Jacquees: 5 Things To Know About Musician Calling Himself The ‘King Of R&B’

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Say what? Who? Jacquees claimed that he’s the ‘king of R&B…for this generation,’ causing some fans to agree while others rolled their eyes. As this debate continues, get all the details about this guy.

“I just want to let everybody know that I’m the king of R&B right now, for this generation,” Jacquees, 24, said in a Dec. 8 Instagram video. “I understand who done came and who done did that and that, but now it’s my turn. Jacquees, the king of R&B.” The boastful statement ruffled a few feathers as many just laughed off this claim (“Jacquees ain’t even the R&B Employee of the Month, what the hell made him think he was the King of a generation?” tweeted @KeenlyKeena, for example.) So, uh, who is Jacquees and why does he think he’s king?

1. He’s a Georgia native signed to Cash Money Records. Born Rodriquez Jacquees Broadnax in 1994, Jacquees is best known for his 2016 single, “B.E.D.,” which occupied the Billboard charts for 7 weeks (where it peaked at #69, fittingly enough.) He’s had three other songs break the Hot 100: TK Kravitz’s “Ocean,” in which he was a featured rapper; “At The Club,” which was a collab with Dej Loaf; and 2018’s “You,” which broke in at #90. Since 2011, he’s released seven mixtapes, four EPs, and two studio albums, including 2018’s Lost At Sea 2.

2. He discovered his talent at an early age. “I discovered my voice at 9 years old at school,” he told Billboard in June. “Well, I really discovered it at home, but I took it to school and entered my first talent show when I was 9 years old at Canby Elementary School in 2004 and I won.” The song in question was “I Want You Back” by The Jackson 5.

3. He had some big R&B names on his debut studio album. In addition to Young Thug, Birdman, Jermaine Dupri and Chris Brown appearing on Jacquees debut album, 4275, his song “Special” featured R&B legends Jagged Edge. “I’ve been working with Jagged Edge since I was 14, 15 or something like that. The twins, Brandon and Brian, they were always trying to help me develop my voice as an artist. They’re tough coaches, especially Brandon, and they were always rooting for me,” he told Billboard.

4. He has a mixtape with Chris Brown coming out. “It’s complete. We can drop it any time now,” he said. As to how he got Chris to appear on “All my Life,” Jacquees made it sound like it was no big deal. “We did that in 2014. I hit him up because Chris had me with him since 18, 19, I used to run around with him. I told him I needed him on a record and he said, ‘I got you,’ it was that simple.”

A lot of people don’t agree that he’s the new “King of R&B.” “Let me put you up on what’s really movin’, bruh,” Tyrese said when responding to Jacquees’s video. “This aint Hip Hop…You can’t come in this game, get hot for a year [and] then try a [Tekashi 6ix9ine] and throw that there word #KING around.” Tyrese threw his support behind Chris Brown and Trey Songz for the “King of R&B” crown. Tank said that “R.Kelly is the king of R&B. The accusations don’t disqualify what he’s accomplished,” per Vibe. Eric Bellinger, while in Studio with Usher, quietly nominated him as King.