Afrodisiac

Infobox Album
Name = Afrodisiac
Type = studio
Artist = Brandy


Released = Start date|2004|6|28
(see release history)
Recorded = 2002–2004
Criteria Hit Factory
(Miami, Florida),
Corner Store Studios
(Los Angeles, California),
Records Plant
(Los Angeles, California),
The Dungeon
(Atlanta, Georgia)
Genre = R&B, pop
Length = 61:18
Label = Atlantic
83633
Producer = Brandy Norwood, Kyambo Joshua, Craig Kallman, Gee Roberson (exec.), Warryn "Baby Dubb" Campbell, Big Chuck, Mike City, Ron "Neff-U" Feemster, Walter Millsap III, Organized Noise, Timbaland, Kanye West
Reviews =
* Allmusic rating|4|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:cgev97idkrdt link]
* "Blender" rating|3|5 [http://www.blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=2536 link]
* "Entertainment Weekly" (A-) [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,660530,00.html link]
* "People Magazine" rating|4|5 [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_pwwi/is_200407/ai_n8555402 link]
* "Rolling Stone" rating|4|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/brandy/albums/album/6202779/rid/6383758/ link]
* "Slant Magazine" rating|4|5 [http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/music_review.asp?ID=464 link]
* "The Situation" rating|4|5 [http://www.thesituation.co.uk/reviews/brandy_review.html/ link]
* "USA Today" rating|3|4 [http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/reviews/2004-06-28-listen-up_x.htm/ link]
* "Vibe" rating|3.5|5 [http://www.vibe.com/music/revolutions/2004/07/brandy_afrodisiac_atlantic/ link]
Last album = "Full Moon"
(2002)
This album = "Afrodisiac"
(2004)
Next album = "The Best of Brandy"
(2005)
Misc = Singles
Name = Afrodisiac
Type = studio
Single 1 = Talk About Our Love
Single 1 date = March 2004
Single 2 = Who Is She 2 U
Single 2 date = August 2004
Single 3 = Afrodisiac
Single 3 date = September 2004

"Afrodisiac" is the fourth studio album by American singer Brandy, released by Atlantic Records on June 28, 2004 outside North America and on June 29, 2004 (see 2004 in music) in Canada and the United States. A departure from her previous work with Rodney Jerkins and his Darkchild camp, Brandy worked with Timbaland and his protégé Walter Millsap III on the majority of the production of the album, with additional help from Warryn Campbell, Organized Noise, Ron Feemster, Big Chuck, and Kanye West. [cite web|author=Jonathan Cohen|title="Brandy Delivers Musical 'Afrodisiac'"|date=2004-05-18|work=Billboard|url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000512853| accessdate=2007-05-16]

The album debuted at number three on the U.S. "Billboard" 200, eventually selling 416,000 copies as of April 2008, [cite web|author=Mariel Concepcion|title="Brandy Inks New Deal With Epic"|date=2008-04-15|work=Billboard|url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003789690&inp=true| accessdate=2008-08-03] but saw minor international success, missing the top thirty on the majority of the charts it appeared on outside the United States. The critical response to "Afrodisiac" was generally positive, garnering Brandy her strongest reception yet, with AllMusic comparing it to "Janet Jackson at her best." [Andy Kellman. [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=A4q27gjer46ib Afrodisiac Review] . "Allmusic". Retrieved on June 29, 2004.] In 2005, it received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Contemporary R&B Album.

History

Production

Following the birth to her first daughter Sy'rai in June 2002, Norwood soon entered recording studios to insensify work on her then-untitled fourth album with producers Mike City, Chris Ballard, Andy Murray, and companion Robert "Big Bert" Smith. [cite web|author=Mark Armstrong|date=2002-09-27|title="Brandy Preparing To Begin Work On New Album"|work=Yahoo Music|url=http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/12064468|accessdate=2007-01-18] As the singer wanted the longplayer to sound "much rawer" and more "street" than its predecessor "Full Moon", Smith quckily emerged as the album's executive producer and A&R manager, replacing longtime producer and mentor Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, who Brandy felt was "not going in the same direction creatively" after all. [cite web|author=Steve Jones|date=2004-07-15|title="An 'Afrodisiac' toast to Brandy"|work=USAToday|url=http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2004-07-15-brandy_x.htm|accessdate=2007-01-18] The couple eventually finished several demo tapes and at least four full songs until late November 2002, including "Ryde or Die" (re-recorded by Jennifer Lopez for her 2005 studio album "Rebirth"), and Sy'rai inspired "Sunshine;" [ [http://www4.xpresssites.com/freedom/cityjunction/de/story.jsp?_RND=1855411219 "R&B singer Brandy working on a new album"] . "Xpress.com". Retrieved January 18, 2007.] and although Smith expected the album to drop by spring 2003 at one time or another, [ [http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1458737/11152002/brandy.jhtml "Brandy Makes Recording Next Album A Family Affair"] . "MTV.com News". November 27, 2002. Retrieved on January 18, 2007.] Brandy and Big Bert ended their relationship in fall 2002, resulting into the album's delay.

