My Heart (Donell Jones album)

My Heart is the debut album by American R&B singer Donell Jones. It was released by LaFace Records and Arista Records on June 4, 1996, in the United States. After the dissolution of his group Porché, Jones turned to songwriting and production, writing songs for R&B group Jade from their 1994 second album Mind, Body & Song as well as co-writing for Usher's self-titled debut album in that same year. He signed a recording contract as a solo performer with LaFace under Untouchables Entertainment, a production company and record label founded by Heavy D. & The Boyz member Edward "Eddie F." Ferrell. Most of the album was produced by Jones with additional help from Ferrell's Untouchables Entertainment production team. The album featured three singles, including "In the Hood", "Knocks Me Off My Feet" and "You Should Know".

My Heart
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 4, 1996
Studio
Various
Length66:13
Label
Producer
  • Eddie F.
  • Donell Jones
  • Mookie
  • Marks Sparks
  • Kenny Tonge
  • Darin Whittington
Donell Jones chronology
My Heart
(1996)
Where I Wanna Be
(1999)
Singles from My Heart
  1. "In the Hood"
    Released: 1996
  2. "Knocks Me Off My Feet"
    Released: 1996
  3. "You Should Know"
    Released: 1997

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [1]

In a retrospective review, AllMusic editor Jason Birchmeier wrote: "Not only does Jones write the songs and sing them on his debut album; he also produces the album and programs both the drums and keyboards. Thus, comparisons to Wonder are somewhat inevitable, especially because Jones sings with a similarly soothing tone of voice. His later albums show him growing as an artist, but here you see Jones first blossoming."[1] BBC Music critic Daryl Easlea called My Heart a "good if occasionally naïve collection of originals and covers that often sounds like juvenilia in comparison to this, his largely self-penned masterpiece".[2]

Track listing

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My Heart track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)ProducerLength
1."In the Hood" (Playas Version)
  • Donell Jones
  • Gregory Tobar
  • Paul Richardson
Jones4:22
2."Knocks Me Off My Feet"Stevie WonderDarin Whittington3:43
3."No Interruptions"JonesJones5:01
4."Waiting On You"
4:02
5."I Want You to Know"JonesJones4:33
6."My Heart"JonesJones3:39
7."Yearnin'"
  • Jones
  • Tobar
Jones4:16
8."Wish You Were Here"
  • Tia Whittington
  • Darin Whittington
Darin Whittington4:24
9."All About You"
  • Jones
  • Ferrell
  • Mark Sparks
  • Eddie F.
  • Sparks
4:44
10."You Should Know"
  • Jones
  • Ferrell
  • Morant
  • Eddie F.
  • Mookie
4:14
11."Natural Thang"JonesJones5:10
12."Believe in Me"
  • Jones
  • Felicia Adams
  • Kenny Tonge
Tonge4:42
13."In the Hood" (Remix)
  • Donell Jones
  • Tobar
  • Richardson
Jones5:01
14."Don't Cry"
  • Jones
  • Tonge
Donell Jones4:25
15."The Only One You Need"
  • Jones
  • Ferrell
  • Morant
  • Eddie F.
  • Mookie
4:23

Sample credits

Personnel

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Charts

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References

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  1. ^ a b Birchmeier, Jason Review: My Heart. AllMusic. Retrieved on October 22, 2010.
  2. ^ Easlea, Daryl. "Donell Jones: Where I Wanna Be (Review)". BBC Music. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  3. ^ "Donell Jones | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  4. ^ "Donell Jones Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  5. ^ "Donell Jones Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  6. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1996". Billboard. Retrieved October 24, 2020.