UB Anniversary ReVisit: 20th Anniversary of JoJo’s Debut | Rollout Interview

Over the next year, we’ll be spotlighting features from our e-zines from the last 25 years. T M H Entertainment, T M Hxone and Urban Bridgez.

As the longest running website for R&B online, since 1999 – We’ve been able to conduct some amazing interviews with R&B Royalty, as well Hip Hop Legends.

In early June of 2004, TMHxone.com (our former website) posted a new interview from a new artist signed to Blackground/Universal.

JoJo, was like no other artists before her. We were asked to preview her album and help roll her out with a new interview.

The lead single from her debut album “Leave (Get Out)” was creating a buzz and would later go #1. Making JoJo the youngest solo artist to have a #1 single at the age of 13.

However it was the album preview that had us all in awe. Her vocals, for someone her age were crazy! Then there was her remake of SWV‘s hit 90s single “Weak.” We were sold!

Today is the 20th Anniversary of JoJo‘s debut album, originally released June 22nd, 2004.

Growing up with just her mom, JoJo always felt like an outsider. Music saved her: Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Sly And The Family Stone, George Benson, Mariah Carey and eventually neo-soul.

JoJo gained experience by performing in various showcases and competitions, she appeared on Kids Say the Darnedest Things with Bill Cosby at age 7 and was offered her first record deal at age 8, which her mother turned down feeling that her daughter was too young.

After appearing on America’s Most Talented Kids at age 11, JoJo was then signed to Da Family Entertainment. Which released her debut album through Blackground/Universal Motown Records .

In 2004, “Leave (Get Out)” which again, made her the youngest solo artist ever to reach #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 chart. She was 13, and it’s a record she still holds to this day.

Since, she’s sold more than 7 million records and is one of the biggest successes to ever emerge from her hometown of Foxborough, Massachusetts.

JoJo debuted at #4 on the Billboard Top 200, went platinum and sold three million copies worldwide propelled by the success of its hit singles “Baby It’s You” and the gold-certified “Leave (Get Out),” which hit # 1 at Top 40.

She was also nominated for two Billboard Music Awards for “Leave (Get Out)” and an MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist making her the youngest artist ever to be nominated for a VMA.

JoJo has also re-recorded the album and re-released it on her own imprint Clover Music.

When fame hit JoJo enjoyed it, but she only just started to understand the ramifications of reaching such heights so young. “Being famous at 13 was the best!” she says. “But it makes you feel like if you’re not shutting down a mall with your presence, something must be off.” Watching other artists have more gradual rises than she was afforded has been difficult, but she says that it never got so bad that she had to dissociate from music.

In 2006, JoJo released her second album “The High Road,” which debuted at # 3 on the Billboard Top 200 and spawned the hit single “Too Little Too Late,” which broke the record for biggest one-week jump into the Top 3.

In 2010 JoJo released her first ever mix tape, Can’t Take That Away From Me, which saw over 185,000 downloads the first week of release.

Also a talented actress, JoJo appeared on the TV programs The Bernie Mac Show and American Dreams, and the feature films RV (with Robin Williams) and Aquamarine, which earned her a Teen Choice Award nomination for Choice Breakout (Female).

“Jumping Trains” was planned for her third album release, however issues with her label ended up being the reason the album was shelved.

JoJo’s star remained bright, despite being unable to officially release music for a decade due to legal struggles with former label Blackground.

Even after the breakout success, it was her independently released mixtapes between the years of 2010 and 2014 that truly cemented JoJo’s legitimacy as an artist – earning her both critical and peer support across the board, with artists ranging from SZA, Ella Mai and Maren Morris to Sam Smith, Camila Cabello, and Anne-Marie counted among her fans.

She has also pushed herself outside the confines of genre, collaborating with artists ranging from PJ Morton [on the Top 10 R&B hit “Say So”] and Jacob Collier [lending her vocal stylings to the jazzy “It Don’t Matter”] to Tank [on his latest release “Somebody Else”].

