Chicago-born singer, songwriter and producer Donell Jones is the voice behind “U Know What’s Up” with Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, the breakup anthem “Where I Wanna Be” and a much-loved cover of “Knocks Me Off My Feet.” He wrote songs for Usher and 702 before his own debut, went platinum in 1999 and fought his way back from alcohol addiction in the 2000s. In August 2026 he faced Joe in a Verzuz that put his catalog in front of a new generation, and he is now working on his first album in six years.
| Date of Birth | May 22, 1973 |
|---|---|
| Age | 53 years |
| Nationality | American |
| Zodiac Sign | Gemini |
| Occupation | Singer, songwriter, record producer |
| Place of Birth | Chicago, Illinois, USA |
| Parents | Roy Jones (father), Renee Byrd (mother) |
| Years Active | 1996–present |
| Labels | LaFace, Arista, Jive, Candyman Music |
| Ex-Wife | Jasmine Jones (divorced about 2024) |
| Children | 6 |
| Notable Songs | U Know What's Up, Where I Wanna Be, Knocks Me Off My Feet |
Terrence DuckettBiography
Donell Jones was born on May 22, 1973, in Chicago, Illinois, to Renee Byrd and gospel singer Roy Jones. He grew up on the city’s South Side. His father sang gospel with his brother and became a pastor when Donell was about 12 or 13.
Music came from both sides of the house. “My love of music came from my pops and my mom, because my mom, she sang as well,” he told VladTV in September 2022, adding that she owned “probably about maybe five thousand records.” He went to church because he had to, never sang in the choir, and grew up on Michael Jackson, Teddy Pendergrass and the Isley Brothers instead.
His teenage years were rough. In the same VladTV interview, he admitted he was “gang banging a little bit” and sold drugs, calling himself “a horrible drug dealer” because police kept catching him. At 15, he was picked out of a lineup for an armed robbery he didn’t commit. “I was scared as hell,” he said. Police later found the real robber, a young man from the neighborhood who looked like him.
The turning point came in a high school lunchroom. He sang some Bobby Brown songs, the girls loved it, and he decided music was the plan. He also taught himself the keyboard. By 19 or 20 he already had two children, born about 11 months apart.
Career
Porche, Eddie F and Writing for Usher
Jones started out in a four-man Chicago group called Porche, singing in the background and writing songs. Nobody in Chicago would sign them, so at about 17 or 18 the group drove to Washington, D.C., for the Black Radio Exclusive convention and sang for anyone who walked out of the hotel. Producer Eddie F of Heavy D and the Boyz stopped to listen. “Don’t sing for nobody else out here, I’ma sign y’all,” Jones recalled him saying on VladTV. Two months later Eddie F flew the group to New Jersey.
Working under Eddie F’s Untouchables Entertainment, Jones co-wrote “You Took My Heart” for Usher and then wrote “Think of You” after Sean “Puffy” Combs asked him to try a tricky beat. He ended up with three songs on Usher’s 1994 debut album. That run caught the ear of L.A. Reid, who told him to come back with a finished album and LaFace Records would sign him. He moved to New York in 1995.
His first publishing deal was worth $75,000, with $40,000 paid up front, he told the R&B Money podcast in September 2026. His father, who had warned him music would not pay, changed his tune when he saw the check. “I think you need to go back to New York, son,” Jones remembers him saying.
My Heart and Writing for 702
LaFace released Jones’s debut album, My Heart, in 1996. It reached No. 30 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. “In the Hood” and his version of Stevie Wonder’s “Knocks Me Off My Feet” both made the top 30 of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and the New Zealand singles chart.
He recorded “Knocks Me Off My Feet” without knowing it was a Stevie Wonder song. A producer’s wife sang it to him for a demo. “Had I known that was a Stevie Wonder record, I wouldn’t have touched it at all,” he told VladTV. The same year he wrote and produced “Get It Together” for the girl group 702. The song went gold and has been sampled many times since.
Where I Wanna Be and the Big Hits
His second album, Where I Wanna Be, arrived in 1999 after LaFace held him back so he would not clash with Usher and TLC releases. It went platinum. The lead single “U Know What’s Up,” featuring Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes of TLC, climbed to No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart. It was the last song recorded for the album, added because L.A. Reid felt the project still needed a club record.
The title track was his own story. He was still living with the mother of his children but had started cheating and wanted out. “Before I cheat on you, I’d rather just break up,” he said on VladTV, explaining that he wrote the song because he didn’t know how to tell her. The single went platinum and reached No. 2 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. “Shorty (Got Her Eyes on Me)” and “This Luv” also came from the album.
In 2000 he sang the hook on Big Pun’s “It’s So Hard,” recorded in a party atmosphere with Fat Joe and the Terror Squad around. Pun died about two months later. Jones also sang “I’ll Go” on the Love & Basketball soundtrack, which earned a Black Reel Award nomination.
