After the Storm

Infobox Album |
Name = After the Storm
Type = Album
Artist = Monica


Released = June 17, 2003 (North America)
September 21, 2003 (EU)
Recorded = 2001–2003;
Doppler Studios, Patchwerk Studios, SouthSide Studios
(Atlanta, Georgia);
Soulpower Studios, The Enterprise Studios
(Los Angeles, California);
Hit Factory Criteria
(Miami, Florida)
Genre = R&B
Length = 52:34
Label = J
Producer = BAM & Ryan, Bryan Michael Cox, Jasper DaFatso, Jermaine Dupri, Missy Elliott, Rodney Jerkins, Jazze Pha, Soulshock & Karlin, Kanye West
Songwriter =Andre "mrDEYO" Deyo
Reviews =
* AMG Rating|4|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:jzdsyl24xpsb link]
* "Guardian" Rating|3|5 [http://arts.guardian.co.uk/fridayreview/story/0,,990682,00.html link]
* "The Situation" Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.thesituation.co.uk/reviews/monica_review.html link]
Last album = "All Eyez on Me"
(2002)
This album = "After the Storm"
(2003)
Next album = "The Makings of Me"
(2006)Singles
Name = After the Storm
Type = studio
single 1 = So Gone
single 1 date = April 8, 2003
single 2 = Knock Knock
single 2 date = September 2003
single 3 = Get It Off
single 3 date = September 2003
single 4 = U Should've Known Better
single 4 date = May 2004

"After the Storm" is the fourth studio album by American singer Monica, released by J Records on June 17, 2003 in the United States, on June 24, 2003 in Canada and on September 21, 2003 worldwide (see 2003 in music). Featuring production by Missy Elliott, Jazze Pha and BAM & Ryan, it was released as a retooled version of her limited 2002 album "All Eyez on Me" which was partially scrapped after the first single's failure and an early leak via the internet,

Upon its release the album debuted at number one on the U.S. "Billboard" 200 chart, making it the singer's first album released to do so. It was certified gold for more than 997,000 copies sold, as of September 2006.cite web | title="Ask Billboard"| work=Billboard.com| url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/ask_bb/index.jsp| accessdate=2006-02-10]

History

Production and title

After the limited release and partial delay of "All Eyez on Me", J Records asked Monica to substantially reconstruct the record with a host of new producers, and as a result the singer re-entered recording studios in January 2003 to begin working on new songs with producers Missy Elliott, Spike & Jamahl, Kanye West, BAM & Ryan, Jasper DaFatso, and Jazze Pha. While Elliott contributed four songs to the album and moreover replaced Jermaine Dupri as its executive producer, Monica also collaborated with rappers DMX, Dirtbag, Busta Rhymes and Mia X, and singers Tweet and Tyrese on the duet written by Andre "mrDEYO" Deyo [ [http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/monica/2935537/lyrics.jhtml Go to Bed Mad Lyrics | Monica | MTV ] ] . Mýa also was originally going to lend her voice to a track, but she was eventually replaced by Faith Evans; the untitled song did not, however, make the final tracklisting.cite web | title="Missy, DMX, Tyrese To Give Monica's New LP Extra Oomph" | work=MTV News | url=http://www.vh1.com/artists/news/1470858/20030331/monica.jhtml | accessdate=2006-02-10]

Although the album was still planned to be titled "All Eyez on Me" until its completion, the singer decided to change the album title into a more personal matter after dealing with private tribulations between the years 2000 and 2002: "I wanted this to be more of my testimony", Monica told "Jet Magazine".cite web | title="Monica shares life's lessons on new CD "After the Storm" | work=Jet Magazine| url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_5_104/ai_105917570 | accessdate=2006-02-10] "I feel blessed to still be here after a lot of things that I've been through. I wanted to share certain things with people. Not so much as what I've been through, but how I made it through. That's what the album reflects ... It's really the reason I titled my album "After the Storm"."cite web | title="Monica "After the Storm" - Center Stage" | work=Ebony Magazine| url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_12_58/ai_109180646 | accessdate=2006-02-10]

Chart performance

The album debuted at number two on "Billboard"'s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and on top of the official "Billboard" 200, with sales of 186,000 copies (selling 3,000 more copies than Luther Vandross' final studio album "Dance with My Father") emerging as Monica's first number-one album to date. Sales declined soon but uniformly continuous, and "After the Storm" eventually received a gold certification for more than 500,000 copies shipped to stores. As of February 2007, the record has sold about 1,000,000 copies domestically.cite web|title="Ask Billboard"|work=Billboard.com|url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/ask_bb/index.jsp|accessdate=2006-02-10] While the album opened at number 6 on the Canadian albums chart, it failed to enter the majority of the charts outside the United States.

Although "Don't Gotta Go Home", a duet with DMX, was considered to be released as a single at times,cite web | title="Monica Sees What It's Like To Be DMX's Mistress On Likely Next Single" | work=Vh1.com| url=http://www.vh1.com/artists/news/1480921/20031203/monica.jhtml| accessdate=2006-02-11] "After the Storm" spawned four singles: The album's lead single, "So Gone", became Monica's biggest commercial successes in years, reaching number 10 on the U.S. "Billboard" Hot 100 chart and spending five consecutive weeks on top of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. It was eventually ranked fourth on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles 2003 year-end charts, but failed to chart or sell noticeably outside North America. Follow-up single "Knock Knock" never made it out of the lower half of the "Billboard" Hot 100, while simultaneously released "Get It Off" reached number 13 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. "After the Storm"'s fourth and final single, "U Should've Known Better" received a late release in mid-2004 and became another top 20 hit for the singer.