JoJo signed with Atlantic and dropped “Mad Love” in 2016. Featuring the hit “Fuck Apologies” featuring Wiz Khalifa. The album was her first album release since breaking away from her Blackground deal.

JoJo will release “Over the Influence: A Memoir” on September 17th, via Hachette Books.

In celebration of the release of JoJo‘s debut album. We take you back to that first interview. We knew then, she would be around for decades to come.

Aries from UB talked to JoJo about her debut album, Aaliyah, songwriting, remaking SWV‘s “Weak” and more. Plus JoJo shared interest in working with Bow Wow in our interview and months later, it happened.

UrbanBridgez.com: Are you nervous about coming out at such an early age?
JoJo: I would say not really, I’ve been working for this my whole life really. Now it’s just paying off and I’m excited about what’s ahead.

UrbanBridgez.com: Which singer has influenced you the most?
JoJo: Well when I was younger and coming up I would say Aretha Franklin, Etta James and Whitney Houston. Really a diverse group of singers. Now I’m really into hip-hop and more R&B.; I would say Ludacris and Kanye West definitely.

UrbanBridgez.com: Being signed to Blackground, did you ever have the pleasure of meeting Aaliyah, if so did she offer you any advice as a new artist?
JoJo: No unfortunately I was signed to Blackground after Aaliyah passed. I never got the chance to meet her. Aaliyah definitely had an effect on me and my career, she was signed at 14 also. Barry (Hankerson) is basically using a lot of the same formula they used to break Aaliyah with me.

UrbanBridgez.com: Tell me about your appearance on the Oprah Winfrey show?
JoJo: (laughs) Oh my God, I was so young. They aired a video that I had recorded. I never actually did the show. They saw me on Kids Say the Darndest Things On The Road In Boston & made a call to get me on the show.

UrbanBridgez.com: What kind of role do your parents play in your career?
JoJo: Well my mom is my manager and my dad has always been very supportive.

UrbanBridgez.com: You worked with a variety of producers for your project, who did you enjoy working with the most?
JoJo: Oh my god, I would say The Underdogs, they did the song you’re listening to right now (Never Say). I had so much fun with them. We would stay up late just clowning. We had a secret handshake (laughs).

UrbanBridgez.com: You’re also a writer, being so young were you ever worried the label wouldn’t take your writing serious?
JoJo: Yeah, I mean that’s the thing when you’re young a lot of older people don’t think you have anything to say. I have a lot of views and things that I deal with on a daily, so it was hard and still is to prove myself as a writer.

UrbanBridgez.com: Your cover of SWV’s “Weak” has to be without one of the best covers I’ve ever heard, what made you want to record it?
JoJo: Wow, thank you. Actually Vincent Herbert who co-executive produced my album came up with the idea of me recording it. He picked the perfect song. Brian Morgan who did SWV’s version also produced it and he told me stories about how when Coko first recorded it, how she wanted it to be perfect. It fits me well because I am going through things like that, like my first love and all those things that come with it.

UrbanBridgez.com: What’s next for JoJo?
JoJo: Hopefully world domination (laughs). There are no set dates as of yet but I will be hitting the road soon. I’ve been doing some radio shows, I did one for Wild 98 in Tampa a few weeks ago. I was the only singer and the only female, everybody else was hip-hop. The show went great! People in the crowd were singing the song and screaming “sing it girl” (laughs). It was great!

UrbanBridgez.com: What artists would you like to work with if any?
JoJo: Oh my god, Kanye West. I think he is so talented and incredible. I listen to his CD about 20 times a day (laughs). Justin Timberlake, he is very talented. Bow Wow because he is good looking (laughs) also because he is a good rapper. Toni Braxton who is my labelmate. We talked on the phone a few days ago and she said we would go out and have tea when she comes to New York.

UrbanBridgez.com: Any last words for your fans?
JoJo: Yes, thanks for all your support.

Take A Trip Down Memory Lane with JoJo’s Debut Album!