Jon B. has a penchant for figurative language.
“Metaphors play a deep role in my life, being able to sort of say a lot at once with certain words and certain words sort of having a double or triple meaning,” the R&B craftsman tells Rated R&B over a video call.
His eighth album, Waiting On You, carries multiple meanings. Beyond its romantic theme, the title is a personal reflection, acknowledging the 13-year gap since his last release. The singer-songwriter and producer admits having to juggle “the live performance element” of his life with the effort required to ensure the album meets his high standards.
“It’s great for my fans and I to have our continued relationship renewed every time I go on stage, but it also doesn’t allow me to be home in the studio and finishing albums as quickly as I used to,” says Jon B., who will be touring the album this spring. “The You is myself. When I look in the mirror and say, ‘Waiting on you,’ it feels different. It’s like, ‘All right, are you ready now?’ It’s an honor to do what I do. But I got to show up 100 percent every time, and sometimes it takes a little more time to create that 100 percent.”
Waiting On You, available via Vibezelect, follows 2012’s Comfortable Swagg. It’s the longest wait between albums since Jon B. won over hearts with his 1995 debut, Bonafide.
Released via Tracey Edmonds’ Yab Yum Records/Epic Records, the latter album included his Grammy-nominated hit “Someone to Love,” featuring Babyface, who wrote and produced the ballad as well as “Pretty Girl.” The rest of the RIAA gold-selling album was helmed by Jon B., who shared a writing credit with funk legend Bootsy Collins on “Simple Melody.”
Bonafide, turning 30 in May, became the launching pad for Jon B.’s beloved second album, Cool Relax, released in 1997. The platinum-certified LP is home to his top 10 hit “They Don’t Know” and the 2Pac-assisted “Are U Still Down?”
In the 2000s, Jon B. maintained his momentum with three studio albums and a Christmas project: Pleasures U Like (2001), Stronger Everyday (2005), Holiday Wishes From Me To You (2006), and Hopeless Romantic (2008).
He then returned with Comfortable Swagg (2012), which was injected with doses of electronic dance, disco-pop, and R&B. It was his sole album released in the 2010s, though he also dropped B-Sides Collection (2013), a compilation of unreleased songs recorded from 2001 and 2012.
It’s a March afternoon, and Jon B. is home, seated by a window with a hanging pine cone-shaped lamp glowing behind him. The Altadena native, dressed in all black like the Waiting On You cover art, reflects on his journey to his new album.
He reveals he completed it over a year ago and has spent the time since fine-tuning it to his liking: “It was a matter of refining everything to the point where you can’t mold it anymore. I could definitely vouch [that] these 11 songs are from my heart and soul.”
Waiting On You is nostalgic, passionate and euphoric. Across 11 sprawling tracks, written and produced by Jon B., the singer effortlessly surfs the highs of love. Though it veers from the electronic dance influences of Comfortable Swagg, there are still moments of dancefloor charm.
The ’80s-inspired “Still Got Love” wears the floor-filler crown. Its warm, airy production hits like a summer breeze while Jon B.’s velvety vocals reverberate with love’s enduring power. “You still gotta thing for me / You got love,” he sings over a funky bassline and regal horns.
Songs like the Rick Ross-assisted “Hills to the Hood” and hip-hop-flavored “Priceless” are yacht-friendly grooves that encourage rhythmic swaying or even a slight two-step.
R&B songbird Alex Isley appears on “Show Me,” a delightful quiet storm track that captures the celestial feeling of falling in love. The last two minutes are eargasmic, with their harmonized ad-libs cascading through the ethereal soundscape.
“Natural Drug,” the album’s second single, is a prime example of Jon B.’s knack for wordplay. “It is what it’s describing, a natural drug,” he notes. The intoxicating slow-burner brims with tremulous ecstasy as he falls under the spell of a woman’s allure. “I still consider women the muse in terms of my main inspiration and what I pay attention to mostly,” he adds.
The song’s official video features model and television personality Cynthia Bailey as his leading lady. “I feel like the classic beauty of someone like Cynthia Bailey, who I had the pleasure of having in my video, is a perfect example of a natural drug — someone that just ages with such grace,” he says. “It’s a wonderful thing to be a huge fan of women of all shapes, sizes, [and] colors.”
In the interview below with Rated R&B, Jon B. talks about his female influences for Women’s History Month, contextualizes his album hiatus, discusses Waiting On You in-depth, shares his reaction to getting sampled by The Weeknd on Hurry Up Tomorrow and more.
In honor of Women’s History Month, who are some women in music who inspired you?
So many. Donna Summer. Whitney Houston. Patrice Rushen, as an artist, influenced me with her chords, piano playing and arrangements. My first favorite female group was En Vogue.
I’m a huge Janet Jackson fan. Her Rhythm Nation album is one of the greatest albums. Period. The ballads on that album, particularly songs like “Come Back to Me,” “Lonely” and “Someday Is Tonight,” sort of created a template for me as a young man in R&B coming up. I used that album as a real soundboard.
Later on, I got into the artistry of Alicia Keys. Modern-day influences for me, in terms of someone I’ve been paying a lot of attention to over the years, is H.E.R. She’s incredibly talented. We have mutual respect for one another’s music, which is super dope.
As someone who writes and produces their own music, where does the inspiration start for you?
Honestly, it’s the interest. A lot of the incentive to get down [to my studio] is knowing I can create a certain sound. Recently, I acquired one of the old synthesizers from 1993 that made a lot of the Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis hits. I was watching one of Jimmy Jam’s interviews, and he was describing this particular keyboard, so I made it a point to find it.
