Jesse Powell (September 12, 1971 – September 13, 2022) was an American R&B and soul singer. Discovered by Louil Silas Jr., Powell was best known for his hit "

You In Modern English, ''you'' is the second-person pronoun. It is grammatically plural, and was historically used only for the dative case, but in most modern dialects is used for all cases and numbers. History ''You'' comes from the Proto- ...

", which peaked at No. 2 on the R&B chart and No. 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Powell released four albums and was the older brother of fellow contemporary R&B singers

Trina & Tamara Trina & Tamara are an American R&B duo from Gary, Indiana, who were active in the late 1990s. The group was composed of sisters Trina Powell (born April 18, 1974) and Tamara Powell. They are the younger sisters of fellow contemporary R&B singer ...

. Powell was credited with a four-octave vocal range. He was a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

nominee.

Life and career

Powell was born in

Gary, Indiana Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the ...

, and raised with his siblings Trina, Tamara and Jacob. The family performed in local talent shows; and, in 1993, he attracted the attention of producer Carl Roland in Kansas City. Following an artist showcase,

Louil Silas Louil Silas Jr. (April 17, 1956 – January 7, 2001) was an American record executive, musician, and record producer, who was most known for founding and running an MCA Records imprint, Silas Records. After a prolific career as a remixer, Silas bec ...

signed him to his

Silas Records Silas Records was an American record label owned by Universal Music Group; founded in 1991 by Louil Silas Jr. and operated as an imprint of MCA Records, where Silas had been a senior VP. The label achieved minor success throughout the 1990s. It ...

imprint. Three years later, he completed work on his debut album. His first single, " All I Need", was written by Powell,

Sam Salter Samuel Salter (February 16, 1975 – August 27, 2021) was an American R&B singer. Career Beginnings, LaFace Records and ''It's On Tonight'' Growing up as the second of seven children, Salter sang gospel music at Faithful Church of God in C ...

and

Laney Stewart Laney Stewart (born January 10, 1966) is an American songwriter, music producer, musician, music publisher, music executive, manager and youth mentor. He was born Philip Lane Stewart II, in the South Side suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. Laney has ...

and was released in March 1996, peaking at #32 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart. His self-titled album was released on March 12, 1996, opening at #35 on the ''Billboard'' R&B and #32 on the ''Billboard''

Heatseekers Infrared homing is a passive weapon guidance system which uses the infrared (IR) light emission from a target to track and follow it seamlessly. Missiles which use infrared seeking are often referred to as "heat-seekers" since infrared is rad ...

chart. The follow-up single, a remake of the 1976 Enchantment song "

Gloria Gloria may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Christian liturgy and music * Gloria in excelsis Deo, the Greater Doxology, a hymn of praise * Gloria Patri, the Lesser Doxology, a short hymn of praise ** Gloria (Handel) ** Gloria (Jenkins) ...

", reached #51 R&B. Powell then began work on his second album, debuting the lead single " I Wasn't with It" in 1998, which became his first single to chart on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 (#85 US, #25 R&B). Bolstered by the success of the single, his second album '' 'Bout It'' was released on September 8, 1998, topping the Heatseekers chart. The album's second single, "

", was released in February 1999 and became his biggest hit, peaking at #2 on the ''Billboard''

Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

chart and #10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The record was certified gold by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

, peaking at #15 on R&B and #63 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Following

' merge into

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

, Powell's first release on the label was the single "If I" in 2000, which peaked at No. 58 on the R&B chart. His third studio album, '' JP'', was released on March 27, 2001, opening at #18 on the R&B chart and #71 on the ''Billboard'' 200. A second single, "Something in the Past" (#67 R&B), followed, in addition to Powell doing some promotion for the release. In 2002, he left the label and signed with Riviera Records. His fourth studio album, ''

Jesse Jesse may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jesse (biblical figure), father of David in the Bible. * Jesse (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Jesse (surname), a list of people Music * ''Jesse'' ( ...

'', was released on October 14, 2003, and was supported by the singles "By the Way" (#99 R&B) and "Touching It Tonight" (#85 R&B).

Death

Powell died in his Los Angeles home on September 13, 2022, one day after his 51st birthday.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Singles

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Jesse 1971 births 2022 deaths 20th-century African-American male singers 21st-century African-American male singers American contemporary R&B singers American soul singers MCA Records artists Musicians from Gary, Indiana Singers with a four-octave vocal range Writers from Gary, Indiana