Presented by Complex and Apple Music, Verzuz brought Donell Jones and Joe together for a celebration of two voices that helped define an era of R&B, when vulnerability and romance filled records made for late-night phone calls, carefully curated mixtapes and telling a special someone exactly how you felt without having to say it yourself.
All smiles at the 8/20 VERZUZ feat Joe vs Donell Jones. (Photo by Jerritt Clark/Getty Images for Complex)
Some Verzuz matchups are about competition. Others are really about remembering where you were when the music first became part of your life. The Aug. 20 Verzuz between Donell Jones and Joe felt firmly like the latter. I was young during the peaks of both artists’ careers, but their music still found its way into my own memories. Back in my school days, when putting together a mixtape for a special someone actually meant something, songs from Donell Jones and Joe were the type of records you included when you wanted the music to do some of the talking for you. Years later, hearing those same songs performed in a Verzuz setting offered a reminder of just how well they have aged.
Jones came armed with a catalog that immediately transported the room back to the late ’90s and early 2000s. “Where I Wanna Be” remains one of the defining R&B records of its era, while “U Know What’s Up” still carries the same bounce that helped make it one of his biggest hits. Records like “Shorty (Got Her Eyes on Me),” “This Luv” and “Knocks Me Off My Feet” gave Jones plenty of ammunition throughout the night.
Joe’s catalog was just as deep. “I Wanna Know” remains one of those songs that needs little introduction, with the crowd quickly filling in the words. “All the Things (Your Man Won’t Do)” served as another reminder of the run Joe put together early in his career, while songs including “Don’t Wanna Be a Player,” “Stutter,” “The Love Scene” and “More & More” showcased just how consistently his voice appeared throughout different eras of R&B.
One of the night’s more interesting connections came through the late Big Pun, as both singers reached into their respective collaborations with the Bronx rapper. Joe revisited “Still Not a Player,” Big Pun’s 1998 hit that famously incorporated Joe’s “Don’t Wanna Be a Player,” before Jones answered with “It’s So Hard,” his collaboration with Pun from the rapper’s 2000 album, Yeeeah Baby. Having both records appear during the battle was another reminder of how naturally Jones and Joe’s R&B catalogs crossed into the hip-hop world during that era.
But like some of the best Verzuz events, the night grew beyond the two names on the bill.
One of the evening’s most fitting moments came when Jones revisited a piece of his history that casual listeners may not immediately associate with him. He brought out LeMisha and Meelah of 702 to perform the group’s hit “Get It Together.” The appearance carried more significance than simply adding another classic record to the night. Jones originally wrote and produced “Get It Together” for 702’s debut album, No Doubt. Seeing him share the stage with the living members of the group nearly three decades later connected the songwriter and producer behind the record with the voices that helped turn it into an R&B staple.
Misha Grinstead and Meelah Williams of 702 perform at 8/20 Verzuz (Photo by Jerritt Clark/Getty Images for Complex)
It was exactly the type of moment Verzuz has always been at its best at creating: celebrating the songs everyone knows while also reminding audiences of the history behind them.
Joe had surprises of his own, and his longtime connection to hip-hop became part of the story. 50 Cent joined Joe alongside Tony Yayo and Uncle Murda for “Wanna Get to Know You,” revisiting a record that connected Joe’s smooth vocals with one of hip-hop’s biggest movements of the early 2000s. They also performed “Big Rich Town,” the theme song from Power, giving the crowd another reminder of Joe and 50 Cent’s musical history together. Seeing 50, Yayo and Uncle Murda onstage brought a burst of New York hip-hop energy into the R&B-heavy evening and showed another side of Joe’s longevity. His voice has crossed comfortably between traditional R&B and hip-hop collaborations for decades.
Joe & G-Unit live at the 8/20 VERZUS (Photo by Jerritt Clark/Getty Images for Complex)
The guest appearances continued to make the evening feel bigger than a standard battle. British singer Estelle served as host, while fellow R&B veteran Tyrese also made an appearance. YG stopped by as well, fresh off his own Verzuz against fellow Compton rapper The Game.
YG & Tyrese at the 8/20 Verzuz (Photo by Jerritt Clark/Getty Images for Complex)
The celebration extended beyond the performances as well. Commemorative GAS trading cards launched in conjunction with the event, available in both base and limited-edition foil versions. The collectible element fit naturally with a night centered on nostalgia, giving fans another way to commemorate a matchup built around two catalogs that have endured for decades.
There was something rewarding about watching two artists whose music once soundtracked a very specific period of R&B receive their flowers in real time. Neither needed to prove that the records mattered. The audience singing along already did that. While the night ultimately felt more like a celebration than a competition, the fans still made their choice clear. Joe topped the fan vote with 75 percent and won 14 of the battle’s 16 rounds, giving him a decisive advantage on the scorecard.
I may have been young when many of these records originally dominated radio, but I was old enough for them to eventually become part of my own experiences. Songs like “Where I Wanna Be,” “I Wanna Know” and “All the Things (Your Man Won’t Do)” survived well beyond their original release dates. They became records younger listeners discovered, borrowed and eventually attached to memories of their own. For those who grew up directly in that era, the night was a trip back. For those of us who were a little younger but inherited those records and eventually attached our own memories to them, it represented something slightly different. It was a reminder that great R&B travels. The format changes. Mixtapes become burned CDs, burned CDs become playlists and playlists eventually live on streaming services. But certain songs continue getting passed along, finding their way into relationships, breakups, late-night drives and attempts to tell somebody how you feel without actually having to say it yourself. Donell Jones and Joe made plenty of those songs.
On Aug. 20, surrounded by artists connected to different chapters of their careers and a crowd that knew the records word for word, Verzuz gave them the stage to remind everyone just how many.
