All of my life situations brought me to the point where I was at…but I think we as human beings all have to overcome something. Whether it be an addiction to social media, addiction to pills…anything, we can be addicted to people too. So that’s why I started smoking. My grandpop was an alcoholic that’s what made me become an alcoholic and made me want to pick up drinking. My pops and my mom smoked cigarettes when I was very young. Those were the things that I was addicted to those were the things that were in my life. We have to overcome something, and those were some of the things I had to overcome. My life situations brought me to that point. Zenger: Would you say too much too fast is why you fell into those traps? Or do you feel that was something within you that money and fame brought out? Jones: I think born into this world we all have to go through it. I don’t pay attention to things that don’t mean anything to me anymore. Anything you pay attention to is something that has a hold on you.
#Donell jones songs free#
I’m free from all of those things that were addictions for me! Negative thoughts come, but I don’t pay attention to them anymore. All those things, man, just fell away. I’m not interested in those things any longer. I used to smoke marijuana on a regular everyday basis. I’m in the green now as well as I used to think negatively. I paid everybody back all the money they said I owed them. So, I’m free. Why is Donell Jones 100% Free now? Jones: Well, I can say that I don’t have any contracts. Zenger: Your upcoming album is titled ‘100% Free!’ That’s a compelling and profound title. Not only am I singing about something that I have been through, but I’m still feeling the emotions of it when I’m trying to deliver it on record. Jones: Every song I always write is based on my personal experience. Because I feel like, if I’m going through it, then I know other people in the world are going through it, and not only that, when I’m singing it, I can give it the type of emotion it needs because it was my life. Zenger: Absolutely! I was bugged out when I found out ‘Where I Wanna Be’ was a real-life situation for you. One thing about music, man, is we’re always going to be in relationships out there, but ain’t nobody talking about what they are going through. So, I feel like there is a street that ain’t nobody driving on, and an artist like myself can just drive on that street by myself and just have a lane to myself and an artist like me. And our stuff was mostly based on relationships with one person.We had a couple of swagged-out records, but for the most part, it was mostly about love, makeups and breakups, and all things that happen in relationships. I think that’s what makes our generation of music a little bit different. Today they talk about how much money they got, how many chicks they are going to get into the bed. I think the difference between the R&B of yesteryear and today is the fact that our subject matter was different. We talked about love a little bit more. you got people like Ella Mai, a lot of youngsters out there doing it. It’s like a hybrid right now. But true R&B, I don’t think it will ever die. Jones: I feel like R&B can never die. I feel like the lines are blurred right now between the youngsters doing their thing. Zenger: Do you see a void in what is deemed real R&B music? And when will we see a Donell Jones record or a case record? So we know we can expect that void to be filled. We’re not holding anything back, and we’re going to give it to them in the raw, and that’s how I approached it. My family asked me, ‘Do you want me to talk about this?’ I was like, ‘Man, ya’ll just keep it 100 and tell the truth. I just felt like…I didn’t know I was going to get the opportunity to do it, but I said, ‘If I ever do this show, I’m going to let it all out because if I’m going through it, maybe my story can help somebody else.’ And I just wanted to be 100% real. You know why? I had watched that ‘Unsung’ show a few times with artists on there.