More Than a Woman (album)
Encyclopedia
More Than a Woman is the fourth studio album
by American recording artist Toni Braxton
. It was released in the United States on November 19, 2002 by Arista Records
. Most of the songs were written by Braxton, her husband Keri Lewis
, and her sister Tamar Braxton
. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America
in late 2002.
The official first single released from the album was "Hit the Freeway
" featuring rapper Loon
. It peaked at number eighty-six on Billboard Hot 100
, number thirty-two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
, and number two on the Hot Dance Club Play.
The second single was set to be "Lies, Lies, Lies" (with an unreleased video shot as well), but it was switched to "A Better Man". No video was ever made for the song (since Braxton's second pregnancy was occurring at this time), although promotional CDs were made available for radio.
Additionally, to service radio shows, a double A-side vinyl for "Give It Back" and "Let Me Show You the Way (Out)" was released.
"Me & My Boyfriend" (a cover of Tupac Shakur
's 1996 song "Me and My Girlfriend") was set to be a single at some point, but Jay-Z
and Beyoncé
released the single "'03 Bonnie & Clyde
" around the same time, which is based on the same song, and Braxton refrained from releasing her version as a single, accusing Jay-Z of stealing her idea (although it should be pointed out that "How Much", a duet between Mariah Carey
and Usher
on Carey's 1999 album Rainbow
, uses the same Shakur sample).
A few years after the album's release, a dance
remix of "Lies, Lies, Lies" was leaked online on the fansite Toni-Online.
, the album holds a score of 77 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews", based on 8 reviews.
"If there's any problem with More Than a Woman, Toni Braxton's fourth album, it's that its so consistent, so much a continuation of its predecessor, Heat, that it may be hard to pinpoint distinctive characteristics".
"While her wailing contemporaries go off the rails with exaggeration, Braxton merely tightens her groove and rides these mellow, meaty melodies".
"All this anger's not just therapeutic--it also makes her transition to hard hip-hop diva seem sensible, instead of just a marketing move, by grounding it in something real.".
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American recording artist Toni Braxton
Toni Braxton
Toni Michelle Braxton is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Braxton has won six Grammy Awards, seven American Music Awards, and five Billboard Music Awards and has sold over 60 million records worldwide...
. It was released in the United States on November 19, 2002 by Arista Records
Arista Records
Arista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...
. Most of the songs were written by Braxton, her husband Keri Lewis
Mint Condition
Mint Condition is an R&B band from Saint Paul, Minnesota. Formed in the late 1980s, its original members were lead singer Stokley Williams, bassist Ricky Kinchen, guitarist Homer O'Dell, pianist Larry Waddell, keyboardist Keri Lewis, and keyboardist/saxophonist Jeffrey Allen...
, and her sister Tamar Braxton
Tamar Braxton
Tamar Braxton-Herbert is an American R&B singer, songwriter, and reality television personality. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a founding member of the R&B group, The Braxtons. Braxton is the youngest sister of prominent R&B singer Toni Braxton.In 2011, Tamar Braxton reunited with her sisters,...
. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
in late 2002.
Singles
Originally, the first single was said to be a sample-heavy track called "No More Love", produced by and featuring Irv Gotti. However, after Gotti had leaked the song to radio, Braxton and Arista decided not to include the song on the final track listing.The official first single released from the album was "Hit the Freeway
Hit the Freeway
"Hit the Freeway" is the only single from American recording artist Toni Braxton's fourth studio album, More Than a Woman , featuring American rapper Loon. As a result of the poor chart performance of "Hit the Freeway", no more singles from More Than a Woman were released...
" featuring rapper Loon
Loon (rapper)
Amir Junaid Muhadith best known by his stage name Loon, is an African-American rapper that was formerly part of P. Diddy's Bad Boy Records, where he released his self-titled debut album, Loon. He has also made many guest appearances on songs of the R&B and hip hop genres. He is best known for his...
. It peaked at number eighty-six on Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, number thirty-two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
, and number two on the Hot Dance Club Play.