amples

*"Get It Off" samples Strafe's 1984 "Set It Off"
*"So Gone" samples The Whispers' 1976 "Are You Number One"
*"Knock Knock" samples The Masqueraders' 1976 "It's a Terrible Thing to Waste Your Love"
*"I Wrote This Song" samples Shuggie Otis' 1970 "Aht Uh Mi Hed"
*"What Part of the Game" samples Pimp C' 1996 "Break 'Em Off Somethin'"
*"All Eyez on Me" samples Michael Jackson's 1982 "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)"

Track listing

# "Intro" (Missy Elliott, Craig Brockman) – 1:04
# "Get It Off" (featuring Dirtbag) (M. Elliott, Herbet Jordan, C. Brockman, Steve Standard) – 4:19
# "So Gone" (M. Elliott, Kenneth Cunningham, Jamahl Rye, Zyah Ahmounel) – 4:02
# "U Should've Known Better" (Monica Arnold, Jermaine Dupri, Harold Lilly) – 4:17
# "Don't Gotta Go Home" (featuring DMX) (Antoine Macon, Ryan Bowser, Earl Simmons) – 3:55
# "Knock Knock" (M. Elliott, Kanye West, Lee Hatim) – 4:18
# "Breaks My Heart" (Carsten Shack, Kenneth Karlin, Shamora Crawford) – 4:26
# "I Wrote This Song" (M. Arnold, C. Shack, K. Karlin, S. Crawford, D. Sharpe, Shuggie Otis) – 3:48
# "Ain't Gonna Cry No More" (M. Arnold, Fred Jerkins III, LaShawn Daniels) – 4:10
# "Go to Bed Mad" (featuring Tyrese) (A. Macon, R. Bowser, Andre "mrDEYO" Deyo) – 4:37
# "Hurts the Most" (C. Shack, Peter Biker, S. Crawford) – 4:44
# "That's My Man" (M. Arnold, Jazze Pha, Johnta Austin) – 4:34
# "Outro" (featuring Busta Rhymes) (M. Elliott) – 4:20
# "All Eyez on Me" [Japanese bonus track] (M. Arnold, L. Daniels, Quincy Jones, James Ingram) – 3:32

Limited bonus CD

# "Too Hood" (featuring Jermaine Dupri) (M. Arnold, J. Dupri, H. Lilly) – 3:55
# "Down 4 Whatever" (M. Arnold, L. Daniels) – 4:47
# "What Part of the Game" (featuring Mia X) (M. Arnold, Jasper Cameron, Mia Young, Raymond Pool Percy, Chad Butler) – 4:43
# "So Gone" [video] – 3:45

Credits and personnel

* Montez Arnold - keyboard
* Eric D. Jackson - guitar
* Mark Kelly - bass
* Tommy Martin - guitar
* Billy Odum - guitar
* Charles Pettaway - guitar
* R.J. - guitar

Production

* Album producers: Monica Arnold, Clive Davis
* Executive producers: Missy Elliott
* Vocal producer: Monica, LaShawn Daniels, Andre "mrDEYO" Deyo, Harold Lilly, Tommy Niblack
* Vocal assistance: Isaac Carree, Shamora Crawford, New Birth Praise Team, Tweet
* Engineers: Rich Balmer, Carlos Bedoya, Demacio Castellon, Brian Frye, Carlton Lynn, Bill Malina, Fabian Marasciullo, Michael McCoy, Sam Thomas, Arnold Wolfe
* Assistant engineers: Marcella Araica, Jimmy Briggs, Ralph Cacciurri, John Horesco IV, Marc Stephen Lee, Tadd Mingo, Rabeka Tuinei, Javier Valverde, Chris Young
* Mixing: Mr. Leslie Braithwaite, Jermaine Dupri, Scott Kieklak, Carlton Lynn, Fabian Marasciullo, Manny Marroquin, Dexter Simmons, Phil Tan
* Product Coordination: Candice Childress, Melinda Dancil
* A&R: Larry Jackson
* Additional A&R: Keith Naftaly
* Design: Alexis Yraola
* Art Direction: Alexis Yraola
* Art Dept. Production: Chris Lebeau
* Photography: Warwick Saint

Leftover tracks

* "Ain't Gonna Work" (written by Soulhock & Karlin, Andrea Martin) cite web|title=ACE Title Search. "Ain't Gonna Work"|work=ASCAP|url=http://www.ascap.com/ace/search.cfm?requesttimeout=300&mode=results&searchstr=311189532&search_in=i&search_type=exact&search_det=t,s,w,p,b,v&results_pp=30&start=1|accessdate=2008-02-05]
* "Best Friend" (produced by Missy Elliott)
* "Girl, Please" cite web|title="Monica" Shows R&B Star Coming of Age"|work=Xs4all|url=http://www.xs4all.nl/~mroyen/News/2002/news_june_30_2002.htm|accessdate=2008-02-05]
* "I Love Your ..." (written by Rashan Grooms) cite web|title=ACE Title Search. "I Love Your ..."|work=ASCAP|url=http://www.ascap.com/ace/search.cfm?requesttimeout=300&mode=results&searchstr=390789218&search_in=i&search_type=exact&search_det=t,s,w,p,b,v&results_pp=30&start=1|accessdate=2008-02-05]

Charts

References

succession box
before = "Dance with My Father" by Luther Vandross
title = "Billboard" 200 number-one album
years = June 29 2003 - July 5 2003
after = "Dangerously in Love" by Beyoncé