Corey Jerome Hodges (born November 13, 1988), better known as Bando Jonez (formerly Lil' Corey), is a singer-songwriter and

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

from

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, Georgia. He debuted in 2002 with "Hush Lil' Lady", a pop crossover hit which featured

Lil' Romeo Percy Romeo Miller Jr. (born August 19, 1989), also known by his stage name Romeo (formerly Lil' Romeo), is an American rapper, singer, actor and television personality. He gained fame as a rapper in the early 2000s after signing with his father, ...

, which led to his full-length effort "I'm Just Corey", featuring the aforementioned lead single as well as "MVP" (featuring

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), commonly known as Shaq ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. He is a and Center (basketball), center ...

) and "All I Do" (featuring

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

). His debut single "Sex You", (as Bando Jonez), received play at

urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contemporary r ...

radio in early 2014.

Early life

Jonez grew up in

in the 1990s. He taught himself how to play the piano by ear when he was 5 years old and first sang in front of an audience at a high school pep rally. He was forced to take care of himself due to his parents' drug addiction. Jonez would hustle for his everyday needs and often found shelter in abandoned houses, hence the name "Bando" which is Atlanta slang for abandoned houses. He concentrated on music, filling up his free time by listening to music and watching videos.

Career

Before taking the name Bando Jonez, he was known as Lil Corey and at age 13, he created a hit single "Hush Lil' Lady" (featuring

), Which gained him much success leading to the release of his debut album I'm Just Corey on March 19, 2002, at age 13. The album spawned other single My First Time. One of the songs from the album "Ghetto Superstar" was also included on the album "Madison Mix" which was released to promote the

My Scene My Scene (stylized in all lowercase) is an American series of fashion dolls that Mattel released in 2002. They were a spinoff doll line to Mattel’s Barbie doll line, and are also considered Barbie-brand dolls. They were discontinued in the US in ...

dolls. In 2008, Hodges released the song "Say Yes", The first song since his long break. The song was a major hit and had much success on the internet but again he took a break from music only to come back in 2011 & now relaunched his own career along with his own Company (Fast Money Gang Music) & with the management of "Muzic Leakz Management", He re-released his 2008 hit "Say Yes" along with 6 new songs "Make Love , All Night , Cant Lose You , D.N.A , Your Body , Give It All To Me" in his official promotional page on Reverberation. The Hip-Hop group

Pretty Ricky Pretty Ricky is an American R&B/hip hop group originating from Miami, Florida. The group originally consisted of 3 brothers, Diamond (Baby Blue) Smith, Spectacular Smith, and Corey (Slick 'Em) Mathis, and Marcus ( Pleasure P) Cooper. Pleasu ...

did a remix for Lil Corey's "Say Yes" in 2011 for their Mixtape "SEX MUSIC Vol. 1 Streets N The Sheets" available for free on Datpiff. In addition to his official promotional page on Reverbnation. Hodges was re-discovered by

Polow da Don Jamal Fincher Jones (born October 15, 1977 or 1978), known professionally as Polow da Don, is an American record producer from Atlanta, Georgia. He began his career as a recording artist in the late 1990s, leaving college to pursue a career with ...

in 2013. It was a chance meeting at a gas station where Jonez displayed his talent for Polow who ultimately signed him to Zone 4. Jonez also signed with Epic Records after the release of his first single, ''Sex You''. The single was featured as one of

Complex Magazine Complex Networks is an American media and entertainment company for youth culture, based in New York City. It was founded as a bi-monthly magazine, ''Complex'', by fashion designer Marc Eckō. Complex Networks reports on popular and emerging tr ...

's Best New Songs in 2014. Jonez style has been described as slow R&B with him having the ability to infuse notes and lyrics with raw emotion.

Discography

Singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jonez, Bando Living people Epic Records artists Musicians from Atlanta 1988 births

Early life

Career

Discography

Singles

See also

References