{"id":3516,"date":"2019-07-15T21:48:00","date_gmt":"2019-07-15T21:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/?p=3516"},"modified":"2025-05-09T21:52:26","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T21:52:26","slug":"reunion-is-public-reemergence-for-jam-lewis-sounds-of-blackness-ann-nesby-and-big-jim-wright-hines-like-a-2019-optimistic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/2019\/07\/15\/reunion-is-public-reemergence-for-jam-lewis-sounds-of-blackness-ann-nesby-and-big-jim-wright-hines-like-a-2019-optimistic\/","title":{"rendered":"Reunion is public reemergence for Jam &amp; Lewis, Sounds of Blackness Ann Nesby and Big Jim Wright: Hines: Like a 2019 \u2018Optimistic\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Together like they never left one another \u2026 and truthfully, they didn\u2019t.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The reunion is that of the production duo of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis \u201creuniting\u201d with the Sounds of Blackness \u2026 \u201creuniting\u201d with Ann Nesby \u2026 \u201creuniting\u201d with James \u201cBig Jim\u201d Wright. The magic that emerged from this union is the recently released gospel\/R&amp;B tune, \u201cTil I Found You,\u201d which also features vocals from Lauren Evans. The song is the first release from the upcoming Jam and Lewis compilation album, \u201cJam &amp; Lewis: VOLUME ONE.\u201d And as Gary Hines, founding member of the Sounds of Blackness, put it, it\u2019s not a reunion \u2026 it\u2019s a public reemergence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe were never apart,\u201d said Hines. \u201cWe (Sounds) never stopped working together with Ann. Though we hadn\u2019t recorded together, we would do shows together even after her solo projects and we are still working together. This is just the next phase in that unification.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That \u201cnext step\u201d has resulted in an up-tempo gospel grove with a distinct R&amp;B feel \u2026 something heard at the family cookout or late night at a stepper\u2019s set. The song resonates something like another Sounds hit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s like a 2019 \u2018Optimistic,\u2019\u201d said Hines, referring to the group\u2019s 1991 crossover hit that anchored the Grammy-winning debut album, \u201cThe Evolution of Gospel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Released in April, \u201cTil I Found You\u201d is climbing the gospel and urban adult contemporary charts. Hines said the song\u2019s recording and release are serendipitous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c\u2018Optimistic\u2019 was the last song we recorded on (\u2018The Evolution\u2019) so to have this as the first song on the new Jam and Lewis compilation we\u2019re both elated and humbled,\u201d said Hines. \u201cI mean there are some of the greats in all of music on this album, so to have us be the song that introduces it to the world, again, elated and humbled. We were the first act signed to Jam and Lewis\u2019 record label so it\u2019s like here we go again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSounds of Blackness will always hold such a special place in our hearts because they were the first act we signed to our original record label,\u201d said Jimmy Jam in an interview published on the website,&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/youknowigotsoul.com\/\">YouKnowIGotSoul.com<\/a>. \u201cWe felt it was only right for this single with them to introduce our compilation album.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cJam &amp; Lewis: VOLUME ONE,\u201d scheduled for a release later this summer, is rumored to have tracks from the likes of Janet Jackson, Lionel Richie, Mary J. Blige, Boys II Men, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Hudson and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cTil I Found You\u201d was actually recorded several years ago and Jam and Lewis and Sounds got together to refresh the track and, along with Evans, added extra vocals. Tragically, Wright, who produced and wrote for Nesby, Jackson, Carey and more, passed away this past September, months prior to the song\u2019s release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While \u201cTil I Found You\u201d is receiving critical acclaim, Hines said he has a different measure of success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe song is really a love song to God,\u201d said Hines. \u201cAnd we\u2019ve been getting letters and tweets from people saying this song convinced them not to take there lives because they were considering suicide, so to know that; that\u2019s the ultimate reward.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Together like they never left one another \u2026 and truthfully, they didn\u2019t.&nbsp; The reunion is that of the production duo of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis \u201creuniting\u201d with the Sounds of Blackness \u2026 \u201creuniting\u201d with Ann Nesby \u2026 \u201creuniting\u201d with James \u201cBig Jim\u201d Wright. The magic that emerged from this union is the recently released [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[2398,76,2399],"class_list":["post-3516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-jimmy-jam","tag-sounds-of-blackness","tag-terry-lewis","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3516"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3516\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3517,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3516\/revisions\/3517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}