jon-b

Before Justin Timberlake and before Robin Thicke, the original “white boy with soul” was Jon B. For kicks, the guy was cool with 2Pac, so in case his street cred was ever in question, that answered it. Their work on “R U Still Down” still ranks as one of Pac’s more laid-back and underrated cuts. Often hiding under the radar, a more uptempo, yet relaxing second version was released on B’s 2004 album, Stronger Everyday.

The chemistry these two had on records was crazy. Years before Jay and R. Kelly pulled off the feat, it was Pac and Jon who had me thinking of what a rapper/singer type album would sound like. On “part two,” they stick to the script with Jon providing the soothing vocals and Afeni’s son managing to do what he always did best.

Just in case you were wondering, this is a different ‘Pac verse from the original.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download — Jon B feat. 2Pac – “R U Still Down Part 2 (Happy Home)”