Since his departure from Jive, Joe has released most of his projects independently through ventures with Kedar Massenburg and Plaid Takeover Entertainment.

[5] After his graduation from Opelika High School, Joe continued to sing and write music while working at occasional temporary jobs.

The following year, Joe appeared in the group Black Men United, along with then-label mate Brian McKnight, Gerald Levert, Aaron Hall, Tevin Campbell and other male singers for the single "U Will Know" for the soundtrack to the romantic drama film, Jason's Lyric.

Released as a single, it reached number 11 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and was later included as the opening track on his second studio album All That I Am (1997) after signing with Jive Records.

Another hit single from the album "Don't Wanna Be a Player", was also featured on the Booty Call soundtrack.

In 1999, singer Mariah Carey asked him to sing on her track "Thank God I Found You" which appeared on her album Rainbow (1999).

My Name Is Joe produced three singles, including "I Wanna Know", "Treat Her Like a Lady", and "Stutter", the first and last of which reached the top five of the US Billboard Hot 100.

[10] Joe recruited a diverse roster of high-profile musicians to work with him on his fifth studio album, including Carvin & Ivan, Dre & Vidal, R. Kelly, and The Underdogs.

While Kelly-penned lead single "More & More" became a top 20 R&B in the US, it was released on double A-side with "Ride Wit U", a collaboration with rap group G-Unit, elsewhere.

Joe's sixth album Ain't Nothin' Like Me, released in April 2007, was produced by Stargate, Tank, Cool & Dre, Bryan-Michael Cox, and Sean Garrett and featured guest appearances by rappers Nas, Fabolous, Papoose, Young Buck and Tony Yayo.

While lead single "Where You At" charted in the United Kingdom only, follow-up "If I Was Your Man" reached number three on Billboard's Adult R&B Songs.

Ain't Nothin' Like Me marked Joe's final album with Jive Records following a fallout with label surrounding rumors of his dissatisfaction with the promotion of his material.

[12] Also in 2007, Joe performed a cover version of "Before He Cheats", a Carrie Underwood hit, as a Pepsi Smash exclusive on Yahoo!

[25] After a decade of consecutive top ten entries on the Billboard 200, it debuted and peaked at number 17, with first-week sales of 15,126 copies in the United States.

[27] In November 2015, Joe recorded and released a cover to the critically acclaimed song Hello by artist Adele,[28] which received mostly positive reviews.