The second single was set to be "Lies, Lies, Lies" (with an unreleased video shot as well), but it was switched to "A Better Man". No video was ever made for the song (since Braxton's second pregnancy was occurring at this time), although promotional CDs were made available for radio.
Additionally, to service radio shows, a double A-side vinyl for "Give It Back" and "Let Me Show You the Way (Out)" was released.
"Me & My Boyfriend" (a cover of Tupac Shakur
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...
's 1996 song "Me and My Girlfriend") was set to be a single at some point, but Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
and Beyoncé
Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
released the single "'03 Bonnie & Clyde
'03 Bonnie & Clyde
"03 Bonnie & Clyde" is a song by American rapper Jay-Z featuring R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles. It incorporates elements from the songs "Me and My Girlfriend" by Tupac Shakur, and "If I Was Your Girlfriend" by Prince and uses the theme from "Pasttime Paradise" by Stevie Wonder for the refrain...
" around the same time, which is based on the same song, and Braxton refrained from releasing her version as a single, accusing Jay-Z of stealing her idea (although it should be pointed out that "How Much", a duet between Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
and Usher
Usher (entertainer)
Usher Terry Raymond IV , who performs under the mononym Usher, is an American singer-songwriter, and actor. He is considered around the world to be the reigning King of R&B. Usher rose to fame in the late 1990s with the release of his second album My Way, which spawned his first Billboard Hot 100...
on Carey's 1999 album Rainbow
Rainbow (Mariah Carey album)
Rainbow is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, released on November 2, 1999, by Columbia Records. The album followed the same pattern as Carey's previous album, Butterfly , in which she began her transition into the R&B market. Rainbow contains a mix of...
, uses the same Shakur sample).
A few years after the album's release, a dance
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
remix of "Lies, Lies, Lies" was leaked online on the fansite Toni-Online.
Critical reception
According to MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, the album holds a score of 77 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews", based on 8 reviews.
- Allmusic says:
"If there's any problem with More Than a Woman, Toni Braxton's fourth album, it's that its so consistent, so much a continuation of its predecessor, Heat, that it may be hard to pinpoint distinctive characteristics".
- BlenderBlender (magazine)Blender was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities....
says:
"While her wailing contemporaries go off the rails with exaggeration, Braxton merely tightens her groove and rides these mellow, meaty melodies".
- Launch.com says:
"All this anger's not just therapeutic--it also makes her transition to hard hip-hop diva seem sensible, instead of just a marketing move, by grounding it in something real.".
Track listing
Musicians
- Patricia Aiken – violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
- Brian Benning – violin
- Sally Berman – violin
- Rebecca Bunnell – violin
- Chris 'Daddy' Dave – drumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s - Drew Dembowski – bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
- Assa Drori – violin, principal
- Thomas Dienner – violaViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
- Blake English – guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Agnes Gottschewski – violin
- Lynn Grants – viola
- Maurice Grants – celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
- Henry Gronnier – violin
- Al Hershberger – violin
- Oscar Hidalgo – bass
- Ricky Kinchen – bass
- Renita Koven – viola
- Johana Krejci – violin
- Phillipe Levy – violin
- Keith Lewis – cello
- Jeremy Lubbock – strings
- Earl Madison – cello
- Tomi Martin – guitar
- Dennis Molchan – violin
- Jorge Moraga – viola
- Ricky Rouse – guitar
- Dan Smith – cello
- Stokley – guitar
- Terrence "Bearwolf" Williams – keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
Production
- Executive producers: Antonio "L.A." Reid, Eivan "Ricco" Bj, Toni Braxton, Keri LewisMint ConditionMint Condition is an R&B band from Saint Paul, Minnesota. Formed in the late 1980s, its original members were lead singer Stokley Williams, bassist Ricky Kinchen, guitarist Homer O'Dell, pianist Larry Waddell, keyboardist Keri Lewis, and keyboardist/saxophonist Jeffrey Allen...
- Producer: Babyface, The NeptunesThe NeptunesThe Neptunes are a record production duo consisting of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, who are credited with contributing the sound for many successful hip hop, R&B and pop artists in the late-1990s and 2000s...
