| Code Red | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | December 18, 2015 (2015-12-18) | |||
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| Genre | R&B[1] | |||
| Length | 52:30 | |||
| Label | RCA | |||
| Producer |
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| Monica chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Code Red | ||||
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Code Red is the eighthstudio album by American singerMonica. It was released on December 18, 2015, byRCA Records and coincided with the twentieth release anniversary of her debut albumMiss Thang (1995). For the project, Monica reteamed with her cousinPolow da Don, who had co-executive produced her previous albumNew Life (2012). The pair enlisted a variation of producers and songwriters to work with her, includingDanja, DJ HardWork, Fatboi,KEYZBABY,Pop & Oak, andTimbaland – in addition to longtime collaborators such as performersMissy Elliott andAkon, and songwritersCrystal Nicole andJohntá Austin.
Upon its release,Code Red received generally mixed reviews from most music critics. The album debuted at number 27 on the USBillboard 200 chart, selling 35,656 copies in its first week, becoming Monica's lowest-charting debut since her first album. Leading single "Just Right for Me," a collaboration withLil Wayne reached number twelve on the USBillboardAdult R&B Songs chart but failed to impact elsewhere, resulting in lackluster sales in general and the release of no further singles. In support of the album, Monica embarked on her first solo concert tour in years,TheCode Red Experience to promoteCode Red.
In October 2012, only six months after releasing her previous albumNew Life, Monica confirmed on Twitter that she was in the very early stages of her eighth album and was having meetings with RCA Records CEOPeter Edge while staying in New York City.[2] FollowingNew Life's moderate commercial success, Monica felt that she was distancing herself from younger music listeners and that the album, while neither specifically recorded for her core audience norurban adult contemporary, had failed to connect with a more influential audience.[3] Initial plans forCode Red had her working with frequent collaborators such asMissy Elliott,Rico Love,Jim Jonsin,Polow da Don,Stargate but also new contributors, including Red Styles andMike Will Made It, to create a "fresh sound."[2]
In September 2013, Monica gave birth to her third child, Laiyah Shannon Brown, her first child withNBA playerShannon Brown.[4] While she mostly cared for Laiyah, she soon resumed recording.[5] In early 2015, the singer expressed dissatisfaction with contemporary R&B radio.[6] She intendedCode Red to help change that status, commenting, "Right now for R&B music, there's a state of emergency. Myself being one person, one artist, I can't change that on my own. No one is that powerful, but all of us together, I think we can make huge strides, allowing this generation to enjoy what this music embodies, which is a lot of love, passion, soul."[6] In an interview with online music magazineSingersroom, she further elaborated, that "Code Red is just my way of saying let's bring attention to the music. I love the music today, but I think it's important to get back to music that touched our hearts. Let's get back to the soul of R&B music. So I'm saying that this is a part of my fight, the continuation of making great music."[7]
Code Red opens with its title track, an aggressive uptempo dance song that features guest vocals by longtime collaboratorMissy Elliott as well as acameo from Monica's daughter Laiyah.[8] According to Monica, it was inspired by "the sound that lived inAtlanta, especially in the 1990s."[9] Lyrically, the song sees Monica and Elliott lamenting those artists who are out chasing hits, leading to the genre's lack of creativity and diversity.[10] "Just Right for Me" is a hip hop-infused soul track with a thick drum arrangement that jumbles a sample fromThe Miracles' "Much Better Off" (1968).[11] Musically, it follows previous retro-soul singles such as "So Gone" and "Everything to Me".[1] "Just Right for Me" marked Monica's first collaboration with rapper and featureLil Wayne.[11] "Love Just Ain’t Enough," a duet withTimbaland, is a soulful mid-tempo soap opera led by asnap beat.[12] "Call My Name" opens with a self-recorded portion from "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes", a song written forWalt Disney'sCinderella (1950). On the uplifting ballad, Monica suspects her lover of cheating, asking him to call her name.[1]
