Donell Jones and Ginuwine

Sometimes the best music comes from those with the biggest divide in them. Those that constantly have a devil and an angel on their shoulder and can’t quite decide which one they want to go with. Donell Jones’ upbringing typifies this since he was born the son of a gospel singer, but early in his adolescence was tempted by the seedy goings-on of the south side of his native Chicago. Fortunately for both him and us, Jones made the right decision to immerse himself in music rather than the gangs he grew up alongside, and made his official debut as a singer-songwriter in 1993.

Shortly afterwards he struck up a friendship with a DJ named Edward “Eddie F” Ferrell, and the two formed a creative partnership with LaFace Records. After “Think Of You”, a song that Jones wrote, was taken and made a hit by some no-hoper called Usher, the higher-ups at LaFace gave Jones the all-clear to record his debut solo album. The album was released in 1996 and “My Heart” was a respectable hit for someone on their debut effort, powered by a hit cover of Stevie Wonder’s 1976 single “Knocks Me Off My Feet” as its lead single.

However, the stars would later align for him with his second record. “Where I Wanna Be” was a bona-fide smash, going platinum within the year and yielding smash hit singles on both sides of the Atlantic. This album made him free to do whatever he wanted to do with his follow up records, and since then his soul inflected R&B has bought him more critical notices than many others with better chart records, but the numbers were never what made Jones special. His sheer songwriting skill and golden voice did that fine, and neither of them have diminished whatsoever during his 20 plus years in show business. Highly recommended.

R&B artist, Ginuwine became friends with many musicians who were highly regarded in the rap and R&B industry, who subsequently led him on the path to success. These people included the likes of Missy Elliot and Timbaland, these turned out to become his principal collaborators throughout the 1990s.

Timbaland and Ginuwine worked well together and this was made evident through Ginuwine's first single, titled "Pony". It showcased his charming and smooth vocals together with Timbaland's original production flair. Interestingly, "Pony" proved to be a hit and was used in the film, 2007’s Wild Hogs, and also used in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV in 2008.

However, after the success of Ginuwine’s second album, the duo grew apart. Much to the enjoyment of producers R. Kelly, who helped Ginuwine from then, producing hit after hit.

Ginuwine has achieved great success, this was proved in 2001 when he had a number-four hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with the single "Differences", which also peaked at number-one on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. Just a year later however, the musician’s parents both passed away. This encouraged him to write and produce more sombre songs from the heart, such as , “Two Reasons I Cry".