Afrodisiac

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This article is about the album by Brandy. For the stimulator for sexual desire, see Aphrodisiac.
Afrodisiac
Afrodisiac cover
Studio album by Brandy
Released June 28, 2004
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
Length 61:18
Label Atlantic Records
83633
Producer(s) Timbaland, Kanye West, Warryn Campbell, Organized Noise, Walter Millsap, Ron Feemster
Professional reviews
Brandy chronology
Full Moon
(2002)		 Afrodisiac
(2004)		 The Best of Brandy
(2005)


Afrodisiac is the fourth studio album by American R&B 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. It was primarily produced by Timbaland, with additional production from Warryn Campbell, Organized Noise, Walter Millsap, Ron Feemster, Big Chuck, and Kanye West. The album was a critical success, but failed to receive major commercial success, eventually becoming Brandy's lowest selling album to date.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Production

After giving birth to her first daughter Sy'rai in June 2002, Norwood soon entered recording studios to begin creating her then-untitled fourth album with producers Mike City, Chris Ballard, Andy Murray, and companion Robert "Big Bert" Smith.[1] Since 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 Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, who Brandy felt was "not going in the same direction creatively"[2] after all. The couple eventually finished four 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."[3]

Although Smith expected the album to drop by spring 2003 at one time or another,[4] Brandy and Big Bert surprisingly split up in fall 2002, and as a result the album's release was delayed for an indefinite period. Norwood decided to scrap most of the project, and instead consulted 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."[5] With the help of songwriters Candice Nelson, Steve "Static" Garrett, and co-producer Walter Millsap the pair worked on what was tentatively titled B-Rocka. Their first collaboration, "Turn It Up" was leaked onto the internet in autumn 2003, and soon released as a buzz 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)[6], and she was slated to shoot a video for "hyper, bass-heavy" banger "Black Pepper" during the second week of December.[7] 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.

[edit] 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,[8] with some citing the "more consistently mature and challenging" effect of Timbaland on Brandy's music,[9] and others calling it "very listenable and emotionally resonant", comparing it to "Janet Jackson at her best".[10] Nevertheless it became the least successful album of Brandy's career: Afrodisiac debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 and at number four on the U.S. Top R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart, selling more than 131,700 copies in its first week.[11] Though sales soon declined and the album fell off the Billboard 100 quickly in its eighth week, the album eventually received a Gold certification for more than 500,000 copies shipped to stores.[12] While Afrodisiac debuted at number six 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,[13] 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 of the European Black Music chart and the top ten in China; it also became a top 40 success in Switzerland, France, Ireland, the UK, and Australia. 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.

[edit] Samples

  • "Who Is She 2 U" samples Jacqueline Hilliard's 1968 "Instant Love"
  • "Talk About Our Love" samples Mandrill's 1978 "Gilly Hines", from the album New Worlds
  • "I Tried" samples Iron Maiden's 1998 "The Clansman", and Coldplay's 2000 "Sparks"
  • "Where You Wanna Be" samples Janis Ian's 1974 "Jesse"
  • "Finally" samples 1996's "Rock House Jail", from The Rock soundtrack
  • "Should I Go" samples Coldplay's 2002 "Clocks"
  • "Nodding Off" samples elements from the 1993 Beetab soundtrack

[edit] Track listing

# Title
1. "Who I Am" 3:35
2. "Afrodisiac" 3:47
3. "Who Is She 2 U" 4:43
4. "Talk About Our Love" (featuring Kanye West) 3:34
5. "I Tried" 4:45
6. "Where You Wanna Be" (featuring T.I.) 3:32
7. "Focus" 4:07
8. "Sadiddy" 4:00
9. "Turn It Up" 4:12
10. "Necessary" 3:59
11. "Say You Will" 3:50
12. "Come As You Are" 3:44
13. "Finally" 3:53
14. "How I Feel" 4:41
15. "Should I Go" 4:56

[edit] Bonus tracks (Limited Reissue)
# Title
16. "Sirens" 3:59
17. "Like It Was Yesterday" 3:53
18. "Nodding Off" 4:10

[edit] 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

[edit] Production

[edit] Leftover tracks

[edit] Charts

Year Chart Peak
position
2004 U.S. The Billboard 200 3
2004 U.S. Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 4
2004 Switzerland Top 100 Album 26
2004 UK Top 75 Album 32
2004 Canada Top 50 Album 34
2004 Norwegian Albums Chart 34
2004 Germany Top 100 Album 44
2004 Swedish Albums Chart 45
2004 France Top 150 Album 57
2004 United World Chart 6

[edit] Chart trajectories
Billboard 200 (Weeks 1-11)
Week 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11
Position
3
(131,725)
15
(46,201)
31
(31,998)
43
(24,942)
60
(20,129)
61
(18,219)
87
(14,033)
103
(11,383)
94
(12,168)
113
(9,769)
111
(9,056)
Total
131,725
177,926
209,924
234,866
254,995
273,277
287,310
298,693
310,861
320,630
329,686

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ "Brandy Preparing To Begin Work On New Album". Yahoo! Music. September 27, 2002. Retrieved on January 18, 2007.
  2. ^ "An 'Afrodisiac' toast to Brandy". USAToday.com. July 15, 2004. Retrieved on January 18, 2007.
  3. ^ "R&B singer Brandy working on a new album". Xpress.com. Retrieved January 18, 2007.
  4. ^ "Brandy Makes Recording Next Album A Family Affair". MTV.com News. November 27, 2002. Retrieved on January 18, 2007.
  5. ^ NMC: Brandy. Net Music Countdown. Retrieved on January 18, 2007.
  6. ^ "Brandy To Release New Album In March". Yahoo! Music. November 20, 2003. Retrieved on January 18, 2007.
  7. ^ "Brandy - Not That Innocent". Vibe Magazine. June 4, 2004. Retrieved on January 17, 2007.
  8. ^ Afrodisiac by Brandy. Metacritic. Retrieved on August 8, 2004.
  9. ^ Terry Sawyer. Brandy - Afrodisiac (Atlantic). Popmatters. Retrieved on June 28, 2004.
  10. ^ Andy Kellman. Afrodisiac Review. All Music Guide. Retrieved on June 29, 2004.
  11. ^ Joe D'Angelo. Brandy Settles for #3. MTV.com. Retrieved on July 5, 2004.
  12. ^ Brandy To Release Greatest Hits Album. Yahoo.com. Retrieved on March 30, 2005.
  13. ^ "Brandy Sings About Coldplay On Her Upcoming Album". Yahoo! Music. October 20, 2003. Retrieved in January 18, 2007.


Brandy
v • d • e

Albums: Brandy · Never Say Never · Full Moon · Afrodisiac · The Best of Brandy

Singles: "I Wanna Be Down" · "Baby" · Best Friend" · "Brokenhearted" · "Sittin' up in My Room" · "Missing You" · "The Boy Is Mine" · "Top of the World"
"Have You Ever" · "Angel in Disguise" · "Almost Doesn't Count" · "U Don't Know Me" · "Another Day in Paradise" · "What about Us?" · "Full Moon" · "He Is"
"Talk About Our Love" · "Who Is She 2 U" · "Afrodisiac"

Discography · Filmography · Moesha

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