Life Goes On, Jive and Journey of a Gemini
Life Goes On came out in June 2002 and reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and the R&B albums chart, later going gold. Its best single, “You Know That I Love You,” reached the R&B top 20. Behind the scenes, LaFace was folding into Arista as L.A. Reid moved up, and Jones said the album got caught in that changeover.
When Arista shut down, Jones was moved to Jive Records alongside R. Kelly, Usher, Joe and Justin Timberlake. “They didn’t know what to do with me as an artist,” he told VladTV. Jive sent him to work with a long list of producers, including Tim & Bob, Sean Garrett, Ryan Leslie and Tank. The result, Journey of a Gemini (2006), still topped the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and reached No. 15 on the Billboard 200. The Best of Donell Jones followed in 2007 as his last LaFace-era release.
Going Independent with Candyman Music
Jones then went independent with his own label, Candyman Music, with distribution from eOne. The Lost Files, a set of unreleased songs, came out in 2009. Lyrics followed in September 2010 and debuted at No. 28 on the Billboard 200, with the single “Love Like This” reaching the top five of the Adult R&B chart. Forever (July 2013) reached No. 20 on the Billboard 200.
He then stepped away from albums for seven years. In 2016 he premiered “Never Let Her Go” with rapper David Banner. In 2018 he sang on, produced and co-wrote “23” for Jacquees, and in 2019 he released the duet “Understand” with Jon B.
His seventh studio album, 100% Free, came out on February 14, 2021, on streaming services and as a free download from his website. He wrote and produced all seven songs himself. “The reason why I was gone for so long was that it took me a whole seven years to drop all of the things that were bothering me,” he told Atlanta Black Star in December 2020. On VladTV he explained the title: “free from addiction, free from self-doubt, free from negative thinking.”
The Verzuz With Joe and a New Album
Jones revealed his Verzuz with Joe backstage at the Wine & Slow Jams Festival in Maryland on August 8, 2026, before it was officially announced. “For me, it’s not really a Verzuz. It’s a celebration,” he told Big Boy’s Neighborhood. “We both have two great catalogs. We’re going to treat it as such.”
The battle streamed on August 20, 2026, on Complex, Apple Music and Verzuz channels. Jones brought out 702 to sing “Get It Together,” the song he wrote for them, while Joe brought out 50 Cent. Complex’s fan poll gave the night to Joe, 63% to 37%.
On the R&B Money podcast in September 2026, he said he is back in the studio on a new album called Elevate, due early in 2027, and wants younger artists and producers on it. He also said his audience now skews young, with most fans aged 18 to 35, thanks in part to TikTok. With about 2.2 million monthly listeners on Spotify, his catalog still pulls steady streams.
Jones has also formed a group called The Shy with fellow Chicago singers Dave Hollister and Carl Thomas. They announced it in 2021, and Jones told VladTV the hold-up is getting all three in the same room.
Songs and Albums
His studio albums are My Heart (1996), Where I Wanna Be (1999), Life Goes On (2002), Journey of a Gemini (2006), Lyrics (2010), Forever (2013) and 100% Free (2021). The compilations The Best of Donell Jones (2007) and The Lost Files (2009) fill the gaps. His best-known songs are “U Know What’s Up,” “Where I Wanna Be,” “Knocks Me Off My Feet,” “Shorty (Got Her Eyes on Me),” “This Luv,” “You Know That I Love You” and “Love Like This.”
As a writer and producer, his credits include Usher’s “Think of You” and “You Took My Heart,” 702’s “Get It Together” and Jacquees’ “23.”
Controversies and Disputes
In November 2020, a fan on X (then Twitter) messaged Jones to say “Where I Wanna Be” and its video were “toxic,” which set off a wider online debate about cheating songs in R&B. Jones defended the record. “It’s a song and the video had nothing to do with how the song was written,” he replied, according to Blavity.
He has also spoken openly about his struggle with alcohol. On VladTV he said that around the Jive years, with his relationship falling apart, he was drinking every day. After finishing a gallon of Bacardi on his own, he called his mother and checked himself into rehab for a couple of weeks. He relapsed about a year later. “I’m in control of me,” he said in 2022, adding that he now drinks only socially.
Awards and Nominations
Jones won the American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B New Artist at the 28th American Music Awards in January 2001. He was nominated for a Black Reel Award for Best Original or Adapted Song in 2001 for “I’ll Go” from Love & Basketball. Where I Wanna Be and its title single are certified platinum by the RIAA, and Life Goes On is certified gold.
Personal Life
Before fame, Jones was with his high school girlfriend from Chicago, and they had two children almost back to back when he was about 19. By the time he made Where I Wanna Be, around age 25, they had four. “I’m not married, but I’m going home to a married life,” he told R&B Money. The couple split in the early 2000s, and he has said the breakup fed his drinking.
In 2006 he met Jasmine Jones in a club. “It was like this light that was shining on her,” he told VladTV, adding that “that day we never left each other’s side.” They married and had two children together, and Jasmine appeared in his 2010 video for “Love Like This.” “I want everybody to know that this is my lady right here,” he said of that decision.