, DarkchildRodney JerkinsRodney "Darkchild" Jerkins is an American songwriter, record producer, and musician. Jerkins received two Grammy nominations in 2011.-Biography:...
, Keri LewisMint ConditionMint Condition is an R&B band from Saint Paul, Minnesota. Formed in the late 1980s, its original members were lead singer Stokley Williams, bassist Ricky Kinchen, guitarist Homer O'Dell, pianist Larry Waddell, keyboardist Keri Lewis, and keyboardist/saxophonist Jeffrey Allen...
, Irv Gotti, Chink SantanaChink SantanaChink Santana is an American R&B musician and producer. His achievements include co-producing Ashanti, the award-winning debut album from the singer of the same name. He also worked on her follow-up, Chapter II, and has recently co-written and produced tracks on Judgement Days, the second album...
, Mannie FreshMannie FreshByron O. Thomas, better known by his stage name Mannie Fresh, is currently an artist and hip-hop producer who records for Def Jam South and his own division Chubby Boy Records...
, Big BertBig BertRobert Anthony Smith, professionally known as Big Bert or Robert Anthony, is an American record producer, composer, songwriter and musician, who made his break in the industry when Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins consulted him to join his Darkchild collective in the late 1990s...
, Andrea MartinAndrea Martin (musician)Andrea Monica Martin is an American R&B singer, songwriter and producer.She is primarily known for writing hit songs for artists like Toni Braxton , Monica , Angie Stone , En Vogue , SWV , and Leona Lewis Andrea Monica Martin is an American R&B singer, songwriter and producer.She is primarily...
, Ivan Mathias, Mark Pitts, No I.D.No I.D.No I.D., officially known as Immenslope and also known as Ernest Wilson , is a hip hop and R&B record producer, also the vice-president of Def Jam Recordings, best known for his early work with Chicago rapper Common and is known as "The Godfather of Chicago hip hop".. The nickname No I.D... - Vocal assistance: Tamar BraxtonTamar BraxtonTamar Braxton-Herbert is an American R&B singer, songwriter, and reality television personality. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a founding member of the R&B group, The Braxtons. Braxton is the youngest sister of prominent R&B singer Toni Braxton.In 2011, Tamar Braxton reunited with her sisters,...
, BrandyBrandy NorwoodBrandy Rayana Norwood , known professionally as Brandy, is an American singer-songwriter, producer, actress, and dancer. In 2009, she introduced her rap alter-ego Bran'Nu....
, Andrea MartinAndrea Martin (musician)Andrea Monica Martin is an American R&B singer, songwriter and producer.She is primarily known for writing hit songs for artists like Toni Braxton , Monica , Angie Stone , En Vogue , SWV , and Leona Lewis Andrea Monica Martin is an American R&B singer, songwriter and producer.She is primarily...
, Stokley - Engineers: Paul Boutin, Andrew Coleman, Blake English, Paul Foley, Stephen Glicken, John Hanes, Jean-Marie Horvat, Larry Mah, Victor Mancusi, Fabian Marasciullo, Brian Springer
- Assistant engineers: Cedric Anderson, John Horesco IV, Mike Houge, Brett Lieberman, Tim Roberts, Craig "Niteman" Taylor
- Mixing: Leslie Brathwaite, Kevin "KD" Davis, Blake English, Serban Ghenea, Steve Hodge, Victor Mancusi, Dexter Simmons, Phil Tan
- Mastering: Herb Powers
- Production coordination: Allen D. Hong, Kirk Lightburn
- A&R: Theresa Wilson
- Design:
- Art direction: Richard Thomas Jennings
- Photography: Tony Duran, Daniela Federici
Charts
| Chart (2002) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Dutch Albums Chart MegaCharts MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top... |
88 |
| French Albums Chart Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
90 |
| German Albums Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
37 |
| Japanese Albums Chart Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... |
114 |
| Swiss Albums Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
23 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
123 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
13 |
| U.S. Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999... |
5 |