On his debut, he was given leeway to write and produce, but Edmonds and her then-husband Babyface were heavily involved in the making of Bonafide.

[2] Aside from his work, Jon sought outside production from Tim & Bob, Johnny J, David Foster and Ali Shaheed Muhammad of A Tribe Called Quest, among others.

[2] The final single was the title track, which had a remix that featured Guru from the hip hop group Gang Starr.

The song was produced by Ali Shaheed Muhammad, who Jon sought out due to being a longtime fan of A Tribe Called Quest.

[2] "Pride & Joy" was originally recorded by Toni Braxton for her sophomore album Secrets, but the song never made the final track listing.

That alone makes Cool Relax enjoyable on a surface level, but the moments that really shine are when the music, production, tunes, and songwriting all converge and result in an alluring, romantic, and bracingly modern soul.