After the Storm

After the Storm
Studio album by Monica
Released	June 17, 2003 (2003-06-17) (see release history)
Recorded	2001–2003 Doppler Studios, Patchwerk Studios, SouthSide Studios (Atlanta, Georgia) Soulpower Studios, The Enterprise Studios (Los Angeles, California) Hit Factory Criteria (Miami, Florida)
Genre	R&B
Length	52:34
Label	J
Producer	BAM & Ryan, Bryan Michael Cox, Jasper DaFatso, Jermaine Dupri, Missy Elliott (also exec.), Rodney Jerkins, Jazze Pha, Monica, Soulshock & Karlin, Kanye West
Monica chronology
All Eyez on Me (2002) After the Storm (2003) The Makings of Me (2006)
Singles from After the Storm
"So Gone" Released: April 8, 2003 "Knock Knock/Get It Off" Released: September 2003 "U Should've Known Better" Released: May 18, 2004

After the Storm is the fourth studio album by American R&B singer Monica, released June 17, 2003, on J Records. Conceived from her abandoned project All Eyez on Me (2002), it was recorded during 2001 to 2003 at Doppler Studios, Patchwerk Studios, and SouthSide Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, Soulpower Studios and The Enterprise Studios in Los Angeles, California, and Hit Factory Criteria in Miami, Florida. Production for the album was handled primarily by Missy Elliott, Soulshock & Karlin, Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, and BAM & Ryan.

The album debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 186,000 copies in its first week. It produced three singles that attained Billboard chart success and has been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipments of one million copies in the United States. After the Storm received generally mixed to positive reviews from music critics. As of August 2010, the album has sold 1,023,000 copies in the United States.^[1]

Background

After the limited release and partial delay of All Eyez on Me, J Records asked Monica to substantially reconstruct the record with a host of new producers, and as a result the singer re-entered recording studios in January 2003 to begin working on new songs with producers Missy Elliott, Spike & Jamahl, Kanye West, BAM & Ryan, Jasper DaFatso, and Jazze Pha. While Elliott contributed four songs to the album and moreover replaced Jermaine Dupri as its executive producer, Monica also collaborated with rappers DMX, Dirtbag, Busta Rhymes and Mia X, and singers Tweet and Tyrese.^[2] Mýa also was originally going to lend her voice to a track, but she was eventually replaced by Faith Evans; the untitled song did not, however, make the final tracklisting.^[3]

Although the album was still planned to be titled All Eyez on Me until its completion, the singer decided to change the album title into a more personal matter after dealing with private tribulations between the years 2000 and 2002: "I wanted this to be more of my testimony", Monica told Jet Magazine.^[4] "I feel blessed to still be here after a lot of things that I've been through. I wanted to share certain things with people. Not so much as what I've been through, but how I made it through. That's what the album reflects ... It's really the reason I titled my album After the Storm."^[5]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[6]
Chicago Sun-Times	[7]
Entertainment Weekly	C+[8]
The Guardian	[9]
Los Angeles Times	[10]
The New York Times	favorable[11]
Rolling Stone	[12]
USA Today	[8]
The Village Voice	mixed[13]
The Washington Post	mixed[14]

The album debuted at number two on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. It entered at number one on the Billboard 200, with sales of 186,000 copies, as Monica's first number-one album to date, and ultimately spent 24 weeks on the chart.^[15] Sales declined soon but uniformly continuous, and After the Storm eventually received a gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America for shipments in excess of 500,000 copies in the US. As of August 2010, the record has sold 1,023,000 copies domestically.^[1] While the album opened at number six on the Canadian albums chart, it failed to enter the majority of the charts outside the United States.

Although "Don't Gotta Go Home", a duet with DMX, was considered to be released as a single at times,^[16] After the Storm spawned four singles: The album's lead single, "So Gone", became Monica's biggest commercial successes in years, reaching number 10 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and spending five consecutive weeks on top of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. It was eventually ranked fourth on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles 2003 year-end charts, but failed to chart or sell noticeably outside North America. Follow-up single "Knock Knock" never made it out of the lower half of the Billboard Hot 100, while simultaneously released "Get It Off" reached number 13 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. After the Storm's fourth and final single, "U Should've Known Better" received a late release in mid-2004 and became another top 20 hit for the singer.

Track listing

Sample credits

• "Get It Off" contains a sample of Strafe's 1984 "Set It Off".
• "So Gone" contains a sample of The Whispers' 1976 "Are You Number One".
• "Knock Knock" contains a sample of The Masqueraders' 1976 "It's a Terrible Thing to Waste Your Love".
• "I Wrote This Song" contains a sample of Shuggie Otis' 1970 "Aht Uh Mi Hed".
• "All Eyez on Me" contains a sample of Michael Jackson's 1982 "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)".
• "What Part of the Game" contains a sample of Pimp C' 1996 "Break 'Em off Somethin'.

Personnel

Musicians

• Montez Arnold – keyboard
• Eric D. Jackson – guitar
• Mark Kelly – bass
• Tommy Martin – guitar
• Billy Odum – guitar
• Charles Pettaway – guitar
• R.J. – guitar

Production

Chart history

Chart positions

Chart procession and succession

Release history

References

External links

• Official website
• After the Storm at Discogs