In the not so distant previous, Jon B walked into Nas’ London live performance anticipating merely to benefit from the present, however he left with a reminiscence that stitched their careers even tighter. The R&B singer recalled how the Queensbridge legend welcomed him backstage after performing with a full symphony orchestra. They had a particular historical past that made the link-up a lot extra particular.

“They got Jon B here to see you,” he remembered listening to. Nas responded with a smile, “R&B Jon B? The singer? Tell him come in.”

The reunion sparked dialog about their 2001 collaboration on “Finer Things,” a observe Jon B crafted particularly with Nas’ fashion in thoughts. The clean track blended R&B textures with suave-street storytelling.

“I wanted a pocket like the ‘Street Dreams’ tempo. I cooked it up specifically for him,” Jon B advised AllHipHop in WonWorld Studios. “He was on it. Two verses. He wrote the song twice, actually, dedication like Pac.”

Watch Jon B discuss Nas on the 20-minute mark beneath.

Jon B stated Nas’ precision within the studio was unforgettable. He rewrote his verses to achieve a normal solely he might attain. “That closing rap…fire,” Jon B stated, reciting the bars with admiration.

That second and others underlined Jon B’s enduring dedication between R&B soul and Hip-Hop. His profession took off within the mid-Nineteen Nineties with hits like “Someone to Love” and “They Don’t Know,” however his collaborations with Hip-Hop figures has distinguished him from others. He labored with Tupac Shakur, Nas, Fat Joe and, extra just lately, Rick Ross. These hyperlinks have cemented his crossover viability.

Three a long time later, Jon B continues to push ahead with integrity. His newest album, 2024’s Waiting on You, marked his first studio challenge in additional than a decade. The opus is traditional R&B, reside instrumentation and grown-man songwriting. Beyond his singing, the album underscores his evolution as a producer and arranger.

Jon B credit Hip-Hop tradition for shaping him from the beginning.

“I grew up with hip-hop in the ’80s—truck jewelry, breakdancing, locking, graffiti, the DJ…there’s nothing like it,” he stated.

He admitted that rap has at all times been in his musical toolkit. “I wouldn’t call myself a rapper, but rap is a musical tool for me. I have fun freestyling, been doing it for years,” he stated.

For Jon B, the hyperlink between Hip-Hop and R&B—and extra broadly so-called city tradition—has at all times been genuine, not only a enterprise technique. Tt’s been a inventive lifeline. With Waiting on You, he reminds longtime listeners and newer ones he’s again like he by no means left, very like Hip-Hop’s biggest MCs.

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