As a result Norwood decided to scrap most of the project, and instead enlisted Timbaland as the album's main contributor: "Timbaland really brought the fire to this album," she said. "The music actually tells a story in itself, even without my vocals on it, so I let myself be driven by it. To be able to put a melody on a track that already had a life, that just blew me away. It's great, passionate music." [ [http://netmusiccountdown.com/inc/artist.php?artist=Brandy NMC: Brandy] . "Net Music Countdown". Retrieved on January 18, 2007.] With the help of songwriters Candice Nelson, Steve "Static" Garrett, and co-producer Walter Millsap III the pair worked on what was tentatively titled "B-Rocka" and actually planned for a Christmas 2003 release.cite web | title="Brandy Splits With Husband"| work=Rolling Stone| url=http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/brandy/articles/story/5936231/brandy_splits_with_husband| accessdate=2007-05-16] Their first collaboration, "Turn It Up", was leaked onto the internet in autumn 2003, and soon released as a promotional single on vinyl.

In November 2003, Atlantic Records announced that Brandy was finishing touches on her still-untitled album (which was at that time scheduled for a release on March 2, 2004), [ [http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/12045983 "Brandy To Release New Album In March"] . "Yahoo! Music". November 20, 2003. Retrieved on January 18, 2007.] and she was slated to shoot a video for "hyper, bass-heavy" banger "Black Pepper" during the second week of December.cite web | title="Brandy — Not That Innocent"| work=Vibe Magazine|url=http://www.vibe.com/news/magazine_features/2004/06/cover_story_brandy_that_innocent/| accessdate=2007-01-17] However, plans fell through as the Timbaland-produced track was scrapped in favor of a new record: Kanye West-produced "Talk About Our Love." Both, the single and the album cut "Where You Wanna Be", were eleventh-hour additions to the album, commissioned by executive producer Geroid Roberson after West's success in 2004 with tracks by artists such as Twista, Alicia Keys, and himself.

Release and reception

"Afrodisiac" received a Grammy Award nomination for "Best Contemporary R&B Album", and became Brandy's most critically acclaimed album to date, [ [http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/brandy/afrodisiac Afrodisiac by Brandy] . "Metacritic". Retrieved on August 8, 2004.] with some citing the "more consistently mature and challenging" effect of Timbaland on Brandy's music, [Terry Sawyer. [http://popmatters.com/music/reviews/b/brandy-afrodisiac.shtml Brandy - Afrodisiac (Atlantic)] . "Popmatters". Retrieved on June 28, 2004.] and others calling it "very listenable and emotionally resonant", comparing it to "Janet Jackson at her best". [Andy Kellman. [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=A4q27gjer46ib Afrodisiac Review] . "Allmusic". Retrieved on June 29, 2004.] Nevertheless it became the least successful album of Brandy's career: "Afrodisiac" debuted at number three on the U.S. "Billboard" 200 and at number four on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart, selling more than 131,700 copies in its first week. [Joe D'Angelo. [http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1489256/20040707/story.jhtml Brandy Settles for #3] . "MTV.com". Retrieved on July 5, 2004.] Though sales soon declined and the album fell off the top one hundred of the "Billboard" 200 quickly in its eighth week, the album eventually received a Gold certification for more than 500,000 copies shipped to stores. [ [http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/18021422 Brandy To Release Greatest Hits Album] . "Yahoo.com". Retrieved on March 30, 2005.] While "Afrodisiac" reached the top ten on a composite United World Chart it failed to enter the top thirty on the majority of the charts it appeared on oustide the United States.

