When you merge the best of R&B with the best of hip hop, you know you’ve got something special, and that’s precisely what JoJo Hailey has done. After kicking off his comeback at the start of the year, the R&B icon is back with round two in the remix of his new single, “Special.” To take it to the next level, JoJo – who helped shape R&B in the ’90s with bands Jodeci and K-Ci & JoJo (along with his brother, Cedric K-Ci’ Hailey) – enlisted the help of another ’90s icon, Snoop Dogg. The results are incredible, as the track blends G-Funk with modern pop and R&B to a record that’s both a throwback and incredibly fresh.
“It’s definitely an honor to have Snoop on board sharing his feelings about love!” JoJo tells HollywoodLife about this collab. “Special” showcases that JoJo’s voice is as smooth and sultry as ever, and the addition of Snoop is just the cherry on top of this remix. With the song being a tribute to JoJo’s wife, Tashaunda Hailey, Snoop opens up about the time he felt “real love, from the get-go” for another. “Patience is a virtue / I see you flirt, boo / I wanna love you, I don’t wanna hurt you /It’s foundation /that’s what got me standin’ up / a good woman is enough to get you mannin’ up.” Though Snoop doesn’t mention Shante Broadus (née Taylor), the high school sweetheart he married in 1997, by name, it’s not hard to think she was the inspiration behind those bars.
“The remix takes me back to a ’90s vibe when we first started mixing Hip Hop with R&B,” JoJo tells HollywoodLife. Those two genres aren’t as divided as they once were, thanks to artists like JoJo. As part of Jodeci (along with Donald’ Devanté Swing” DeGrate, Dalvin “Mr. Dalvin” DeGrate and brother Cedric), JoJo’s voice was all over the R&B charts, with songs like “Forever My Lady,” “Stay,” “Come And Talk To Me,” “Cry For You,” And “Freek’n You.” When the brothers formed K-Ci & JoJo, they landed a No. 1 hit with 1998’s “All My Life,” and continued to be R&B mainstays to the early 2000s.
Though personal battles with alcohol and health-related issues forced JoJo to hit pause on his career, his comeback is in full swing. 2020 will see a string of more singles leading up to his first-ever solo debut album. He and his wife are also overseeing JT Entertainment, their new record label. On top of that, JoJo’s daughters and nephew will release new music later on in the year. Believe it: 2020 is going to be a special year for JoJo — and R&B fans everywhere.
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