Jo Jo

[Manic Webb]

When you first listen to "Leave (Get Out)" by Jo Jo, a 13 year old new to the music scene, you might pass her up as another marketed pop act with subpar singing ability... sorta like Britney Spears or Hilary Duff. However, sampling a couple of her songs online, I was shocked to realize young Jo Jo actually has talent. No, I'm serious. She can actually sing.

Jo Jo is under Blackground Records, a label famous for such artists as rapper-producer Timbaland, Toni Braxton, and singer Aaliyah. From what I understand, she grew up in Boston, Massachusetts and her mother was a trained vocalist. Jo Jo grew up learning to imitate her mother, as well as sing along to old records by Etta James, Ella Fitzgerald, and Aretha Franklin. It shows, too. The girl has soul.

I bought her self-titled CD, and I admit that I like it. It has a more hip-hop/R&B influence, and even throws back to the 1990s. She does a cover of SWV's "Weak" that's almost identical to the original. She even got around the writing a handful of the songs herself.

She's only 13 years old, and she out-shines [i]plenty[/i] of singers much older and more successful than herself. Is she just that talented, the others just that bad, or a combination of the two? I'm not really sure. Either way, I suggest a quick check/sampling of this album for anyone who likes R&B in the same style of Aaliyah, Destiny's Child, or Solange Knowles.