| The Makings of Me | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 3, 2006 (2006-10-03) | |||
| Recorded | 2003–2006 | |||
| Genre | R&B[1] | |||
| Length | 40:01 | |||
| Label | J | |||
| Producer |
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| Monica chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Makings of Me | ||||
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The Makings of Me is the fifthstudio album by American singerMonica. It was released byJ Records on October 3, 2006, in the United States. Built upon thehip hop,gospel and modernquiet storm styles of its predecessor,After the Storm (2003), Monica envisioned her follow-up project to sound as close knit and intimate as her previous project. Consequently, she enlisted frequent collaboratorsMissy Elliott,Bryan Michael Cox, andJermaine Dupri to work with her on the album, with the latter serving as itsexecutive producer, as well as new partners such asThe Underdogs,Tank,The Runners,LRoc,Swizz Beatz, andSean Garrett.
The album was released to mostly positive reception from music critics, who applauded Monicas's vocal performances and cited the album a solid addition to her catalogue. Criticism mainly targeted the trendchasing character ofsnap-influenced lead single "Everytime tha Beat Drop", as well as the album's occasionally unremarkable production.The Makings of Me debuted at number eight on the USBillboard 200 and topped theBillboard'sTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart—becoming her first album to do so, with first week sales of 93,000 copies.[2] As of 2010 the album has sold 328,000 copies, according toBillboard.[3]
The Makings of Me produced four commercial singles, with "Everytime tha Beat Drop", a collaboration with rap groupDem Franchize Boyz, becoming the album's only entry on theBillboard Hot 100. Subsequent singles such as "A Dozen Roses (You Remind Me)" and "Sideline Ho" failed to chart on the Hot 100 or sell noticeably on any other chart. Disappointed by its performance, Monica later expressed her discontent of the album's promotional campaign.The Makings of Me earned aSoul Train Music Award nomination in theBest R&B/Soul Album – Female category and was reissued in April 2007, featuring free ringtones for "The First Night", a free cellphone wallpaper, and a blow-in card was sold byWalmart.
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In June 2003, following several revamps and numerous delays,J Records released Monica's fourth studio albumAfter the Storm in the United States. It debuted at number one on the USBillboard 200, her first album to do so, and produced three singles that attainedBillboard chart success, including chart topper "So Gone". The following year, she announced that she was expecting her first child.[4] While most of her fifth album was not recorded before the birth of her son Rocko in May 2005, the singer met several producers and songwriters in preparation of her album during her pregnancy, involvingMissy Elliott and her regular co-producersCainon Lamb andCraig Brockman as well asBryan Michael Cox andJermaine Dupri, with Dupri again taking overexecutive production duties alongside Monica after Elliott had replaced him in this position onAfter the Storm following the retooling of original albumAll Eyez on Me (2002).[5]
While both Elliott and Dupri contributed most to the album, Monica was anxious to keep the number of collaborators close knit and intimate and thus, settled on working with a small amount of additional producers, includingSean Garrett,Harold Lilly,Swizz Beatz,Tank andThe Underdogs.[6] In total, their sessions resulted in forty finished records.[6] At different times, Monica also recorded with duoDre & Vidal as well asTricky Stewart,Scott Storch,Jazze Pha,No I.D., and rappersMannie Fresh,Akon andYoung Jeezy, though none of the songs produced with them eventually made the final track listing.[7][8] Some of them, however, such as "Ain't Nothing", "So in Love", and "Why Lie", appeared on her 2007 mixtapeGreg Street Present......Monica Made: The Mixtape or were later leaked onto the internet.[9]
Although the project was tentatively titledStreet Butterfly,Raw, orA Dozen Roses at one time or another,[10] the album was eventually named afterCurtis Mayfield's song "The Makings of You" from his solo debut albumCurtis (1970), which is sampled in the Elliott-produced song "A Dozen Roses (You Remind Me)": "With a dozen roses / Such will astound you / The joy of children laughing around you / These are the makings of you."[10] When asked about the meaning of the title, Monica elaborated in a 2006 interview withBillboard that "this album is really the makings of me because it talks about so many different scenarios, both good and bad, that have pretty much brought me to the point where I'm at mentally," she said, comparing it with a "musical diary where people can really see me in a lot of different lights for once."[11]
Although Monica received neither a producing nor a songwriting credit onThe Makings of Me, the album was widely addressed as her most personal effort yet.[12] The singer attributed the personal sound of the album to the words of her self-written poetries, she has started writing in the late 1990s and of which about half of the songs on the album are based on.[13] Having used the writings before to inspire the themes of the tracks for previous albumsAll Eyez on Me (2002) andAfter the Storm (2003), it was actually the first time she handed the poems over to her songwriters. "That was kind of private [to hand over]," Monica said in an interview withDeseret News. "It was going into the hands of about seven or eight people. It was difficult to do something like that the first time around."[13] Feeling obligated to unveil her true thoughts about past relationships, writersTank,Manuel Seal and others crafted songs such as "Sideline Ho" and "Why Her", which were inspired by the poems or their backstories.[13]
