Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics

Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics
Studio album by India.Arie
Released	February 10, 2009
Recorded	2007–2008
Genre	R&B, neo soul
Length	52:55
Label	Soulbird / Universal Republic
Producer	India.Arie, Dru Castro, Robin Roberts, Nick Trevisick, Jared Gosselin
India.Arie chronology
Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship (2006) Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics (2009)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
About.com	[1]
Allmusic	[2]
Baltimore Sun	[3]
The Boston Globe	(favorable)[4]
Entertainment Weekly	(C+)[5]
New York Times	(favorable)[6]
Newsday	(A-)[7]
People Weekly	[8]
PopMatters	(7/10)[9]
Vibe	(favorable)[10]

Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics is the fourth studio album by American R&B and neo soul singer-songwriter India.Arie, released February 10, 2009 on Universal Republic Records.^[11]

The single "Chocolate High" went for adds at U.S. urban adult contemporary radio the week of November 28, 2008.^[12] That single as well as its follow-up, "Therapy", were both released to iTunes in the U.S. on December 16, 2008.

The album debuted as "Hot Shot" on the Billboard 200 in the week of February 28, 2009 at number 3, selling in its first week around 76,000 copies, almost half less than her previous album in 2006.^[13] The next week it fell to number 7, selling another 32,000 copies.^[14] The album has sold 324,500 copies worldwide to date.

Speaking about the album to noted soul writer Pete Lewis of 'Blues & Soul' in April 2009, India stated; "What this album represents is me finally being my real self. You know, there'd been things I'd always wanted to say that I'd previously shied away from because they were too political, or too whatever... And I now realised that I had to let go of all those concerns and do exactly what I WANTED to do. Which is why 'Testimony Vol 2' sounds like it's exploring new territory to anyone who's familiar with my previous albums. Whereas all I'm actually doing is being more MYSELF than people have ever heard me be before."^[15]

Track listing

1. "Intro: Grains" (Branden Burch, Simpson) – 0:48
2. "Therapy" (feat. Gramps Morgan) (Leathers, Simpson, Alonzo Stevenson) – 3:58
3. "Ghetto" (Burch, Simpson) – 3:13
4. "Chocolate High" (feat. Musiq Soulchild) (Castro, Andrew, Musiq, Simpson) – 4:44
5. "He Heals Me" (Simpson) – 4:59
6. "Interlude: Grains" (Burch, Simpson) – 0:55
7. "Pearls" (feat. Dobet Gnahore) (Sade Adu, Hale) – 4:23
8. "River Rise" (Ruff, Simpson) – 3:57
9. "Yellow" (feat. Terrell Carter) (Castro, Drew and Shannon, Simpson) – 2:56
10. "Better Way" (Barnes, Ferrell, Simpson) – 3:30
11. "Interlude: Grains" (Burch, Simpson) – 1:06
12. "Long Goodbye" (Simpson, Simpson, Nick Trevisick) – 4:05
13. "Psalms 23" (feat. MC Lyte) (Castro, Andrew, Jared Lee Gosselin, Moorer, Lana Michelle, Simpson) – 5:15
14. "The Cure" (feat. Sezen Aksu) (Aksu, Simpson) – 4:41
15. "Outro: Grains" (Burch, Simpson) – 0:33
16. "A Beautiful Day" (Robin Roberts, India.Arie, Joyce Simpson, Trevisick) – 3:51
17. "Beautiful Flower" (UK Bonus Track)

Charts

Chart (2009)	Peak position	Sales
Dutch Albums Chart[16]	53
Swiss Albums Chart[16]	44
U.S. Billboard 200[17]	3	324,000
U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[17]	2

References

1. ^ About.com review
2. ^ Allmusic review
3. ^ Baltimore Sun review
4. ^ The Boston Globe review
5. ^ Entertainment Weekly review
6. ^ New York Times review
7. ^ Newsday review
8. ^ People Weekly review
9. ^ PopMatters review
10. ^ Vibe review
11. ^ Cohen, Jonathan (December 12, 2008). "India.Arie Readies Next 'Testimony'". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/india-arie-readies-next-testimony-1003925449.story. Retrieved 2009-01-03. 
12. ^ "Urban AC – Week Of: November 24, 2008". Radio & Records. November 28, 2008. http://gfa.radioandrecords.com/PublishGFA/GFANextPage.asp?sDate=11/24/2008&Format=12. Retrieved 2008-11-25. 
13. ^ "Swift Back To No. 1 As Plant/Krauss, Coldplay Soar". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/swift-back-to-no-1-as-plant-krauss-coldplay-1003942353.story. Retrieved 2009-02-19. 
14. ^ "Taylor Swift Remains Atop Billboard 200". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/taylor-swift-remains-atop-billboard-200-1003944728.story. Retrieved 2009-02-25. 
15. ^ "Sweet Sweet Soul Music - Pete Lewis Interviews India.Aire". Blues & Soul. http://www.bluesandsoul.com/feature/401/sweet_sweet_soul_music.story. Retrieved 2009-09-13. 
16. ^ ^{a b} "dutchcharts.nl - India.Arie - Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics". dutchcharts.nl. http://www.dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=India.Arie&titel=Testimony%3A+Vol.+2%2C+Love+%26+Politics&cat=a. Retrieved 2009-02-20. 
17. ^ ^{a b} "Artist Chart History - India.Arie - Albums". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.chartFormatGroupName=Albums&model.vnuArtistId=439245&model.vnuAlbumId=1206731. Retrieved 2009-02-19. 

External links

• Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics at Metacritic