Miss Thang

Miss Thang
Studio album by Monica
Released July 18, 1995
Recorded 1993–1995[1]
Genre
Length 69:33
Label Rowdy, Arista
Producer Dallas Austin, Tim & Bob, Soulshock & Karlin, Arnold Hennings, Daryl Simmons, Colin Wolfe
Monica chronology

Miss Thang
(1995)		 The Boy Is Mine
(1998)
Singles from Miss Thang
  1. "Don't Take It Personal"
    Released: April 10, 1995
  2. "Before You Walk Out of My Life"
    Released: August 3, 1995
  3. "Like This And Like That"
    Released: February 13, 1996
  4. "Why I Love You So Much"
    Released: May 21, 1996
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [2]
NME (4/10)[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide [4]

Miss Thang is the debut studio album by American R&B recording artist Monica. It was released by Rowdy and Arista Records on July 18, 1995 in the United States, featuring main production by mentor Dallas Austin protégés from his DARP production camp such as Tim & Bob, Daryl Simmons, Colin Wolfe and Soulshock & Karlin.

The album went to number thirty-six on the U.S. Billboard 200 and number seven on Billboard‍ '​s Top R&B Albums, and reached the top ten of the New Zealand Albums Chart.[5] In the United States, Miss Thang sold more than 1.5 million copies and over 2 million World Wide certifications. [6] and was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for more than three million store-shipped copies.[7] In Canada, it was certified gold by the Canadian Recording Industry Association in 1995.[8]

Writing and development

After signing a recording contract with Rowdy Records at the age of twelve, Arnold released her debut studio album, Miss Thang, on Arista Records in 1995.[9] Guided by Rowdy head Dallas Austin and developed by his protégés Tim & Bob, much of the album was recorded during the years of 1993 and 1995, a period that the singer described as hard work. "It was more from the stress I put on myself than it was pressure from others," she said. "There were so many young artists releasing records, and I wanted to stand out. I was a regular female growing up in the inner city, and I wanted to be who I was."[10] Throughout the recording process, Arnold ensured the album's music and lyrical content reflected her persona. As a result, she vetoed some of the songs selected for the album. "I was very assertive in making sure the album was really me," she said in an interview with Billboard. "How can you show your feeling in a song when it's about something you don't know about?"[11]

Chart performance

The Miss Thang album debuted and peaked at number thirty-six on the U.S. Billboard 200 and number seven on the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart.[5] In the United States, it scored a domestic sales total of about 1.5 million copies , Over 2 million copies world wide,[6] It was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for more than 3 million copies shipped to music stores .[7] In Canada, the album peaked at number fifty-eight only but had a long run at the charts, resulting into a gold certification by the Canadian Recording Industry Association in 1995.[8]

The first two singles from Miss Thang, "Don't Take It Personal" and double-A-side "Before You Walk out of My Life"/"Like This and Like That," both peaked on top of the Billboard Hot R&B Songs chart and made the singer the youngest recording artist to have two consecutive number-one hits on particular chart at the age of fourteen.[12] A fourth single, "Why I Love You So Much", became another top ten entry in 1996.[5]

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s)Producer(s) Length
1. "Miss Thang"  Dallas AustinAustin 3:52
2. "Don't Take It Personal (Just One of Dem Days)"  Austin, Monica Arnold, Derrick Simmons, Willie James Baker, James Todd Smith, Quincy Jones III, Abrim Tilmon, Hank Shocklee, Eric Sadler, Carlton Ridenhour, James Brown, George ClintonAustin 4:18
3. "Like This and Like That" (featuring Mr. Malik)Dallas Austin, Colin Wolfe, Gabriel JacksonAustin, Wolfe 4:41
4. "Get Down"  Tim Kelley, Bob RobinsonTim & Bob 4:22
5. "With You"  Kelley, RobinsonTim & Bob 4:50
6. "Skate"  Austin, Wolfe, Albert Hudson, Jonathan Meadows, Dave Roberson, Glenda Hudson, Gregory Greene, Terry Morgan, Theodore DudleyWolfe 4:26
7. "Angel"  Arnold HenningsHennings 4:44
8. "Woman in Me" (Interlude)Kelley, RobinsonTim & Bob 1:36
9. "Tell Me If You Still Care"  James Harris III, Terry LewisTim & Bob, Austin (co.) 4:45
10. "Let's Straighten It Out" (featuring Usher)Austin, Benny LatimoreAustin 4:25
11. "Before You Walk Out of My Life"  Kenneth Karlin, Andrea Martin, Carsten SchackSoulshock & Karlin 4:53
12. "Now I'm Gone"  Kelley, RobinsonTim & Bob 4:39
13. "Why I Love You So Much"  Daryl SimmonsSimmons 4:30
14. "Never Can Say Goodbye"  HenningsHennings 5:02
15. "Don't Take It Personal (Just One of Dem Days)" (Remix)Austin, Arnold, Simmons, Willie James Baker, David Townsend, David Conley, Derrick CullerAustin 3:50
16. "Forever Always"  HenningsHennings 4:40
Samples

Charts

Chart (1995) Provider Peak
position		 Certification
Canadian Albums Chart CRIA/Nielsen SoundScan 58 Gold[8]
Dutch Albums Chart MegaCharts 41 —
Japanese Albums Chart RIAJ 69[13] —
New Zealand Albums Chart RIANZ 9 Platinum[14]
U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 36 3x platinum[15]
U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 7

Credits and personnel

Musicians

Production

References

  1. ↑ http://articles.dailypress.com/1995-10-20/features/9510200234_1_rowdy-records-richmond-r-b-brown-sugar
  2. ↑ Lytle, Craig. Miss Thang – Monica at AllMusic. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
  3. ↑ Lewis, Angela (September 30, 1995). "Review: Monica – Miss Thang". NME (IPC Media): 53. ISSN 0028-4955.
  4. ↑ Hoard, Christian. "The Rolling Stone Album Guide". Rolling Stone: 553. November 2, 2004.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Artist Chart History – Monica – Singles". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media). Retrieved April 12, 2009.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Monica Has a Fresh Start on RCA With 'New Life'". Billboard. Retrieved April 17, 2012.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Basham, David (March 14, 2002). "Got Charts? The Long Road To #1 — And Those Who Rocked It". MTV News. Retrieved March 24, 2010.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Canadian album certifications – Monica – Miss Thang". Music Canada.
  9. ↑ Samuels, Anita (June 20, 1998). Sharing A Hit Duet, Arista's Monica Finds Her Own Voice On Boy. Billboard (Google Books). Retrieved April 1, 2010.
  10. ↑ Ewey, Melissa (September 1, 1998). Miss Thang Grows Up. Ebony (Google Books). Retrieved April 1, 2010.
  11. ↑ Reynolds, J.R. (March 25, 1995). Rowdy/Arista Debuts The Confident Voice Of 14-Year-Old Rapper Monica. Billboard (Google Books). Retrieved April 1, 2010.
  12. ↑ Christian, Margena A. (July 28, 2003). "Monica: Shares Life's Lessons On New CD After The Storm". Jet. FindArticles.com. Retrieved November 21, 2009.
  13. ↑ "Oricon: Monica" (in Japanese). Media Control GfK International. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
  14. ↑ Scapolo, Dean (2007). The Complete New Zealand Music Charts 1966–2006. ISBN 978-1-877443-00-8.
  15. ↑ "American album certifications – Monica – Miss Thang". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH

External links