Known for his silky-smooth voice and romantic ballads, Jon B. has been a cornerstone in R&B music for over 30 years. Releasing his debut album Bonafide in 1995, that LP spawned the hit singles "Pretty Girl" and "Someone to Love" featuring Babyface, which became a top ten on the Billboard Hot 100. The next year, he co-wrote the Spice Girls hit "Say You'll Be There".

In 1997,  he dropped the acclaimed Cool Relax, including the hit singles "Are U Still Down" featuring Tupac Shakur and the classic top 10 hit "They Don't Know." He would go on to release Pleasures U Like (2001), Stronger Everyday (2004), Hopeless Romantic (2008), and Comfortable Swagg (2012).

After a 10-year hiatus, Jon B. is back and better than ever. His forthcoming EP, Waiting On You, is slated for release in 2025.

Growing up in a house filled with music, Jon knew from a young age that he wanted to be a musician.

“My dad was a professor of music, and my mother was a classically trained pianist. My brother played the cello, and my sister played the violin. It made me take music seriously from the start,” Jon told BET.com. “I knew my thing was going to be the keyboard, synthesizers, and drums. I started getting equipment, and by the time I was 12 or 13, I was making full demos.”

Jon noted that he was drawn to R&B and soul because of the infectious lyrics and musicianship.

“R&B has so much musicality. It has orchestra strings, horns, and all the elements of classical music, so it wasn’t far off when you think about it,” Jon explained. “I was already keyed in from all of that, from childhood, because I grew up listening to orchestras.”

“My grandparents owned a music store, and my first record was That’s the Way of the World by Earth, Wind & Fire. That gave me my first commercial music experience. Then there were The Bee Gees, Toto, Hall & Oates, and The Isley Brothers,” he continued. “I chose soul music because of the way the songs made me feel. The rhythm, the beat, the melody, the chords—everything about the way the songs sounded was the most powerful of all the music styles to me.”

As he developed as a singer and songwriter, Jon linked up with one of his idols, Babyface, who contributed to his debut album, Bonafide. He was the first artist to sign with Tracey Edmonds' record label, Yab Yum Records. Jon shared how he had always envisioned working with Babyface.

“I can say I visualized my future. I said to myself that I wanted to be a protégé of Babyface. I felt the heart in the music,” he shared. “I felt the love, and he just told the truth. He didn’t add any extras—he was so precise. He’s the greatest love songwriter ever, you know what I mean?”

Jon continued, “I did 90% of the production and writing on Bonafide, and then Babyface came in at the end and blessed me with ‘Pretty Girl’ and ‘Someone to Love.’ When he wrote ‘Someone to Love,’ I was like, ‘This is for me? I was so honored.’”

Even after all his success, Jon is still fueled by his love for music. Although it's been a decade since his last project, he’s spent the time cultivating his craft and building his brand.

“It took 10 years to muster up the confidence for this new album. It wasn’t because I didn’t believe in myself. I had put out some albums independently that were dope, and I’m very proud of those records. My wife and I put those albums together with no help from labels,” Jon said. “Learning how to do it on our own was a stepping stone for this album. It’s really well put together.”

Recently celebrating 17 years of marriage, Jon spoke about how his wife is his partner in life and in the music business.

“My wife and I are a team in every sense of the word. Teamwork makes the dream work. It’s just a beautiful thing to have real inspiration behind my songs,” he said. “That’s the recipe for anything authentic.”

“Musically, you have to be living it to sing about it. No matter the subject, if you’re going through it, that makes it so much more authentic,” he continued.

Jon shared that his time away allowed him to focus on the details of the album.

“We put out ‘Priceless’ featuring Donell Jones, and then everything shut down with the pandemic. After being shut down for two years, I went back to make sure I was happy with the project,” Jon said. “It gave me an excuse to put a magnifying glass on it. I also got the opportunity to work with Rick Ross, which was an incredible experience.”

“It’s a beautiful place for me right now, being in completion mode. We filmed a bunch of videos. The first single was ‘Waiting On You’ featuring Tank, which is a great song. The second single, ‘Natural Drug,’ just dropped, and it’s another fantastic track.”

For the visual for “Natural Drug,” Jon cast Cynthia Bailey of The Real Housewives of Atlanta as his love interest.

“My wife and I were both big fans of Cynthia. From the modeling she did in the ’90s, she was a face we always remembered as a natural beauty. When my wife and I were thinking about who to cast in the video, we both agreed on her because we always watched Atlanta Housewives.”

“Cynthia is a lovely person, and our chemistry in the video was great. She looks amazing and made me step my game up,” Jon laughed.

When asked what he hopes fans take away from his new music, Jon said he wants to keep the love and sensuality in R&B alive.

“Let’s keep the romance in the music. That’s what I want everyone to walk away with. The most important thing is romance,” Jon said emphatically. “Quote me on that for sure.”