DONELL'S VOCALS WERE FIGHTING FOR THEIR LIFE... BUT R&B WON THE NIGHT! 😂❤️

Okay, NOW that the smoke has cleared from Joe vs. Donell Jones: R&B Nights, we need to discuss what we just witnessed.

Listen...

We can argue about who won the rounds.

We can talk about Donell's vocals being a little... vocally unavailable at times. 😭

We can talk about Joe coming out there SANGIN'.

But before we drag Donell all the way back home to Chicago, I'm going to say something else:

THIS WAS STILL A WIN FOR THE CULTURE.

Because for a few hours, social media wasn't arguing about who's beefing, who's getting arrested or who unfollowed whom.

People were arguing about 90s and 2000s R&B RECORDS.

And THAT felt good.

🎶 THESE TWO CATALOGS ARE PART OF OUR LIVES

Donell came armed with records like “Where I Wanna Be,” “U Know What's Up,” “You Know That I Love You” and the music he wrote for other artists, including 702.

Joe came carrying “I Wanna Know,” “All the Things (Your Man Won't Do),” “Don't Wanna Be a Player,” “Stutter” and a collaboration résumé that stretches from Mariah Carey and Big Pun to 50 Cent.

These weren't just songs playing tonight.

These were:

First-date songs.

Cookout songs.

“Don't call him back, girl” songs.

“I'm calling him back anyway” songs. 😭

That entire era of R&B got put back under the spotlight.

😭 NOW... DONELL. COME HERE.

I'm STILL trying to understand what happened vocally.

Donell's catalog came prepared.

HIS VOICE APPARENTLY WAS STILL PARKING THE CAR😭😭😭

And the viewers heard it.

One of the post-Verzuz discussions described Donell's vocals as failing him and causing songs that should have landed hard to fall flat. Another viewer, however, pointed out something important: there appeared to be audio problems involving Donell's microphone and the band. 

So I'm not going to sit here and diagnose the man or claim we know WHY he sounded off.

We don't.

But what came through our speakers?

BABY, IT WAS ROUGH IN SPOTS.

And social media was NOT extending grace.

People were basically asking:

“IS DONELL OKAY?!”

😭😭😭

🎤 MEANWHILE JOE WAS OUT THERE SANGIN'

Not singing.

SANGIN'.

And that's where this matchup became unfair.

Because when one singer is struggling and the other man is doing runs, growls, ad-libs and sounding like he came there specifically to remind everybody:

“Y'ALL DO KNOW WHO THE HELL I AM, RIGHT?”

What are we supposed to do?! 😂

Even fans who loved BOTH artists came away talking about Joe's live vocal performance. One R&B discussion praised his showmanship, runs and ad-libs while still emphasizing love for Donell's catalog.

😂 BUT SOMEBODY IN THE COMMENTS MADE A HILARIOUS POINT...

“JOE SANG ‘STUTTER’ TWICE AND STILL WON!”

😭😭😭😭

NOW THAT is funny.

Because somewhere in the middle of all this musical excellence, Joe apparently said:

“Y'all heard Stutter?”

Yes, Joe.

“But did y'all hear STUTTER?”

YES, JOE.

😂

And Donell STILL couldn't capitalize on the repeat.

Complex even posted video identifying Donell performing “Stutter” during the event, so the song definitely became part of the night's strange little recurring subplot.

At that point the Verzuz wasn't:

Joe vs. Donell.

It was:

JOE, DONELL & STUTTER vs. DONELL.

😭

👀 AND THEN CAME THE GUESTS

Donell wasn't empty-handed.

702 SHOWED UP.

That was an important moment because Donell wrote and produced “Get It Together” for 702, reminding everybody that his fingerprints are on R&B records beyond his own albums.

That was Donell's moment.

Chicago said:

“THERE YOU GO! FIGHT BACK!”

And then Joe apparently said:

“Okay.”

😭

💣 THEN JOE DROPPED 50 CENT ON THE STAGE

FIFTY CENT.

And 50 came with Tony Yayo and Uncle Murda.

