Growing up on the gang-infested blocks of Chicago's south side, music became an escape for Donnell Jones. Starting out as a singer/songwriter, he composed hits for Usher and Silk before focusing on his own career. 1996's debut album, My Heart, was powered by his amiable voice but floundered commercially. Fired by a series of addictive singles, '99's Where I Wanna Be finally broke through and established Jones as a throwback romantic whose tender tales at times mirror the early work of Stevie Wonder.