The album contains several references toAtlanta, Georgia and alludes to contemporary fashion labels such asGucci, and automobile manufacturersBentley andMercedes-Benz.[11] On "A Dozen Roses (You Remind Me)", singersR. Kelly andGladys Knight are mentioned.[11] Although Monica intended for the album to include some light recordings, she stated thatThe Makings of Me "is not an album for kids".[14] "This album is very, very different from the other ones, because of me personally. Now, at 26, the way I look at things, even relationships, I was really able to involve more of my life experiences in the album," Monica said toMTV News,[15] adding: "I had to tell my story [...] There are too many people who have been in the same situation as me and really don't know their way out. Hopefully through my words, what I say can open a door."[13]
"Everytime tha Beat Drop", one of the last songs recorded forThe Makings of Me, was chosen as the lead single to show "something that appears on the outside to be different from" Monica and, in addition, represents her hometownAtlanta.[11] Greatly influenced bysnap music, the track incorporates beats ofNelly's 2005 single "Grillz" and a sample of the 2006 single "Lean wit It, Rock wit It", as performed byDem Franchize Boyz.[6] The song received lukewarm reviews, noted as "a decent but ultimately forgettable [...] obligatory club track",[12] and was a mediocre success, reaching the top twenty on the U.S.BillboardHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart only.[16] The second single, Elliott-penned "A Dozen Roses (You Remind Me)", underperformed.[16] The song, a modern rework ofCurtis Mayfield's 1972 single "The Makings of You", was the lastmusic video-accompanied release from the album.[6]
"Sideline Ho", the third track, was written and produced by fellow R&B musicianTank.[17] Based upon a self-written poem by Monica, the lyrics of the song were inspired by an ex who cheated on her with a video model.[6] It was released as the album's third single, and although the song saw a comparatively successful debut on the charts,J Records refused to agree on producing a music video for the song, with ideas for a video treatment being eventually scrapped.[18] The fourth track,Jermaine Dupri-produced "Why Her", serves as a direct follow-up to "Sideline Ho" and was also inspired by a poem. "After all the anger and the smoke cleared, the next one that I wrote wasWhy Her. And I thought it was really clever [...] to create songs off of my poems like that," Monica said.[6] The song received a generally positive reception from music critics, and was compared toMariah Carey's 2005 recording "We Belong Together".[19] "Hell No (Leave Home)", the fifth track, has Monica trading verses with fast-paced rapperTwista. The singer commented the recording of therhymes as comical: "He [Twista] had so much patience with me and allowed me to learn his way of rapping. Of course, rapping isn't what I do, but I did enjoy the experience. The way I learned best was with him in the booth."[20] Released as the final single from the album, it was released to no commercial success.[21]
"Doin' Me Right", built around a sample ofThe Whispers' 1976 "Chocolate Girl", was noted as one of the "few songs about good men" onThe Makings of Me, alongsideUnderdogs-crafted "My Everything".[12] Considered as this album's "Knock Knock" (the second single from 2003'sAfter the Storm), it was praised by critics who called the track "another sweet twist on a soft-soul classic."[22] The seventh track, "Raw", features production and guest vocals bySwizz Beatz and was noted the onlyupbeat track on the album next to "Everytime tha Beat Drop".[22] It chronicles the protagonist's lament on so-called "playas" over aspeaker-jarring 808 beat, and received mixed reviews.[23] "Gotta Move On", the ninth track, incorporates minor elements oforiental music.[19] Featuring backing vocals by singerTweet, it was declared "a kiss-off dipped in honey" byAllmusic.[12] The closing track, "Getaway", is an all-piano song, except for a few accents from asnare drum briefly throughout the tune.[23] It discusses the witnessing of Monica's former boyfriend Jarvis Weems' death in 2000.[19]
AltogetherThe Makings of Me spawned four singles: The lead album's first single, Dupri-produced "Everytime tha Beat Drop" barely made it to top fifty on the USBillboard Hot 100 chart with a peak position of number forty-eight only, becoming Monica's least successful lead single since 2002's "All Eyez on Me". It, however, reached number eleven on theHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and number seven on the World R&B Top 30 Singles chart. The second and third singles from the album, "A Dozen Roses (You Remind Me)" and "Sideline Ho", underquoted this success with peak positions of number forty-eight and forty-five respectively on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, never making it to the officialBillboard Hot 100. A fourth single, "Hell No (Leave Home)" was serviced to U.S. radios on May 14, 2007, achieving similar success. In support of the singles releases, Monica appeared on BET's106 & Park andBlueprint,[24] and performed onThe Ellen DeGeneres Show.[2]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| About.com |    [22] |
