Bonafide is the debut studio album by American singer Jon B. It was released on May 23, 1995, on the Epic Records subsidiary 550 Music. The album was the first recording released on Tracey Edmonds' record label Yab Yum Records, which 550 Music distributed. It includes the Grammy-nominated first single "Someone to Love" featuring Babyface. The song was originally featured on the soundtrack to the 1995 Will Smith and Martin Lawrence action-comedy Bad Boys. Also included is the second single "Pretty Girl" and the final single "Isn't It Scary".

Critical reception

AllMusic described the songs on the album as "sweetly-sung paeans to the late-night nasties, pure acts of musical seduction [...] Bonafide is a mix of dance tunes, and ballads with slinky beats and shadowy moods that suggest late nights in a jazz or blues club. This is the red-light district of sweet-soul music [...] The sound of Bonafide is seductive enough, but Jon B.'s sexiest tool is his voice, which has the slurred quality of bedroom talk and still manages to swoop gracefully over melodic choruses." Bonafide was a favorite of rapper Tupac Shakur. The two met each other by way of a mutual friend on the set of Shakur's video "How Do U Want It", which prompted them to work together. The end result was the collaboration "Are U Still Down", which appeared on Jon's following album Cool Relax.

Chart performance

Bonafide peaked at number 79 on the US Billboard 200. By July 1995, the album had sold 58,000 units. On August 1, 1996, it was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments figures in excess of 500,000 copies.

Track listing

Sample credits

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes and CD Universe.

Charts

Certifications