Though "I Tried" was considered to be released as a single at times, [ [http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/12059229 "Brandy Sings About Coldplay On Her Upcoming Album"] . "Yahoo! Music". October 20, 2003. Retrieved in January 18, 2007.] "Afrodisiac" spawned three singles only: The album's lead single, "Talk Abour Our Love", became Norwood's fifth non-consecutive top ten hit on the UK Singles Chart, but barely made it to top thirty elsewhere; in the United States, however, the song peaked at number 16 on the "Billboard" Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The second single in Eurasia and Australia, "Afrodisiac", saw similar success but reached the top 10 in China; it also became a top 40 success in Australia, France, Ireland, Switzerland, and the UK. The second North American single was "Who Is She 2 U" but due to a lack of radio airplay the song never made it out of the lower half of the "Billboard" Hot 100. In March 2005, the single also received limited release in Europe to promote the release of Brandy's first single collection, "The Best of Brandy"; but it failed to chart or sell noticeably.

Track listing

# "Who I Am" (Warryn Campbell, Jeffrey Campbell) – 3:35
# "Afrodisiac" (Kenisha Pratt, Kenneth Pratt, Tim Mosley) – 3:47
# "Who Is She 2 U" (Walter Millsap III, Candice Nelson, T. Mosley, Leon Ware, Jacqueline Hilliard) – 4:43 ¹
# "Talk About Our Love" (featuring Kanye West) (K. West, Harold Lilly, Carlos Wilson, Louis Wilson, Ricardo Wilson, Claude Cave II) – 3:34 ²
# "I Tried" (W. Millsap III, C. Nelson, T. Mosley, Will Champion, Steve Harris, Chris Martin, Guy Berryman, Johnny Buckland) – 4:45 ³
# "Where You Wanna Be" (featuring T.I.) (K. West, H. Lilly) – 3:32 ⁴
# "Focus" (W. Millsap III, C. Nelson, T. Mosley) – 4:07
# "Sadiddy" (K. Pratt, K. Pratt, T. Mosley) – 4:00
# "Turn It Up" (W. Millsap III, C. Nelson, T. Mosley) – 4:12
# "Necessary" (Rico Wade, Patrick Brown, Ray Murray, Cee-Lo Green) – 3:59
# "Say You Will" (Theron Feemster) – 3:50
# "Come As You Are" (Steve "Static" Garrett, T. Mosley) – 3:44
# "Finally" (W. Millsap III, C. Nelson, T. Mosley, B. Norwood, Hans Zimmer, Nick Glennie-Smith, S. Stern, Darryl Harper) – 3:53 ⁵
# "How I Feel" (W. Millsap III, C. Nelson, Erick Walls) – 4:41
# "Should I Go" (W. Millsap III, C. Nelson, G. Berryman, J. Buckland, W. Champion, C. Martin, T. Mosley) – 4:56 ⁶

Limited Reissue

#

"Sirens" (S. Garrett, T. Mosley) – 3:59
#

"Like It Was Yesterday" (Mike City) – 3:53
#

"Nodding Off" (W. Millsap III, C. Nelson, T. Mosley) – 4:10 ⁷

¹Contains a sample of Jacqueline Hilliard's "Instant Love" (1968)
²Contains a sample of Mandrill's "Gilly Hines" (1978) from the album "New Worlds"
³Contains a sample of Iron Maiden's "The Clansman" (1998), and Coldplay's "Sparks" (2000)
⁴Contains a sample of Janis Ian's "Jesse" (1974)
⁵Contains a sample of "Rock House Jail" from "The Rock" soundtrack (1996)
⁶Contains a sample of Coldplay's "Clocks" (2002)
⁷Contains a sample of the "Beetab" soundtrack (1993)

Credits and personnel

* Miri Ben-Ari — violin
* Shorty B. — bass guitar
* Parris Bowens — keyboards
* Bruce Fowler — conductor
* Larry Gold — conductor
* Don Harper — conductor
* Mike Hartnett — guitar
* Keenan "Kee Note" Holloway — bass
* Glenn S. Jeffrey — guitar
* George "Spanky" McCurdy - percussion
* Nick Glennie-Smith — conductor
* DeMonica Plummer — conductor
* Ervin Pope — keyboards
* Dave Robbins - keyboards
* Thaddeus T. Tribbett — bass
* Eric Walls — guitar

Production

* Executive producers: Kyambo Joshua, Craig Kallman, Brandy Norwood, Gee Roberson
* Vocal producers: Brandy Norwood, Kenny Hicks
* Vocal assistance: Jo Ann Campbell, Steve "Static" Garrett, Tim Mosley, Kenisha Pratt, Kenneth Pratt
* Engineers: Bruce Beuchner, Sean Davis, Jimmy Douglas, Blake English, Jun Ishizeki, Cha Cha Jones, Eugene Toale
* Assistant engineers: Demacio Castellon, Ricky Chao, Jermeal Hicks, Halsey Quemere
* Mixing: Jimmy Douglass, Dave Lopez, Manny Marroquin, Peter Mokran, Tim "Timbaland" Mosley
* Mastering: Brian Gardner, Chris Gehringer
* A&R: Kyambo Joshua & Geroid Roberson
* Design: Julian Peploe
* Art Direction: Liz Barrett
* Photography: Roger Ericson

Leftover tracks

* "About Brandy (Intro)" cite web | title="Afrodisiac by Brandy" "(tentative tracklisting)"| work=Rhapsody Online|url=http://www.rhapsody.com/brandy/6072364_afrodisiac| accessdate=2007-05-17]
* "Adios" (featuring Sean Paul) (written by Timbaland, Walter Milsap III, Candice Nelson, Sean Paul) cite web | title=ACE Title Search| work=ASCAP| url=http://www.ascap.com/ace/search.cfm?requesttimeout=300&mode=results&searchstr=BRANDY&search_in=a&search_type=exact&search_det=t,s,w,p,b,v&results_pp=30&start=1| accessdate=2007-05-16]
* "Black Pepper" cite web | title="Brandy — Not That Innocent"| work=Vibe Magazine|url=http://www.vibe.com/news/magazine_features/2004/06/cover_story_brandy_that_innocent/| accessdate=2007-01-17]
* "Gone From Me" (written by Christian Ballard, Lindy Benson, Andrew Murray) cite web | title=Song Search| work=EMI Music|url=http://www.emimusicpub.com/worldwide/servlet/lyrics?song_id=1713407| accessdate=2007-05-16]
* "Hush" cite web | title="Brandy — Not That Innocent"| work=Vibe Magazine|url=http://www.vibe.com/news/magazine_features/2004/06/cover_story_brandy_that_innocent/| accessdate=2007-01-17]
* "I've Seen Your Kind Before" (written by Jason Boyd, Brandy Norwood, Robert Smith) cite web | title=Song Search| work=EMI Music Publishing|url=http://www.emimusicpub.com/worldwide/servlet/lyrics?song_id=3057921| accessdate=2007-05-17]
* "Leave" (written by B. Norwood, R. Smith, Blake English, Nora Payne) cite web | title=Repertoire Search| work=BMI Magazine|url=http://repertoire.bmi.com/writer.asp?blnWriter=True&blnPublisher=True&blnArtist=True&page=1&fromrow=1&torow=25&querytype=WriterID&keyid=586151&keyname=NORWOOD%20BRANDY&CAE=185434162&Affiliation=BMI | accessdate=2007-01-17]
* "Ryde or Die" (written by B. Norwood, R. Smith, B. English) (re-recorded version appeared on Jennifer Lopez' "Rebirth") cite web | title=Repertoire Search| work=BMI Magazine|url=http://repertoire.bmi.com/writer.asp?blnWriter=True&blnPublisher=True&blnArtist=True&page=1&fromrow=1&torow=25&querytype=WriterID&keyid=586151&keyname=NORWOOD%20BRANDY&CAE=185434162&Affiliation=BMI | accessdate=2007-01-17]
* "Sunshine" (produced by Robert "Big Bert" Smith) cite web | title="Brandy News"| work=Xpress| url=http://www4.xpresssites.com/freedom/cityjunction/de/story.jsp?_RND=1855411219| accessdate=2007-05-16]
* "The Game Up" (written by Timbaland, Harold Lilly) cite web | title=ACE Title Search| work=ASCAP| url=http://www.ascap.com/ace/search.cfm?requesttimeout=300&mode=results&searchstr=BRANDY&search_in=a&search_type=exact&search_det=t,s,w,p,b,v&results_pp=30&start=1| accessdate=2007-05-16]

Release history

Charts and certification

* These are the peak positions and certifications from chart providers.

References

External links

* [http://www.foreverbrandy.com/ ForeverBrandy.com] — official site