Joe

If ever there were an official hymnal of love songs, rest assured several of the standards would have derived from JOE's well-referenced music catalog. His skilled yet innate ability to blend smooth, sultry vocals with disciplined musicianship and songwriting has edified hearts the world round with an amazing grace that is both entertaining and divine.

As a bonafide preacher's kid, Joe discovered his gift in the gospel choir where he learned to sing with the motivation to touch the soul. With compositions like "I'm In Love", "All The Things (Your Man Won't Do)" and "I Wanna Know" Joe won the respect of legions of men with his unabashed chivalry and captured the hearts and devotion of countless women by singing the words they have always longed to hear.

The soulful sound of Joe's tenor reinvigorated R&B ("Stutter," "What If A Woman") dignified Pop (Mariah Carey's "Thank God I Found You" featuring 98 Degrees, "Through The Rain") and even sounded off in the streets by way of popular demand for remixes and street anthems with hip hop's most influential rappers like Big Pun ("Still Not A Player"), Mariah Carey, Nas ("Thank God I Found You (Remix)") and G-Unit ("Ride Wit U").

Joe's latest offering, Ain't Nothing Like Me, is a collection of songs that are snapshots from his own life. Ever present are the authentic, heart-felt lyrics that Joe has been ordained to deliver. Songs like "My Love (Make It Happen)" and "If I Was Your Man" are true to form arrangements that further expose a more personal side-- a first for the enigmatic balladeer who has long been a staple on play lists for everything from weddings to family reunions; from ladies night out to road trips with the fellas; from poolside to bedside. "At this point in my life after being in the industry since I was 19 years old, this is more like a reflection of me and all the things I've seen in life. This album really captures my own journey," says Joe of the introspective set.

Each song is a rhythmic interpretation of Joe's more private thoughts and feelings shaped and arranged with collaborators like Jermaine Dupri, Dre & Vidal, Tim & Bob, Brian Michael Cox, Stargate and Sean Garrett.

Guest spots by Papoose ("Where You At") and Yung Joc ("Ain't Nothing Like Me") illustrate Joe's own contemporary sensibility and his importance to a burgeoning generation of listeners and future devotees.

"It's been a long time since I heard some new Joe... dawg's crazy like an R&B Cujo," attests Nas who appears on the invitational "Get To Know Me."

Ain't Nothing Like Me connects with listeners of all ages. Such a timeless relevancy yet again re-affirms that Joe, the man and the music, is a tenant of the highly respected old school while simultaneously pioneering the new school. Some call that... classic. Joe Thomas, the most distinct voice in R&B.

An accomplished vocalist of smooth and sultry R&B productions with occasional hip-hop beats, Joe's extensive background in gospel music has allowed him to produce his albums as well as sing on them. A native of Georgia, Joe later moved to Opelika, AL; since he was the son of two preachers, he spent much time in church singing, playing guitar, and even directing the choir. Influenced early on by gospel stars like the Winans, Commissioned, and Vanessa Bell Armstrong, Joe grew to love soul legends Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye plus contemporary stars Bobby Brown and Keith Sweat.

Joe graduated from high school and continued to sing and write music while working at occasional temporary jobs. Finally, he traveled to New Jersey, hoping to make connections in the music industry. While working at a gospel record store and continuing his music education through a local church, he met producer Vincent Herbert and recorded a three-song demo tape. He signed to Polygram and in 1993 released his album debut, Everything. Joe also appeared on the soundtrack to Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood, and moved to Jive/RCA for his second album, 1997's All That I Am. The single "Don't Wanna Be a Player" hit the Top 40, thanks to its exposure on the soundtrack of Booty Call. While All That I Am went platinum, Joe remixed a duet by Tina Turner and Barry White, "Never in Your Dreams"; he also produced and wrote for debut albums by Ideal and Deja Groove.

In 1999, Joe appeared on Mariah Carey's "Thank God I Found You" single (from Rainbow) and caught yet another break from a soundtrack appearance, this time with "I Wanna Know" from The Wood. Released as a single in the fall, "I Wanna Know" languished in the lower reaches of the charts until suddenly catching fire in early 2000; the single reached the R&B Top Five in March, setting the stage for Joe's next album, the multi-platinum My Name Is Joe. Despite never achieving that level of sales again, 2001's Better Days, 2003's And Then..., and 2007's Ain't Nothin' Like Me were solid full-lengths. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide