All Eyez on Me (Monica album)

Infobox Album |
Name = All Eyez on Me
Type = Album
Artist = Monica

|200px
Released = October 21, 2002 (Japan)
Recorded = 2001-2002
Genre = R&B, pop
Length = 47:24
Label = J
Producer = Monica Arnold, Clive Davis, Jermaine Dupri (exec.), Dallas Austin, Bryan Michael Cox, David Foster, Rodney Jerkins, Soulshock & Karlin, Ric Wake
Reviews =
* "Blender" Rating|2|5 [http://www.blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=536 link]
Last album ="The Boy Is Mine
(1998)
This album ="All Eyez on Me"
(2002)
Next album ="After the Storm"
(2003)Singles
Name = All Eyez on Me
Type = studio
single 1 = All Eyez on Me
single 1 date = 2002
single 2 = Too Hood
single 2 date = 2002

"All Eyez on Me" is the third studio album by American singer Monica. Named after its leading single, the album was released by J Records on October 21, 2002 (see 2002 in music) in Japan only, featuring production by Dallas Austin, Bryan Michael Cox, Jermaine Dupri, Rodney Jerkins, and Soulshock & Karlin among others.

Its release was partially scrapped after its first single's failure and an early leak via the internet. The longplayer was then retooled as "After the Storm" in 2003, and the song "U Should've Known Better" released as its fourth single in 2004.

History

Production and title

After dealing with more personal tribulations between the years 2000 and 2001, including the suicide of boyfriend Jarvis "Knot" Weems, an up-and-down relationship with former fiancé Corey "C-Murder" Miller, and a minor heart condition, Monica eventually decided to return to the recording studio to prepare the release of her third album in fall 2001. Over the course of the sessions Clive Davis, who had taken the singer with him from his former label, Arista Records, to his latest venture, J Records, emerged as Monica's new mentor, replacing producer Dallas Austin, while longtime contributor Jermaine Dupri served as the album's executive producer.cite web|title="Superstar Monica Selects Self-Titled Album"|work=Business Wire|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2002_June_27/ai_87859988|accessdate=2007-11-25]

Monica primarily focused on working with her usual stable of producers, which also included Austin, production team Soulshock & Karlin, Bryan Michael Cox, and Rodney Jerkins and his Darkchild crew. Though she "had never thought about writing much" by then, her producers encouraged the singer to intensify her work on the album and to write and contribute own lyrics and ideas to the songs. "I didn't have one concept in mind: I just thought about the situations and that they might be worth sharing." In the end Monica came up with nine songs for her third album, which she declared as "quite serious" because of its more adult subject-matter and moreover called her "'coming of age' record" with the view to "establish the kind of fans who will be with me for the next ten years and more ..."cite web|title="Superstar Monica Selects Self-Titled Album"|work=Business Wire|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2002_June_27/ai_87859988|accessdate=2007-11-25]

Although the album was tentatively titled "I'm Back" and "Monica"cite web|title="Superstar Monica Selects Self-Titled Album"|work=Business Wire|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2002_June_27/ai_87859988|accessdate=2007-11-25] at one time or another, the longplayer was eventually named after the album's lead single, "All Eyez on Me."

Partial delay

The album received a limited release in Japan and commercial release in Europe, but by the time it was being scheduled for American release (on August 20, 2002),cite web|title="Superstar Monica Selects Self-Titled Album"|work=Business Wire|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2002_June_27/ai_87859988|accessdate=2007-11-25] "All Eyez on Me" was widely available through Internet file-sharing services and bootleg outlets. As a result, the album was pulled from stores days after the release and Monica's label asked her to substantially reconstruct the record with a host of new producers ...

Though "Ain't Gonna Cry No More" was considered to be released as a single at times, the album yielded two singles only: The album's lead single, "All Eyez on Me", was a moderate success in the United States where it barely made it to the top 70 of the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart and peaked at number 24 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but it entered the top 30 in New Zealand, and the top 40 in Australia. The second single, "Too Hood", featuring Jermaine Dupri, received a limited vinyl release only since J Records denied to produce a music video for the song. It, however, was included on a bonus CD with re-worked "After the Storm" in 2003.

amples

*"I'm Back" samples Herb Alpert's 1979 "Rise"
*"All Eyez on Me" samples Michael Jackson's 1983 "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)"
*"I Wrote This Song" samples Shuggie Otis' 1970 "Aht Uh Mi Hed"
*"U Deserve" samples Tupac's "Hail Mary"
*"If U Were the Girl" samples C-Murder's 1998 "Down 4 My Niggas"

Track listing

# "I'm Back" (A. Armer, Monica Arnold, R. Alpert, Bryan Michael Cox, Harold Lilly) – 3:35
# "All Eyez on Me " (M. Arnold, LaShawn Daniels, James Ingram, Quincy Jones) – 4:00
# "U Should've Known Better " (M. Arnold, Jermaine Dupri, H. Lilly) – 4:43
# "Too Hood" (featuring Jermaine Dupri) (M. Arnold, B. Cox, J. Dupri, H. Lilly) – 4:23
# "I Wrote This Song" (M. Arnold, Sharmora Crawford, Kenneth Karlin, Shuggie Otis, Carsten Shack, D. Sharpe) – 4:00
# "U Deserve" (featuring Daron Jones) (M. Arnold, R. Cooper, K. Cox, Y. Fula, H. Lilly, J. Paquette, Tupac Shakur, Bruce Washington, T. Wrice) – 4:24
# "Breaks My Heart" (C. Shack, K. Karlin, S. Crawford) – 4:07
# "Ain't Gonna Cry No More" (M. Arnold, Fred Jerkins III, L. Daniels) – 4:12
# "If U Were the Girl" (M. Arnold, Calvin Broadus, B. Cox, Jermaine Dupri, A. Johnson, C. Lawson, H. Lilly, C. Mille) – 3:51
# "What Hurts the Most" (C. Shack, Peter Biker, S. Crawford) – 4:44;Bonus tracks
#

"Searchin'" (M. Arnold, H. Lilly) – 4:38
# "Just Another Girl" [bonus track; from the "Down to Earth" soundtrack] (Damon Sharpe, Lindy Robbins, Carsten Lindberg, Joachim Svare) – 3:24
# "What My Heart Says" [bonus track; from the "Love Song" soundtrack] (D. Warren, M. Arnold) – 3:59

Credits and personnel

* Montez Arnold - keyboards
* Shamora Crawford - backing vocals
* DJ Mars - programming
* Eric Jackson - guitar
* Marc Kelly - bass
* New Birth Praise Team - backing vocals
* Tommy Martin - guitar
* William Odum - guitar

Production

* Vocal producer: LaShawn Daniels, Harold Lilly, Rodney Jerkins
* Engineers: Ralph Cacciurri, Doug Harms, Tim Lauber, Carlton Lynn, Bill Malina
* Mixing: Kevin Davis, Rodney Jerkins, Manny Marroquin, Carsten "Soulshock" Shack, Dexter Simmons, Phil Tan
* Mixing assistance: John Horesco IV
* Mastering: Tony Dawsey
* A&R: Larry Jackson, Keith Naftaly
* Album coordinator: Melinda Dancil
* Art direction: Alexis Yraola
* Photography: Joshua Jordan
* Photos shoot production: Chris LeBeau

References