Joe and 50 had “Wanna Get to Know You” sitting in the catalog, and once that G-Unit connection entered the room...

Baby.

PACK IT UP.

Because now we're not only doing R&B nostalgia.

We just opened the early-2000s HIP-HOP vault too.

That's one of Joe's secret weapons in a Verzuz. His catalog doesn't stop at his own R&B singles. His collaborations run through artists including 50 Cent, Big Pun, Mariah Carey and Nas. 

👻 AND I STILL SAY DONELL HAD ONE COUNTER...

LEFT EYE.

😭😭😭

Once 50 Cent walked onto that stage, what the hell was Donell supposed to do?

The only possible response would've been:

🎤 “Ladies and gentlemen... LISA ‘LEFT EYE’ LOPES!”

And if Left Eye had actually walked out for “U Know What's Up”?

NOBODY WOULD'VE CARED WHO WON THE VERZUZ BECAUSE THE WHOLE BUILDING WOULD'VE BEEN EMPTY.

Joe would've been in the parking lot.

50 would've left Tony Yayo behind.

Cameramen would've dropped their cameras.

SWIZZ BEATZ WOULD'VE BEEN STREAMING FROM THE FREEWAY.

😭😭😭

For anybody missing the joke, Left Eye, who died in 2002, was featured on Donell's hit “U Know What's Up.” 

❤️ BUT HERE'S WHAT I DON'T WANT LOST IN THE JOKES

Donell actually told people BEFORE this battle that he didn't want this to become some ugly competition.

His words were essentially:

THIS IS A CELEBRATION.

He said they were grown men with two great catalogs and weren't interested in doing the beefing and arguing we've seen in some other Verzuz matchups.

And watching it?

That's exactly what made the night work.

There was FUN there.

There was mutual respect.

There were grown folks at home hearing records they hadn't heard in YEARS.

Even in the post-show discussions where people thought Joe clearly won, you could find people saying it was simply great hearing those classics again and seeing two R&B veterans enjoying themselves.

THAT'S THE WIN.

💰 AND BOTH MEN MAY WIN AGAIN TOMORROW

This is the part people forget about Verzuz.

The scoreboard disappears.

THE STREAMS DON'T.

Tonight reminded an enormous audience that both of these men have DEEP catalogs.

Somebody who hasn't played Donell Jones in five years is listening to Where I Wanna Be tonight.

Somebody just put “I Wanna Know” back on their playlist.

Some 24-year-old just discovered a record their mama was playing when they were four.

THAT is what Verzuz can do.

It's not merely:

WHO WON?

It's:

WHO DID WE REMEMBER?

And tonight?

WE REMEMBERED BOTH OF THEM.

🔴 LADY RED'S FINAL SCORECARD

Joe won the battle.

CLEARLY.

The live vote wasn't particularly close.

Joe's vocals were stronger.

Joe's collaboration bag was NASTY.

50 Cent walking out was basically somebody hitting the FINISH HIM button.

And apparently this man had enough cushion to let “Stutter” circle the block twice and STILL leave with the W. 😭

But Donell Jones didn't lose his legacy tonight.

One rough performance doesn't erase 30 years of music.

And judging from the reaction, people still have tremendous love for that catalog.

So my final score?

JOE WON THE VERZUZ. 🏆

DONELL WON SOME NEW STREAMS. 💰

702 GOT THEIR FLOWERS. 💐

50 CENT CAME OUT AND BLEW UP THE BUILDING. 💣

AND R&B WON THE WHOLE DAMN NIGHT. ❤️🎶

Because two Black men with careers stretching back three decades stood on one stage, celebrated each other's music, brought out people connected to their musical histories and reminded everybody why that era of R&B still has us in a chokehold.

Baby...

I'LL TAKE THAT KIND OF VERZUZ EVERY TIME.

Just one thing.

Donell...

We love you.

Chicago still claims you.

But tomorrow morning?

TEA. HONEY. LEMON. VOCAL REST.

Don't argue with me. 😭😂❤️

BOOM! 💥

730 BOOM RADIOIT HITS DIFFERENT. EVERY TIME. BOOM!