More Than a Woman (album)

More Than a Woman
Studio album by Toni Braxton
Released	November 19, 2002 (2002-11-19) (U.S.)
Recorded	2002 Baseway Studios, Denim's Den (Los Angeles, California) Brandon's Way Recording, Capitol Studios, The Record Plant (Hollywood, Los Angeles, California) Circle House Studios The Hit Factory Criteria (Miami, Florida) Darkchild Studios (Pleasantville, New Jersey) The Enterprise Studios (Burbank, California) Patchwerk Studios (Atlanta, Georgia) Sound on Sound Studios (Manhattan, New York City, New York) Track Record Studios (North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California Westlake Recording Studios (West Hollywood, California)
Genre	R&B, pop, hip hop
Label	Arista
Producer	Antonio "L.A." Reid (exec.) Eivan "Ricco" Bj (exec.) Keri Lewis (exec.) Toni Braxton (exec.) Babyface The Neptunes, Darkchild Keri Lewis Irv Gotti Chink Santana, Mannie Fresh Big Bert Andrea Martin Ivan Mathias Mark Pitts No I.D.
Toni Braxton chronology
Snowflakes (2001) More Than a Woman (2002) Libra (2005)
Singles from More Than a Woman
"Hit the Freeway" Released: October 15, 2002

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	(B) [2]
Slant Magazine	[3]

More Than a Woman is the fourth studio album by American recording artist Toni Braxton. It was released in the United States on November 19, 2002 by Arista Records. Most of the songs were written by Braxton, her husband Keri Lewis, and her sister Tamar Braxton. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in late 2002.

Singles

Originally, the first single was said to be a sample-heavy track called "No More Love", produced by and featuring Irv Gotti. However, after Gotti had leaked the song to radio, Braxton and Arista decided not to include the song on the final track listing.

The official first single released from the album was "Hit the Freeway" featuring rapper Loon. It peaked at number eighty-six on Billboard Hot 100, number thirty-two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and number two on the Hot Dance Club Play.

The second single was set to be "Lies, Lies, Lies" (with an unreleased video shot as well), but it was switched to "A Better Man". No video was ever made for the song (since Braxton's second pregnancy was occurring at this time), although promotional CDs were made available for radio.

Additionally, to service radio shows, a double A-side vinyl for "Give It Back" and "Let Me Show You the Way (Out)" was released.

"Me & My Boyfriend" (a cover of Tupac Shakur's 1996 song "Me and My Girlfriend") was set to be a single at some point, but Jay-Z and Beyoncé released the single "'03 Bonnie & Clyde" around the same time, which is based on the same song, and Braxton refrained from releasing her version as a single, accusing Jay-Z of stealing her idea (although it should be pointed out that "How Much", a duet between Mariah Carey and Usher on Carey's 1999 album Rainbow, uses the same Shakur sample).

A few years after the album's release, a dance remix of "Lies, Lies, Lies" was leaked online on the fansite Toni-Online.

Critical reception

According to Metacritic, the album holds a score of 77 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews", based on 8 reviews.^[4]

• Allmusic says:

"If there's any problem with More Than a Woman, Toni Braxton's fourth album, it's that its so consistent, so much a continuation of its predecessor, Heat, that it may be hard to pinpoint distinctive characteristics".

• Blender says:

"While her wailing contemporaries go off the rails with exaggeration, Braxton merely tightens her groove and rides these mellow, meaty melodies".

• Launch.com says:

"All this anger's not just therapeutic--it also makes her transition to hard hip-hop diva seem sensible, instead of just a marketing move, by grounding it in something real.".

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Let Me Show You the Way (Out)"	Toni Braxton, Tamar Braxton, Keri Lewis, Curtis Mayfield, Ernest D. Wilson	4:19
2.	"Give It Back" (featuring Big Tymers)	Tamar Braxton, Toni Braxton, Byron Thomas, Brian Williams	3:38
3.	"A Better Man"	Gerrard C. Baker, Andrea Martin, Ivan Mathias	3:58
4.	"Hit the Freeway" (featuring Loon)	Chauncey Hawkins, Pharrell Williams	3:50
5.	"Lies, Lies, Lies"	Keri Lewis, Stokley Williams	5:10
6.	"Rock Me, Roll Me"	Tamar Braxton, Toni Braxton, Keri Lewis	4:57
7.	"Selfish"	Toni Braxton, Tamar Braxton, Blake English, Kenisha Pratt, Robert Smith, Brandy Norwood	3:47
8.	"Do You Remember When"	Toni Braxton, LaShawn Daniels, Rodney Jerkins, Fred Jerkins III	4:02
9.	"Me & My Boyfriend"	Toni Braxton, Tamar Braxton, Darryl Harper, Irving Lorenzo, Andre Parker, Ricky Rouse, Tupac Shakur, Tyrone Wrice	3:43
10.	"Tell Me"	Anita Baker, Anthony Bias, Toni Braxton, Louise Johnson, Lewis	4:09
11.	"And I Love You"	Babyface, Daryl Simmons	3:59
12.	"Always"	Tamar Braxton, Toni Braxton, English, Pratt, R. Smith, Brandy Norwood	4:30
Total length:			49:40

