Everyone loved the track, and he told Essence it encouraged him to leave the streets behind and focus on his singing. Jaheim hopped into the booth and sang a rendition of Luther VandrossвЂ™ вЂњNever Too MuchвЂќ over a club beat. One day, he headed to a recording studio with some of the guys from his neighborhood. He got locked up on a charge, and thatвЂ™s when he really began contemplating the direction of his life. He told Dub CNN that while growing up, he got into a lot of trouble in the neighborhood by following in the footsteps of the older guys. His mom Julie Hoagland raised Jaheim and his two brothers with some help from their tight-knit family that included his grandfather, the late soul singer Hoagy Lands. When he was two-years-old, his father passed away. He told Dub CNN that growing up in the projects was a вЂњdisaster.вЂќ

Jaheim was born in New Brunswick, N.J., and was raised in the Memorial Parkway public-housing project.

But throughout the years, the New Jersey nativeвЂ™s popularity has diminished. He even snagged three Grammy nominations in 2010. He was on his way to becoming one of the best R&B soul singers of his generation. With a voice reminiscent of a young Teddy Pendergrass and Luther Vandross, Jaheim told Vibe magazine he вЂњmarketedвЂќ himself off Mary J. Ghetto Classics might not be JaheimвЂ™s best known album, but itвЂ™s his best work.Jaheim Hoagland went from living in the projects to releasing platinum albums. ThereвЂ™s also an air of maturity on this one, showing that young Jah the corner boy was growing into manhood. Ghetto Classics takes the strengths of JahвЂ™s best work (great production and addictive soulfulness) and adjusts his shortcomings (cleaning up the pacing and sequencing issues of the earlier albums) to deliver a much more complete listening experience, especially when he hits a second gear on the final half. But dive into the album itself and youвЂ™ll see Jah at his best. Sure if youвЂ™re judging by the albumвЂ™s solid but unspectacular single вЂњEverytime I Think About HerвЂќ you might not get the big deal. You can criticize Jaheim for a lot of things but music probably isnвЂ™t one of them.Д®dd said:В The final installment of JahвЂ™s Ghetto trilogy is not only JahвЂ™s most underrated, itвЂ™s his best. So letвЂ™s look back at JahвЂ™s seven albums (minus compilations) and rank вЂ™em all from bottom to top. And since IвЂ™m cursed with the burden of brutal honesty, I had to step in the room and keep it real. Much better than you probably remember, in fact. When he challenged Usher to a Verzuz battle last week and the Internet mocked him incessantly, hereвЂ™s what they missed вЂ“ no, Jah ainвЂ™t beating Usher but his catalog is actually pretty good. It really ainвЂ™t that serious.Д«ut letвЂ™s ignore the political nonsense and Uber rides and focus on what the man should be known for вЂ“ a decade-plus of really great music. I had no desire to go to war with the Twitter Cancel Conglomerate over JaheimвЂ™s outbursts.

IвЂ™ve been a fan of JaheimвЂ™s music ever since he rolled up on olвЂ™ girl with the Gucci headwrap in his debut video but IвЂ™ve held off on a rankings retrospective for years now.ДЄnd if you have to ask why clearly you arenвЂ™t on social media much.

Where is jaheim now 2016