Sometimes you hear just a couple seconds from an artist and you instantly know you have run into an incredible talent. That’s how I felt the first time I heard J.Howell, discovering him completely by accident when one of his songs randomly came on during an R&B mix. The Memphis native has been in rotation for me ever since.

While J.Howell has been making music for the better part of the last decade, it wasn’t until 2019 that he found his way into the mainstream with his independent EP release Red Room. With just 9 songs, Red Room leaves you longing for more, but it also provides a diverse charcuterie board type selection of songs to showcase his range and songwriting.

Vocally, J.Howell is Beyoncé meets El DeBarge, which he acknowledges and doesn’t shy away from. He effortlessly hits notes that most male R&B singers wouldn’t even try and he is releasing good songs! J.Howell isn’t putting out new music every few weeks, like some of his counterparts who are able to keep themselves in rotation, but it’s all about quality over quantity for him.

For all intents and purposes J.Howell is still a new artist. He only has the one release, though he did follow it up with a release of bonus songs in May of 2020. He has also released a new single in recent months, a smooth track titled, “Hard Days,” which he has also released a visual for. He has no featured appearances which I can find and isn’t sharing his talents as a writer with other artists, but it’s clear that he is a star in the making, with an upside that will make the gatekeepers open doors.