finetune artist: Jon B.

b. Jonathan David Buck, 11 November 1974, Rhode Island, USA. This Los Angeles, California, USA-based R&B vocalist and multi-instrumentalist is also an established producer and songwriter. Buck comes from a musical family; his father is a professor of music and his mother a concert pianist. He learned to play keyboards at the age of nine, and was soon proficient on bass and drums. By his late teens Buck had recorded dozens of demo tracks, and was contracted as solo artist and songwriter to Tracey Edmonds' Yab Yum Entertainment label in 1993. He recorded his debut album while working as a producer/songwriter for several artists including, Toni Braxton, After 7 and Color Me Badd. Bonafide harked back to the golden age of soul while retaining a contemporary urban sound. The album went gold, buoyed by the success of 1995's US Top 10 hit "Someone To Love", a collaboration with Babyface that gained wide exposure on the Bad Boys soundtrack. Another album track, "Pretty Girl", reached the US Top 30 later in the year. The aptly titled Cool Relax, an immaculate collection of smooth R&B ballads and mid-tempo funk released in late 1997, spawned another Top 10 hit, "They Don't Know". He attempted to update his sound on the belated follow-up Pleasures U Like, collaborating with Nas on the opening track "Finer Things" and AZ on the Calypso-tinged "Layaway".

Listen to Jon B. at Finetune.

They Don't Know
Are U Still Down?
Someone To Love
I Do (Whatcha Say Boo)
Pretty Girl