I Gotta Be Me is a Dancehall

Dancehall

Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...

 album that was the first and only album by the late hip-hop producer Johnny "J"

Johnny "J"

Johnny Lee Jackson , commonly known in the music industry as Johnny "J", was a Mexican multi-platinum songwriter, music producer and rapper who was perhaps best remembered for his production on Tupac Shakur's albums All Eyez on Me and Me Against the World, as well as many of Shakur's subsequent...

 on Shade Tree Records, with distribution by Solar Records

SOLAR Records

S.O.L.A.R. Records was an American record label founded in 1977 by Dick Griffey, reconstituted out of Soul Train Records only two years after it was founded with Soul Train television show host and creator Don Cornelius.-Company history:In 1975, Soul Train Records was founded by Dick Griffey and...

 by way of their recently formed independent label distribution unit, The J. Hines Company.

I Gotta Be Me was an album that explored Johnny J's lyrical skills and abilities as well as his experiences in life, love, sex, relationships, and music, and was also the first appearance of the gangsta-themed female Hip-Hop/R&B quartet Y?N-Vee

Y?N-Vee

Y?N-Vee was an American female R&B group that formed in the early 1990s as the first act on PMP Records, who by 1994 linked a deal with the RAL division of Def Jam Music Group...

, who soon after recorded with Johnny J's friend 2Pac

Tupac Shakur

Tupac Amaru Shakur , known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. Shakur has sold over 75 million albums worldwide as of 2007, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world...

 and his affiliate group, Thug Life, and released their one and only album for PMP Records, the same label that launched the career of R&B star Montell Jordan

Montell Jordan

Montell Jordan is a former American R&B singer-songwriter and record producer. Jordan became the main solo male artist on its Def Soul imprint until leaving the label in 2003. Of his live performances it is often regarded that he is a rock oriented musician, with Jordan even going as far as to...

 a year later. I Gotta Be Me spawned two singles -- "Get Away From Me" and the Bass rap cut, "Diggin Um' Out".

The musical backing track of the song "Better Off" was later recycled into the tune "Picture Me Rollin'" by Tupac for his album All Eyez On Me

All Eyez on Me

All Eyez on Me is the fourth studio album by American rapper 2Pac, released February 13, 1996 on Death Row Records and Interscope Records....

in 1996.

Track listing

#	Title	Featured Guest(s)	Producer	Time
1	"Something She Can Feel"		Johnny "J"	4:01
2	"Diggin Um' Out"		Johnny "J"	3:46
3	"I'm a Better Man"		Johnny "J"	3:57
4	"Why You Want Me Now?"		Johnny "J"	2:47
5	"Get Away from Me"		Johnny "J"	3:58
6	"P.O.P. (Got Control Of Me)"		Johnny "J"	3:21
7	"Better Off"		Johnny "J"	3:49
8	"It's a Wonderful Day"		Johnny "J"	4:28
9	"Shake dat Ass"		Johnny "J"	3:41
10	"Say Whatcha Gotta Say"	Big Syke Big Syke Tyruss Himes, better known by his stage name Big Syke is an American rapper. His stage name is a revision of his childhood nickname, "Little Psycho".... , Y?N-Vee Y?N-Vee Y?N-Vee was an American female R&B group that formed in the early 1990s as the first act on PMP Records, who by 1994 linked a deal with the RAL division of Def Jam Music Group...	Johnny "J"	3:16
11	"Love's the Way"		Johnny "J"	4:25

Album singles

Single information
"Get Away From Me" Released: 1994 B-side: Shake Dat Ass
"Diggin Um' Out" Released: 1994 B-side: P.O.P. (Got Control Of Me)