The marriage later hit trouble. “I wasn’t having a good relationship with my wife as I should,” he told Atlanta Black Star in December 2020. In September 2026 he told R&B Money that he had “recently got divorced a couple of years ago” and has plenty to write about on Elevate. In all, he is a father of six.
On January 10, 2023, Jones posted on Instagram that he had crashed his Mercedes-Benz S-Class into a ditch after falling asleep at the wheel. “I walk away with no injuries but I learned a valuable lesson. That if you’re tired, just park the car,” he wrote, as reported by Black Enterprise. He has also said he quit cigarettes, a habit he picked up at 14.
Timeline
May 22, 1973: Born in Chicago, Illinois, to Renee Byrd and gospel singer Roy Jones.
About 1985: His father becomes a pastor.
About 1988: Wrongly arrested for armed robbery at 15, then cleared when police find the real suspect.
About 1991: Sings for Eddie F outside the Black Radio Exclusive convention in Washington, D.C., with his group Porche.
About 1993: Becomes a father of two in his late teens.
1994: Writes three songs, including “Think of You,” for Usher’s debut album.
1995: Moves to New York and signs with LaFace Records.
1996: Releases his debut album, My Heart, and writes and produces 702’s “Get It Together.”
1999: Releases Where I Wanna Be, featuring “U Know What’s Up” (No. 7 Hot 100) and the title track.
2000: Sings the hook on Big Pun’s “It’s So Hard” and “I’ll Go” for Love & Basketball.
January 2001: Wins the American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B New Artist.
April 2002: Collaborator Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes dies in Honduras.
June 2002: Releases Life Goes On, which reaches No. 3 on the Billboard 200.
Early 2000s: Splits from the mother of his first four children.
Mid-2000s: Checks into rehab for alcohol after drinking a gallon of Bacardi.
2006: Releases Journey of a Gemini on Jive, his first No. 1 on the R&B albums chart, and meets Jasmine.
2007: The Best of Donell Jones closes his LaFace era.
2009: Releases The Lost Files on his own Candyman Music.
September 2010: Releases Lyrics, with Jasmine in the “Love Like This” video.
July 2013: Releases Forever (No. 20 Billboard 200).
2016: Premieres “Never Let Her Go” with David Banner.
2018: Sings, produces and co-writes Jacquees’ “23.”
2019: Releases “Understand” with Jon B.
November 2020: Defends “Where I Wanna Be” against “toxic” claims online.
February 14, 2021: Releases 100% Free as a free download.
2021: Announces the group The Shy with Dave Hollister and Carl Thomas.
September 2022: Talks about addiction and his marriage on VladTV.
January 10, 2023: Survives a car crash after falling asleep while driving.
About 2024: Divorces Jasmine Jones.
August 8, 2026: Reveals his Verzuz with Joe at the Wine & Slow Jams Festival.
August 20, 2026: Faces Joe in Verzuz and brings out 702.
September 2026: Announces his next album, Elevate, on the R&B Money podcast.
Net Worth
Donell Jones has an estimated net worth of $6.5–8.5 million. Most of it comes from 30 years of touring. He told VladTV he is “out every weekend” doing shows, and that steady run of club, theatre and festival dates is his biggest earner.
Songwriting adds a second income that keeps paying. “I’m a songwriter, so I get royalties from songwriting,” he said in 2022, when he denied ever having money trouble. Credits like 702’s “Get It Together,” which he says he wrote alone and which keeps getting sampled, plus his Usher songs, bring in money he doesn’t have to tour for. Streaming adds more, with about 2.2 million monthly Spotify listeners. Most of his 1990s hits sit with the old LaFace catalog, while his later albums came out on his own Candyman Music.
That puts him ahead of fellow R&B singer Tank, whose fortune Celebrity Net Worth puts at $5 million, and well above Jodeci’s K-Ci Hailey at $3 million. He sits a little below Musiq Soulchild, valued at $9 million by Celebrity Net Worth. A new album in 2027 and the attention from the Verzuz could push his show fees and streams higher.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is Donell Jones worth?
Donell Jones has an estimated net worth of $6.5–8.5 million, mostly from touring, songwriting royalties and streaming.
Is Donell Jones still married?
No. He married Jasmine Jones after meeting her in 2006, and in September 2026 he said they had divorced a couple of years earlier.
How many children does Donell Jones have?
He has six children: four from his first long relationship in Chicago and two with his ex-wife, Jasmine.
Who won the Donell Jones vs Joe Verzuz?
Joe won the Complex fan poll 63% to 37% after the August 20, 2026, battle, though Jones called the night “a celebration” rather than a contest.
Did Donell Jones write “Get It Together” for 702?
Yes. He wrote and produced the 1996 song, and he brought 702 out to perform it during his Verzuz with Joe.
What is Donell Jones’s new album?
His next album is called Elevate. He told the R&B Money podcast in September 2026 that he expects it early in 2027.
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