| AllMusic | [12] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B[25] |
| New York Post | [26] |
| People | [1] |
| USA Today | [27] |
The Makings of Me received generally positive reviews from most music critics. Andy Kellman ofAllMusic gave the album four stars out of five and called it a "concise and mostly sweet (if occasionally unremarkable) set of songs", especially praising Elliott's input on the album.[12] Ryan Dombal ofEntertainment Weekly declared it "a solid addition" to Monica's discography,[25] and although he saw her faltering on ballads such as "My Everything", he added: "the singer hints at mature contentment on her fourth CD — while retaining some angry edge, [...] scoring tough-talking venom."[25]USA Today writer Steve Jones, on the other hand, wrote: "Sweet ballads like "My Everything" and theCurtis Mayfield-laced "A Dozen Roses (You Remind Me)" find her nicely contented having found the one. But do her wrong or play her soft and she'll unleash a torrent of scorn [...] In the mid-90s, she was the sassy 14-year-oldMiss Thang. Now she's full grown and not to be fooled with. Still, she can get the dancefloor popping."[27]
People magazine gave the album three stars out of four.[1] It found that "her fourth disc, demonstrates why the singer has been able to outlast many an R&B ingenue."[1] In a mixed review,Clover Hope ofBillboard magazine wrote that "whileThe Makings of Me has its needless trendchasing moments, her rich voice and prime subject are the main draw".[28] He criticized the album for its "avoidable" lead single "Everytime tha Beat Drop", writing that "Monica is good enough without the fluff."[28] In his review forAbout.com, Mark Edward Nero notedThe Makings of Me "a very personal album that listening to it is almost like reading a diary",[22] and while he applauded the songwriting and song production as "excellent", he cited a "lack of emotion" in Monica's voice: "She cuts loose, but for the most part, Monica seems more concerned with pitch-perfect singing than singing with genuine emotion.[22] In addition, he also criticised the shortness of the album.[22]USA Today gave the album three stars out of four and called Monica "full grown and not to be fooled with,"[27] whileEbony hailed the album as "full of variety, depth, and maturity."[29]New York Post's Dan Aquilante wrote: "After a three-year hiatus, she revives her career with a well-balanced disc of hard raps, dance beats and smooth groove coos."[26]
During the week of October 21, 2006,The Makings of Me debuted and peaked at number eight on theBillboard 200 chart, with first week sales of 93,000 copies.[2] On theTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, the album, debuted at number-one, becoming Monica's first album to reach the top spot on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[2] By December 2008, the album had sold 314,000 copies,[30] and as of 2010 it has sold over 328,000 copies domestically.[3] This album marks the first album by Monica to not receive a certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to date. Outside of the United States, the album debuted at number seventy-five on theJapanese Albums Chart.[31]
WithThe Makings of Me comprising an outweighing slower set of mid-tempo recording and ballads, J Records's decision to release up-tempo record "Everytime tha Beat Drop", an eleventh-hour addition to the album that had originally been recorded for a different project, to lead it, was met with mixed reaction from Monica's team.[32] While she considered the song a not unwelcome breakaway from her sound, Monica later blamed the selection on the album's overall performance since she felt that "Everytime tha Beat Drop" did not speak to her core audience and was a poor representation of the album as a whole.[32] AfterThe Makings of Me's commercial underperformance,[33] she felt obliged to follow a more authentic approach on her next projectStill Standing which abandoned "all the different gimmicks and trends" in favor of a record that lived up to the sound her previous hits, particularly those from the 1990s.[34]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Everytime tha Beat Drop" (featuringDem Franchize Boyz) |
| 3:43 | |
| 2. | "A Dozen Roses (You Remind Me)" | 3:51 | ||
| 3. | "Sideline Ho" |
| 3:45 | |
| 4. | "Why Her" |
| 4:08 | |
| 5. | "Hell No (Leave Home)" (featuringTwista) |
| 4:44 | |
| 6. | "Doin' Me Right" |
| 3:19 | |
| 7. | "Raw" (featuringSwizz Beatz) |
|
| 3:43 |
| 8. | "My Everything" |
|
| 3:40 |
| 9. | "Gotta Move On" |
|
| 3:44 |
| 10. | "Getaway" | Paul Morton, Jr. | Dupri | 3:36 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Thanks for the Misery" |
| Dent | 3:42 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Everytime tha Beat Drop" (featuring Dem Franchize Boyz; music video) |
Notes
Sample credits
Credits are taken fromThe Makings of Me liner notes.[37]
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Performance credits
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Musicians
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Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
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| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label | Edition(s) | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | October 3, 2006 | J Records | Standard | [43] | |
| Canada | October 10, 2006 | ||||
| United Kingdom | December 9, 2006 |
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)