Grammy-nominated soul singer and songwriter Jon B is best known for his string of American R&B hits during the mid-late 1990s and early 2000s. His debut album, 1995’s Bonafide, was a favourite of legendary rapper Tupac Shakur, and the pair collaborated on a track called ‘Are U Still Down?’ which made number two on the US R&B Charts after Tupac’s untimely death and saw Jon B nominated for various awards, including Best Male Single at the 1998 Soul Train Music Awards. His first three albums went at least single platinum, and the third, 2001’s Pleasures U Like, hit the US Billboard Top 10. He is still recording and releasing music today, with recent singles including ‘Priceless’ and ‘Understand’.

Jon B was born Jonathan David Buck in Rhode Island and was raised in California. He came from a very musical family and so it’s no surprise that he was drawn to singing and songwriting. As soon as he graduated from high school, he spent the summer locked away working on his songs, eventually completing over 40, and was soon doing the rounds of major record labels. As a result, he became a respected songwriter for major artists before releasing his debut solo material in the summer of 1995. His first single, ‘Someone to Love’, reached the US Billboard Top 10 and was quickly followed by the likes of ‘Pretty Girl’ and ‘Don’t Say’. ‘Someone to Love’ would also be nominated for a Grammy Award.

The 1998 double A-side single, ‘Are You Still Down?’/’They Don’t Know’ became Jon B’s biggest single and is still hugely popular today, with the two songs having an incredible 70 million streams between them on Spotify.