I also just purchased my first real mixing console. I’ve always worked in big studios with those but never had one of my own. That is definitely an incentive to go and make every project on the same tier as my other albums were recorded in terms of class-A equipment. Also, it’s knowing there are people out there anticipating the music. It doesn’t allow me to have that sense of closure like, “OK. I’m cool. I’m good. I’ll just sing the old stuff.” No, it’s like, “Where’s the new music?”
Your new album is titled after your collaboration with Tank, “Waiting On You.” What’s the significance behind that song?
“Waiting On You” is a song I wrote to reflect on the fact that love doesn’t get old. You may fall in and out of love and have ups and downs, but its significance in our lives is so important. When it does show up, whether it be a friend showing you love or a romantic situation, I feel that it’s always on time, even when it seems overdue. I wrote from the perspective relating to everyone—from the person in a long-term relationship with ups and downs, waiting for that moment of clarity when everything’s good, to those not in relationships just trying things out.
You’ve worked with Tank before on 2005’s “Stronger Everyday.” What did it mean for you this time around to collaborate on “Waiting On You”?
When I met Tank at his [R&B Money] podcast, I played it for him and said, “This is where I’m going with my next single. I’m believing in this one.” I was also like, “You’re a huge influence to me, man.” I think Tank heard that potential and wanted to bless me with his presence on the record. That took it to another level. When his part comes in, the whole song comes alive. I love the harmonies on the bridge that he did. It reminds me of the R&B I grew up on.
Rick Ross appears on the breezy “Hills to the Hood.” What did you want to accomplish with this record?
When I met Ross at his home, I said, “Man, I love your video [and] song ‘Santorini Grease.’ That’s what I’m on — that yacht boy, island hopping type of vibe.” He’s like, “Let’s do something for the whole world.” The song couldn’t have come together better. That voice, man, that’s what it’s all about. He’s an amazing MC. I love how visual and descriptive he is. I’m a little lyrical on that song as well. There’s a little bit of a skip on that vocal. It’s more of a kind of rap-sing kind of vocal.
“Still Got Love” sounds like a potential single. What zone were you in when making that song?
With “Still Got Love,” it’s real when I talk about Patrice Rushen being an influence and the ‘80s being a huge influence on me for soul music. I was paying attention to any music that had a rhythm to it. “Still Got Love” is a celebration record. It’s reminiscent of a “Don’t Talk,” a little roller-skate type of joint, but it’s grown-man me, at this age now [50], also letting the fans know, “You still got a thing for me. We still got a thing.” Regardless of whether you listen to me every day or just one song you like, it’s a matter of us having this ongoing thing. That’s all I really want — just a moment of your time to make you smile. If these songs do that, then I’ve done my job..
You teamed with Alex Isley for “Show Me.” How did that collaboration come about?
At first, it was a solo record. One day, my buddy DDOT came by, and he brought Alex. I played her the record. She was like, “I love it.” And I said, “Would you want to sing that with me?” She was like, “Absolutely.” Her voice is so complimentary to the song that it just made me smile. I love how subtle Alex Isley is. It’s so beautiful. It’s grown-up R&B, something you can cruise to in your car or [play] at home and just chill out.
“Bandit In The Night” is another standout on the album, where you take things to the bedroom. Where did you draw from sonically?
“Bandit in The Night” started with being inspired by The Weeknd. I’m a huge fan of him. We have a lot of the same influences. On a couple of The Weeknd records, I was like, “I wish I did that. I wish I wrote that.” Melodically, I was thinking in that realm of things, which is Michael Jackson’s influence, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and the Janet Jackson influence as well.
Speaking metaphorically, on this record, I wanted to write about having a real night of passion — a wild night of you trust me, and I’m taking you for everything you got like a bandit in the night. We’re not holding anything back from each other. The hook says a lot of things like “strip search your mind.” Literally, I’m trying to cut through all the extras and really get to a person’s core, whether it be conversation or the physical part. “Bandit in the Night” is me trying to find the combination of that key part of yourself. It’s not just about getting down; it’s about communication.
Speaking of The Weeknd, he sampled your Grammy-nominated hit “Someone to Love” on “Niagara Falls” from his album Hurry Up Tomorrow. What was your reaction to it?
I was completely excited. My man, Mike Dean, hit me up. Mike and I have known each other for years and have a great deal of respect for one another. We used to work next to each other at the same studio. I’d be finishing my albums, and he’d be doing his thing producing everybody. We’ve always been on each other’s radar, it was just a matter of time. I’m just honored to be a fly on the wall of something already so dope and profound that I’m honored to be there however I can get in there.
Your tour is titled after the song “Pick Me Up.” What’s the significance of that song?
The song “Pick Me Up” is about being inspired and feeling invigorated with life. Even just the natural mystic of life. If you think about it, the fact that we have life itself should be the ‘pick me up’ every morning. You wake up, and the first thing you think is, “Wow, I’m so grateful to be here.” Then you have a record like “Pick Me Up” to be able to get behind that energy and just help accentuate it.
What do you want listeners to take away from Waiting On You?
Hopefully, you listen to this album and say to yourself, “OK, he still got it. These songs are all right.” And it’s something to live your life to, play for your significant other, and feel like, “This is going to give us a vibe to chill out and live our life to.” It’s also something you could be alone, live your life to and be inspired by.
I don’t plan on being gone too long, as far as albums go. I’m not going to wait another 10 years. I’m starting the process right now on the new album. I don’t know how long it’s going to be, but it shouldn’t be too long [with] the way I’m feeling right now. I feel like the world is so receptive to me right now just from the shows. We’re always out on the road. Now that I’ve got back into this position, I’m not trying to leave it any time soon.
Get Jon B.’s new album Waiting On You here. | Featured image by Shannon Laurine