Kandi Crush Battle: Jaheim vs. Gerald Levert
Kandi Crush Battle: Jaheim vs. Gerald Levert: Who Rules Grown-Folks R&B?
- Jaheim and Gerald Levert were renowned for their rugged, soulful voices and commitment-focused love songs.
- Gerald Levert's catalog was built on timeless R&B, while Jaheim carried the traditional sound into a new generation.
- Both artists displayed vulnerability and the ability to make love songs feel like personal conversations.
Okay, grown folks, come on in because THIS Kandi Crush Battle is for us! We’ve got Jaheim versus the late, great Gerald Levert, and if you love a man who can really SANG about loving a woman, we’ve got six records for you today.
Gerald Levert starts the battle with “DJ Don’t,” a song that showed us Gerald could continue delivering soulful R&B even as the sound of the genre evolved. That voice was unmistakable. You could hear Gerald sing just a few words and know exactly who it was.
Jaheim answers with “Ain’t Leavin’ Without You,” bringing that signature raspy voice that made him stand apart from other male R&B singers. Jaheim has always sounded like somebody who had already lived through whatever he was singing about!
Gerald comes back with “One Million Times,” continuing a catalog that was built on love songs. As the son of O’Jays singer Eddie Levert, Gerald had soul music in his blood, but he created his own identity and became one of R&B’s most recognizable voices.
Then Jaheim brings out “Anything,” and we know that one! Featuring Next, “Anything” became one of Jaheim’s early signature records and helped establish the sound that would carry him throughout his career.
Gerald responds with “Made to Love Ya,” and this is exactly where this matchup gets difficult. Gerald had an incredible ability to make a love song feel like a personal conversation. He wasn’t just singing at you—sometimes it felt like that man was sitting right there explaining exactly how he felt.
And then Jaheim closes with the BIG one: “Put That Woman First.” Ladies, how many times have we needed somebody to hear the message in that song? “Put That Woman First” became one of Jaheim’s signature records because underneath that beautiful melody was a lesson about appreciating what you have before you lose it.
That’s also what makes these two artists such a great matchup. Neither man was afraid to sing about commitment, mistakes, vulnerability, or treating somebody right. Their voices were rugged, soulful, and unmistakably grown.
Gerald Levert left behind a musical legacy that continues to be celebrated, while Jaheim helped carry that traditional soul sound into a new generation of R&B. Now comes the hard part. If you can only choose one, who gets it? Are you riding with Jaheim, or does the late, great Gerald Levert take this Kandi Crush Battle?