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Supported by piano andreverb,[12] Monica pledges ler love and loyalty on the stripped-back "I Know",[13] a heartfelt ballad in which she sings about leaving emotional baggage behind while getting into a new relationship.[14] On "All Men Lie", another duet sung and written by Timbaland,[9] Monica insists that all men are the same.[9] Led by a mix of bighorns and hip-hop sensibility it follows an experimental melancholy.[12] "Deep," an ode toShannon Brown that was produced byDanja andPolow da Don,[9] is a luminous ballad that takes on an edgier tone as the singer talks about falling in love.[14][15] "Hustler's Ambition" features singerAkon and tells the tale of distanced but committed love between a criminal and his woman overLatin-inspired instrumentals and soft singing.[8][11]
"Alone in Your Heart," a pop-soul belter, samples fromHarold Melvin & the Blue Notes' "Stay Together" (1977).[15] Monica compared to her songs "Before You Walk Out of My Life" (1995) and "Angel of Mine" (1998).[16] "Suga" has been described as an '90s-oriented, "electro/freestyle hybrid,"[8] that contains a portion of American singerTeena Marie's "Behind the Groove" (1980).[15] On "Ocean of Tears," gritty urban meets smooth soul 1990s music.[17] According to Monica, the song displays "how you feel when you’re connected to someone that’s just not treating you the way you should be treated."[9] Inspirational, heartfelt ballad "Saints & Sinners" strips down technical gimmickry, showcasing Monica's faith.[17] "I Miss Music" is a wistful ballad that blends mid-1990sadult contemporary withalternative singer-songwriter material.[15] Lyrically, the song is a gently nostalgic reminiscence-cum-complaint about the lasting value of music in which Monica sings aboutStevie Wonder,Lauryn Hill,Michael Jackson, andKurt Cobain.[11][12]Code Red closes with the lush ballad "Anchor," a touching declaration of support.[12]
A release date for Monica's eighth studio album was first suggested in October 2013, when Monica expressed her intention of releasing it in late 2014.[18] In January 2015, the singer took to herInstagram page to announce that the title of the album would beCode Red, when she posted a photo of a redbar code above the title that read "#AlbumComingSoon #CodeRed."[19] In an interview with American hip-hopDJ Smallz, released on YouTube on July 29, 2015, Monica announced thatCode Red would be released on September 18, 2015.[3] The album's original release date was preceded by a private listening party at thePatchWerk Recording Studios inWest Midtown inAtlanta on August 27.[20] Attendees included Monica's then-husband Shannon Brown, producerPolow da Don, and rappersYoung Jeezy, andKap G.[20]
However, though recording sessions for the album were concluded, it was soon bumped to October 2 and eventually pushed toTBA status again.[21] Commenting on this decision, Monica cited promotional reasons as a major reason for delay and wrote on Instagram that "it was a very hard decision to push this album date back. The music is ready and the label was ready to drop it immediately [...] My love for the people and my connection to them made me want to reach them. Get out on the road and go places many pass by".[21] A month later, in anticipation of her upcoming album, she announced dates forThe Code Red Experience, her first soloconcert tour in years. Joined by special guestRico Love, the 22-date venue started on November 12 inLas Vegas.[22] On November 1, 2015, she announced through social media that theCode Red album would be released on December 18,[23] and on November 19, she revealed its cover art and track listing.[24] The next day, it was made available forpre-order.[24]
"Just Right for Me", featuring guest vocals from rapperLil Wayne was released as the lead single fromCode Red. It premiered on Los Angeles radio stationPower 106's programmeLift Off on May 18, 2015.[25] Released on June 26, 2015, the song debuted at number 26 on the USBillboardAdult R&B Songs chart during the week of July 25, 2015, and peaked at number 12 on the chart. In the weeks leading up to the album's release, title track "Code Red" featuringMissy Elliott and vocals from Monica's daughter Laiyah, "Hustler's Ambition" featuringAkon, and the ballad "I Know" were released online.[24] On January 15, 2016, Monica confirmed on Twitter that "Alone in Your Heart" would be released as the second single fromCode Red but plans were eventually scrapped for unknown reasons.[26]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [15] |
