Rebellious Soul

Rebellious Soul
Studio album by K. Michelle
Released August 13, 2013
Recorded 2012–13
Genre R&B, soul
Label Atlantic
Producer Alonzo Harris, Andrew "Hit Drew" Clifton, Andrew "Pop" Wansel, Bridgetown, David "Swagg R'Celious" Harris , Eric Hudson, Ezekiel Lewis, Happy Perez, Jack Splash, Nexx Generation, Tank, Troy Taylor, Warren "Oak" Felder, Stridah Von
K. Michelle chronology

  • Rebellious Soul
  • (2013)
Singles from Rebellious Soul
  1. "V.S.O.P."
    Released: May 20, 2013
  2. "Can't Raise a Man"
    Released: January 14, 2014

Rebellious Soul is the debut studio album by American R&B recording artist K. Michelle; it was released on August 13, 2013, by Atlantic Records.[1]

Background

In 2012, K. Michelle was one of the cast members on the VH1 reality TV show Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta.[2] Because of the publicity which it gave her from starring on Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta, she signed a deal with Atlantic Records and began working on her debut studio album, titled Rebellious Soul.[3] On July 15, 2013, Michelle revealed the album cover for Rebellious Soul.[4]

Singles

The song, titled "I Just Wanna" was released as a buzz single for the album. "V.S.O.P." was released as the album's lead single on May 20, 2013. The track was produced by Pop & Oak, and samples "Very Special" by Debra Laws as well as "That's How Long" by The Chi-Lites.[5][6] "V.S.O.P." has reached number 89 on the US Hot 100 Singles chart[7] and number 27 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[8] The music video (directed by Benny Boom) was released on June 29, 2013.[9][10]

The album's second single Can't Raise A Man, was released on January 13, 2014. The song peaked at number 23 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and number 94 on the US Hot 100 Singles charts. The music video (directed by Benny Boom; who also directed a music video for her lead single V.S.O.P.) was released on February 8, 2014.

Critical response

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 71/100[11]
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [12]
The Guardian [13]
The New York Times neutral[14]
PopMatters [15]
Starpulse positive[16]
VIBE positive[17]

Rebellious Soul has received mostly positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 71, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on 5 reviews.[11] Andy Kellman of Allmusic praised the material influenced by classic soul, citing "Damn" and lead single "V.S.O.P." as key examples, overall referring to it as a "compact, lyrically diverse debut."[12] Stacy-Ann Ellis of Vibe notes Michelle's "rough around the edges" demeanor as evidenced in her role in Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta, but points out that the album shows more to her than just the " 'shaking the table' moments, Piscean dramatics and a mouthful of expletives. Her keep-it-real charm drew fans in, and her rebellious soul will keep them there."[17]

Maura Johnston of MSN Music wrote, "Reality TV junkies might know this fiery singer from VH1′s ‘Love and Hip-Hop Atlanta,’ but she’s been releasing real-talk-filled mixtapes for the past three years … She shows off her super-raunchy, defiantly strong and maternally devoted sides, among others. All of these lyrics sound like they were written in moments of high passion, thanks in part to her take-no-prisoners voice."

Ayara Pommells of Soul Train said, "Overall Rebellious Soul is a great effort from K.Michelle. You can expect to be serenaded with tales of heartbreak, sexual encounters for grown folks and mantras of female empowerment. The production is complimentary to both K.Michelle’s heavy vocals and candid lyrical content. She does not drown in the instrumentals. The beats are relatively simple without ever crossing over into vanilla territory. Every detail on this album has been carefully constructed so as to allow K.Michelle to shine her brightest."

Elias Legit of PopMatters was more critical, promptly reminiscing of 2009 buzz single "Fakin' It" as a sign of her manipulation over men and pumping up their egos, while lamenting that the same power was nowhere to be found on Rebellious Soul.[15] Jon Caramancia of The New York Times praised Michelle's "tremendous promise," but was critical of her foul language and lack of boundaries in regards to subject matter, stating, "What she’s missing is restraint."[14]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200 and number 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts, with first-week sales of 72,000 copies in the United States.[18] As of December 2014, Rebellious Soul has sold 500,000 copies in the United States.[19]

Promotion

To promote the Rebellious Soul album, K. Michelle embarked on her very first headlining tour, The Rebellious Soul Tour presented by BET Music Matters. The 19 city tour kicked off in November 4, 2013 in San Francisco and ended on December 3, 2013 in Boston. It included stops in Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, and Atlanta. Opening acts featured Chris Brown protégé Sevyn Streeter and Tiara Thomas.

On December 20, 2013 on BET’s 106 & Park, K. Michelle announced that she will be joining Robin Thicke on the North American leg of his Blurred Lines Tour kicking off on February 21, 2014, in Atlanta, Georgia.