Personnel

Musicians

• Patricia Aiken – violin
• Brian Benning – violin
• Sally Berman – violin
• Rebecca Bunnell – violin
• Chris 'Daddy' Dave – drums
• Drew Dembowski – bass
• Assa Drori – violin, principal
• Thomas Dienner – viola
• Blake English – guitar
• Agnes Gottschewski – violin
• Lynn Grants – viola
• Maurice Grants – cello
• Henry Gronnier – violin
• Al Hershberger – violin
• Oscar Hidalgo – bass
• Ricky Kinchen – bass
• Renita Koven – viola
• Johana Krejci – violin
• Phillipe Levy – violin
• Keith Lewis – cello
• Jeremy Lubbock – strings
• Earl Madison – cello
• Tomi Martin – guitar
• Dennis Molchan – violin
• Jorge Moraga – viola
• Ricky Rouse – guitar
• Dan Smith – cello
• Stokley – guitar
• Terrence "Bearwolf" Williams – keyboards

Production

• Executive producers: Antonio "L.A." Reid, Eivan "Ricco" Bj, Toni Braxton, Keri Lewis
• Producer: Babyface, The Neptunes, Darkchild, Keri Lewis, Irv Gotti, Chink Santana, Mannie Fresh, Big Bert, Andrea Martin, Ivan Mathias, Mark Pitts, No I.D.
• Vocal assistance: Tamar Braxton, Brandy, Andrea Martin, Stokley
• Engineers: Paul Boutin, Andrew Coleman, Blake English, Paul Foley, Stephen Glicken, John Hanes, Jean-Marie Horvat, Larry Mah, Victor Mancusi, Fabian Marasciullo, Brian Springer
• Assistant engineers: Cedric Anderson, John Horesco IV, Mike Houge, Brett Lieberman, Tim Roberts, Craig "Niteman" Taylor
• Mixing: Leslie Brathwaite, Kevin "KD" Davis, Blake English, Serban Ghenea, Steve Hodge, Victor Mancusi, Dexter Simmons, Phil Tan
• Mastering: Herb Powers
• Production coordination: Allen D. Hong, Kirk Lightburn
• A&R: Theresa Wilson
• Design:
• Art direction: Richard Thomas Jennings
• Photography: Tony Duran, Daniela Federici

Charts

Chart (2002)	Peak position
Dutch Albums Chart[5]	88
French Albums Chart[5]	90
German Albums Chart[6]	37
Japanese Albums Chart[7]	114
Swiss Albums Chart[5]	23
UK Albums Chart[8]	123
U.S. Billboard 200[9]	13
U.S. Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[9]	5

References

1. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. More Than a Woman review at Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-10-17.
2. ^ Willman, Chris. "More Than a Woman review". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,390633,00.html. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 
3. ^ Cinquemani, Sal. "More Than a Woman review". Slant Magazine. http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/toni-braxton-more-than-a-woman/224. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 
4. ^ http://www.metacritic.com/music/more-than-a-woman
5. ^ ^{a b c} "Toni Braxton – More Than A Woman". Ultratop. Hung Medien. http://www.ultratop.be/en/showitem.asp?interpret=Toni+Braxton&titel=More+Than+A+Woman&cat=a. Retrieved November 1, 2010. 
6. ^ "Musicline.de – Chartverfolgung – Toni Braxton – More Than A Woman" (in German). Media Control. PhonoNet GmbH. http://musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/title/Braxton%2CToni/More+Than+A+Woman/longplay. Retrieved October 5, 2008. 
7. ^ "More Than A Woman – Toni Braxton" (in Japanese). Oricon. http://www.oricon.co.jp/music/release/d/490824/1/. Retrieved July 4, 2009. 
8. ^ "Chart Log UK: 1994–2006". The Official Charts Company. Zobbel.de. http://www.zobbel.de/cluk/CLUK_B.HTM. Retrieved November 1, 2008. 
9. ^ ^{a b} "More Than a Woman – Toni Braxton – Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. http://www.allmusic.com/album/more-than-a-woman-r608707/charts-awards/billboard-album. Retrieved October 5, 2008.