| Exclaim! | 6/10[8] |
| Knoxville News Sentinel | [12] |
| Newsday | B+[1] |
Code Red received generally mixed reviews frommusic critics.Knoxville News Sentinel writer Chuck Campbell gave the album four stars out of five. While he complimented her collaborations with Lil Wayne, Elliott, and Timbaland, he stated that "Monica fares best onCode Red when she goes it alone at the microphone with her powerful pipes", making "a good case for reviving R&B withCode Red."[12]Michael Arceneaux, writing forEbony, declaredCode Red "an enjoyable listen", praising it as "Monica’s best album in years, and a reminder that when you have a format that works for you, stick with it and stop swerving". He noted comparisons withTamia'sLove Life (2015), citing its undoubtedly "awareness of current trends, and in select cases on the album, offers a nod to them without going too far left."[27]Newsday' Glenn Gamboa found that withCode Red, Monica raises "the flag for over-30 R&B lovers", spending "the rest ofCode Red looking to give people something new to sing to. And that doesn’t mean just old-school soul".[1]
In his mixed review, Jon Caramanica ofThe New York Times felt that theCode Red "manifests in the tension between traditionalist instincts and modern music-making imperatives". He also noted that its sound reflects "choices of an artist trying to thread several needles at once".[11]Allmusic's Andy Kellman rated the album three ouf of five stars and summed it as "another Monica album that, at its best, draws from the past while remaining in the present [...] Subtract the mixed and muddled messages, andCode Red is satisfactory." He felt that "what truly distinguishesCode Red from the rest of Monica's albums is that the singer is credited as co-writer of every track. Unsurprisingly, she sounds completely connected to every song".[28] Canadian music magazineExclaim! summed that "Code Red is a well packaged collection of songs, but falls short on containing anything on the same calibre of Monica's iconic hit "The Boy Is Mine."[8] L. Michael Gipson fromSoulTracks calledCode Red a "project that boasts strong vocals, but songs not always equal in memorability to the voice or to the fight to save more traditional R&B in the mainstream or commercial arena [...] As is usual in what determines an album's creative, if not always commercial success, it's still all about the songs, and there are only good, not great ones here. "[29]
In the week of January 9, 2016,Code Red debuted at number four on the USBillboard'sTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and at number 27 on theBillboard 200 chart,[30] with first week sales of 35,656 copies—half as much as her previous album,New Life (2012), which had first-week sales of 69,000 copies.[31] However, this marked Monica's eighth top ten album in this country on the USTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts.[30]Billboard ranked it 52nd on his Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums year-end chart.[32]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Code Red" (featuringMissy Elliott and Laiyah) |
|
| 4:24 |
| 2. | "Just Right for Me" (featuringLil Wayne) |
|
| 3:20 |
| 3. | "Love Just Ain't Enough" (featuringTimbaland) |
| 3:22 | |
| 4. | "Call My Name" |
| 4:13 | |
| 5. | "I Know" |
|
| 3:18 |
| 6. | "All Men Lie" (featuring Timbaland) |
| 2:32 | |
| 7. | "Deep" |
|
| 3:54 |
| 8. | "Hustler's Ambition" (featuringAkon) |
|
| 4:18 |
| 9. | "Alone in Your Heart" |
| Pop & Oak | 3:35 |
| 10. | "Suga" |
|
| 3:21 |
| 11. | "Ocean of Tears" |
|
| 3:56 |
| 12. | "Saints & Sinners" |
| 4:03 | |
| 13. | "I Miss Music" |
|
| 3:13 |
| 14. | "Anchor" |
| Fatboi | 5:01 |
| Total length: | 52:30 | |||
Notes
Sample credits
Managerial
Technical and production
Visuals and imagery
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label | Edition(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | December 18, 2015 |
| Sony | Standard | [34] |
| United States | RCA | [35] |
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)