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s)Producer(s) Length
1. "My Life" (featuring Meek Mill)Kimberly Pate, Bianca Atterberry, Ervin Ward II, Dean Beresford, Robert WilliamsNexx Generation 5:03
2. "Damn"  Pate, Atterberry, Eric Hudson, Andrew CliftonEric Hudson, Andrew "Hit Drew" Clifton 3:18
3. "I Don't Like Me"  Pate, Atterberry, James Alonzo Harris, David HarrisDavid "Swagg R'Celious" Harris, Alonzo Harris 2:52
4. "Can't Raise A Man"  Taylor, Ezekiel Lewis, Menardini Timothee, Najja McDowellBridgetown, Troy Taylor, Ezekiel Lewis, 3:27
5. "V.S.O.P."  P. Hamilton, A. Wansel, W. Felder, L. Peters, W. Jeffrey, W. Boyd, E. PowellPop & Oak 3:29
6. "Pay My Bills"  Pate, Atterberry, Nathan Perez, Frank McDonald, Christopher RaeHappy Perez 3:21
7. "Sometimes"  Pate, Jessyca Wilson, Atterberry, Jack Splash, Phillip GuilbeauJack Splash 6:16
8. "Ride Out"  Pate, Wilson, Atterberry, Felder,Mostyn, Sweet, Barry WhiteWarren "Oak" Felder, Steve "Ace" Mostyn, Leavon "Stridah Von" Sweet 3:56
9. "Hate on Her"  Pate, Atterberry, Hudson, CliftonEric Hudson, Andrew "Hit Drew" Clifton 4:01
10. "When I Get a Man"  Pate, Atterberry, Hudson, CliftonEric Hudson, Andrew "Hit Drew" Clifton 4:58
11. "A Mother's Prayer"  Pate, Atterberry,Harris, HarrisDavid "Swagg R'Celious" Harris, Alonzo Harris 3:54

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2013) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[18] 2
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2013) Position
US Billboard 200[21] 167

References

  1. ↑ "K. Michelle Unveils ‘Rebellious Soul’ Album Cover And Tracklisting | ThisisRnB.com - Hot New R&B Music, Videos, News". ThisisRnB.com. 2013-07-15. Retrieved 2013-07-23.
  2. ↑ "K.Michelle | Love & Hip Hop Atlanta". VH1.com. Retrieved 2013-07-23.
  3. ↑ "Twitter / kmichelle: MY ALBUM "REBELLIOUS SOUL"". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2013-07-23.
  4. ↑ "Twitter / kmichelle: Tonight at midnight my album...". Twitter.com. 2013-07-15. Retrieved 2013-07-23.
  5. ↑ http://madamenoire.com/284327/pass-or-play-k-michelle-shows-her-skills-in-new-v-s-o-p-video/
  6. ↑ "BRAND NEW MUSIC: K. Michelle's "V.S.O.P" Single | The Young, Black, and Fabulous". Theybf.com. Retrieved 2013-07-23.
  7. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/artist/276636/k-michelle/chart?f=379
  8. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/artist/276636/k-michelle/chart?f=367
  9. ↑ BRIAN Davis / July 1st, 2013 (2013-07-01). "Music Video: K. Michelle – "V.S.O.P." – Concreteloop.Com | Quality Not Quantity". Concreteloop.com. Retrieved 2013-07-23.
  10. ↑ Exton, Emily (2013-07-01). "Watch K.Michelle's Music Video For "V.S.O.P." | Reality TV + Gossip". Blog.vh1.com. Retrieved 2013-07-23.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Rebellious Soul Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved September 14, 2013.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Kellman, Andy. "Rebellious Soul - K. Michelle : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-08-13.
  13. ↑ Macpherson, Alex (2013-08-08). "K Michelle: Rebellious Soul – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 2013-08-15.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Caramancia, Jon (2013-08-12). "CDs From K. Michelle and Leo Genovese". NYTimes. Retrieved 2013-08-15.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Legit, Elias (2013-08-14). "K. Michelle: Rebellious Soul". PopMatters. Retrieved 2013-08-15.
  16. ↑ Faulkner, Brent (2013-08-13). "Review: K. Michelle Has A ‘Rebellious Soul’". Starpulse. Retrieved 2013-08-15.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Ellis, Stacy-Ann (2013-08-13). "Review: K. Michelle's 'Rebellious Soul' LP Is Girl Talk, Unfiltered". VIBE. Retrieved 2013-08-13.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Tardio, Andres. "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 8/18/2013". HipHopDX. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  19. ↑ http://www.hitsdailydouble.com/sales/sales_ur.cgi
  20. ↑ http://www.amazon.com/Rebellious-Deluxe-Edition-ndash-Tracks/dp/B00EIS7VDE/
  21. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/artist/276636/k-michelle/chart?f=412