and his interracial relationship the song hit number 18 on the R&B charts and cool relax was certified double-platinum but still not everyone was pleased he told the LA Times that people were still up in arms over him having black women in his music they also begin prying into his personal life to make sure he was living the lifestyle he portrayed in his videos to assure his fans John told the interviewer the woman I can relate to right now is a black woman in 1998 he and music got engaged after getting married he took a few years off he also formed a group called Jack Herrera with two of his backup singers but he mainly enjoyed his time off as a newlywed by 2000 he had returned to the studio to start working on his third album at that time he was really getting into hip-hop and he wanted to release songs that would make people dance the album was released in 2001 and went gold but despite the popularity of the song don't talk it was the first and last single that was released from the album there was trouble brewing between John and Tracey Edmonds she respected his desire to experiment with hip-hop music but their creative differences were causing a rift the more John went toward the urban side of music the more the label back dog they wanted him to recreate the success of his sophomore album cool relaxed while John was desperate to explore his creativity that wasn't the only problem Tracy and babyface were going through marital issues and there were a bunch of different changes happening at yab young people who were instrumental in John's career were suddenly sent packing leaving John to feel like his projects were being overlooked he finally asked to be released from his contract that same year his marriage to music fell apart as well and the $200,000 studio he built got demolished in a fire all of his hard drives computers and equipment with songs he had made throughout the years were destroyed he fell into a depression and said he turned into a completely different person he began smoking cigarettes and drinking non-stop he went through a four month period where he lived in Venice Beach by himself in a furnished apartment that the fire insurance paid for he called it one of the hardest times of his life there was one person in his corner a woman named Annette whom he met on the Los Angeles poetry scene they had been friends for a few years after bonding over their Scorpio zodiac signs Janette consoled Jon through his divorce and John the hopeless romantic eventually fell in love with his personal life back on track he signed with sanctuary records under the direction of Matthew Knowles's music world entertainment he channeled his personal journey into his fourth album entitled stronger everyday John said the album was based on real experiences he put his entire soul into the song and the album peaked at number seventeen sadly things weren't looking too good at his new label Matthew Knowles had ruined most of his industry connections radio wouldn't play any of the music he was associated with including songs from John's new album so the R&B artist decided it was time to part ways he and Annette got married in 2007 in 2008 he returned with the album helpless romantic followed by comfortable swag in 2012 and b-sides collection in 2013 which featured 23 previously unreleased songs in 2018 he announced through his official website he was putting the finishing touches on his eighth studio album he also made a special appearance at that year's B et Awards and in 2019 he released a duet with fellow veteran R&B singer Donell Jones entitled understand he told the electronic urban report that he really wants everyone to know he's still involved in the music business however he has noticed a shortage of venues that are catered to R&B musicians he's also aware that most radio stations rarely played the type of music he makes this makes it difficult for him to get the shine and the attention he deserves he still performs in the US but most of his shows sell out when he travels to London he said that across the pond there is a greater demand for his soulful classics he isn't discouraged though he knows the industry is constantly changing but it's his talent his Drive and his passion to create music that will forever remain the same let us know if you're surprised by what happened to John B's career and thanks for watching real reality gossip [Music]

Channel: RRG

Views: 629,802

Keywords: jon b, 90s music, rnb music, where are they now, jon b they don't know, jon b don't say, jon b cool relax, jon b and musiic galloway, jon b and danette, jon b's wife, jon b's girlfriend, realrealitygossip, real reality gossip, what really happened to, what really happened to r&b singer jon b, what really happened to jon b, what happened to jon b, where is jon b

Id: VN9vvapLC7k

Length: 11min 2sec (662 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 15 2019