Willie Jones Taps Jon Batiste, Pastor Michael Todd for Mental Health Anthem

Willie Jones has collaborated with Jon Batiste and Pastor Michael Todd for the second installment of his mental health anthem “Get Low, Get High (Part 2).”

A kismet collaboration, the three were brought together when Jones was visiting his family in his hometown in Louisiana during Thanksgiving, and Todd—his cousin and early co-writer—volunteered to work on the more uplifting track he was working on. Later that evening, Jones was FaceTiming with his friend and creative director Jemel McWilliams, who also had Jon Batiste on the call. Jones always sought comfort in Batiste’s music during his more lonely days upon first moving to Nashville.

“I talked with Jon and sent him ‘Get Low, Get High’ and asked if he might want to hop on,” said Jones in a statement. “Next thing I know I’m in New York in a studio working with him on his verse. Then I went to Tulsa to work with Michael on his.”

Jones added, “It was really important to all three of us to get this just right, and it was a true collaboration. To have three black men on this song about mental health is very meaningful to me.”

I woke up on the floor and the sky is pouring
I’m getting tired of feeling like this every morning
I looked into the mirror and I can’t ignore it
I’m feeling the weight, hey
There ain’t no brushing off the world on your shoulder
I figured out that you go under to get over
So, if you’re someone out there looking for some closure

Previously released by Jones as a single in late 2021, “Get Low, Get High” is all about “embracing life’s valleys to truly appreciate the peaks,” according to a descriptor of the track and featured a new verse by Batiste and Todd on “Part 2.”

“Listening to this song gives me faith,” said Jones. “Be encouraged that there are brighter days ahead and be conscious of how you speak to yourself, which is something I’ve had to work on myself. Anytime you’re thinking you’re not good enough or that it’s always going to be this way, it’s a lie. Talk yourself up instead of talking yourself down and remember when you’re in the lows that a high is coming.

Jones released his debut album Right Now in 2021 and his version of “Bein’ Green,” recorded for the Amazon Music documentary For Love & Country, which explores the black roots of country music and the new generation of artists within the genre.

Photo: Jabari Jacobs / Shore Fire Media