After the Storm

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After the Storm
Studio album by Monica
Released	June 17, 2003 (North America) September 21, 2003 (EU)
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(s)	BAM & Ryan, Bryan Michael Cox, Jasper DaFatso, Jermaine Dupri, Missy Elliott, Rodney Jerkins, Jazze Pha, Kanye West, Soulshock & Karlin
Professional reviews
AMG link Guardian link The Situation link
Monica chronology
All Eyez on Me (2002)	After the Storm (2003)	The Makings of Me (2006)

After the Storm is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Monica, released by J Records on June 17, 2003 in the United States, on June 24, 2003 in Canada and on September 21, 2003 worldwide (see 2003 in music). It was released as a retooled version of her limited 2002 album All Eyez on Me which was partially scrapped after the first single's failure and an early leak via the internet. After the Storm debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, and was certified Platinum for more than 997,000 copies sold to date.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Production and title 1.2 Chart performance 1.3 Samples 2 Track listing 2.1 Limited Bonus CD 3 Credits and personnel 3.1 Production 4 Leftover tracks 5 Charts 5.1 Chart trajectories 6 References

[edit] History

[edit] Production and title

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 Ellliott 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. 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.^[1]

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.^[2] "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."^[3]

[edit] Chart performance

The album debuted at number two on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart, and on top of the official Billboard 200, with sales of 186,000 copies (selling 3,000 more copies than Luther Vandross' Dance with My Father) emerging as Monica's first and only number-one album to date. Sales declined soon but uniformly continuous, and After the Storm eventually received a platinum certification for more than 1,000,000 copies shipped to stores.^[4] As of February 2007, the record has sold more than 997,000 copies domestically.^[5] While the album opened at number 6 on the Canadian albums chart, it failed to enter the majority of the charts outside the United States.

Though "Don't Gotta Go Gome", a duet with DMX, was considered to be released as a single at times,^[6] 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.

[edit] Samples

• "Get It Off" samples Strafe's 1984 "Set It Off"
• "So Gone" samples The Whispers' 1976 "Are You Number One"
• "Knock Knock" samples The Masqueraders' 1976 "It's a Terrible Thing to Waste Your Love"
• "I Wrote This Song" samples Shuggie Otis' 1970 "Aht Uh Mi Hed"
• "What Part of the Game" samples Pimp C' 1996 "Break 'Em Off Somethin'"

[edit] Track listing

#	Title
1.	"Intro"	1:04
2.	"Get It Off" (featuring Dirtbag)	4:19
3.	"So Gone"	4:02
4.	"U Should've Known Better"	4:17
5.	"Don't Gotta Go Home" (featuring DMX)	3:55
6.	"Knock Knock"	4:18
7.	"Breaks My Heart"	4:26
8.	"I Wrote This Song"	3:48
9.	"Ain't Gonna Cry No More"	4:10
10.	"Go to Bed Mad" (featuring Tyrese)	4:37
11.	"Hurts the Most"	4:44
12.	"That's My Man"	4:34
13.	"Outro" (featuring Busta Ryhmes)	4:20
14.	"All Eyez on Me" (Japanese bonus track)	3:32

[edit] Limited Bonus CD

#	Title
1.	"Too Hood" (featuring Jermaine Dupri)	3:55
2.	"Down 4 Whatever"	4:47
3.	"What Part of the Game" (featuring Mia X)	4:43
4.	"Searchin'"	4:34
5.	"So Gone" (video)	3:45

[edit] Credits and personnel

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

[edit] Production

• Album producers: Monica Arnold, Clive Davis
• Executive producers: Missy Elliott
• Producers: BAM & Ryan, Craig Brockman, Bryan Michael Cox, Jasper DaFatso, Darkchild, DJ Scratchator, Jermaine Dupri, Missy Elliott, Jazze Pha, Kanye West, Soulshock & Karlin, Spike & Jamahl
• Vocal producer: Monica, LaShawn Daniels, Andre "Mister Deyo" Deyo, Harold Lilly, Tommy Niblack
• Vocal assistance: Isaac Carree, Shamora Crawford, New Birth Praise Team, Tweet
• Engineers: Rich Balmer, Carlos Bedoya, Demacio Castellon, Brian Frye, Carlton Lynn, Bill Malina, Fabian Marasciullo, Michael McCoy, Sam Thomas, Arnold Wolfe
• Assistant engineers: Marcella Araica, Jimmy Briggs, Ralph Cacciurri, John Horesco IV, Marc Stephen Lee, Tadd Mingo, Rabeka Tuinei, Javier Valverde, Chris Young
• Mixing: Mr. Leslie Braithwaite, Jermaine Dupri, Scott Kieklak, Carlton Lynn, Fabian Marasciullo, Manny Marroquin, Dexter Simmons, Phil Tan
• Product Coordination: Candice Childress, Melinda Dancil
• A&R: Larry Jackson
• Additional A&R: Keith Naftaly
• Design: Alexis Yraola
• Art Direction: Alexis Yraola
• Art Dept. Production: Chris Lebeau
• Photography: Warwick Saint

[edit] Leftover tracks

• "Ain't Gonna Work" (written by Kenneth Karlin, Andrea Martin, Carsten Schack) [1]
• "Best Friend" (produced by Missy Elliott) [2]
• "Girl, Please" [3]
• "I Love Your ..." (written by Rashan Grooms) [4]

[edit] Charts

Year	Chart	Peak position
2003	U.S. The Billboard 200	1
2003	U.S. Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums	2

[edit] Chart trajectories

Billboard 200
Week	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24
Position	1	7	12	31	30	22	11	19	24	49	60	80	96	106	120	139	152	167	142	131	158	179	186	195

[edit] References

Preceded by Dance With My Father by Luther Vandross

Billboard 200 Number 1 Album July 5, 2003 - July 11, 2003

Succeeded by Dangerously in Love by Beyoncé