After the Storm
Monica in a white dress standing on a wet runway in front of the wing of a plane, with a somewhat cloudy sky at sunset behind her, with her name and the title to the right.
Studio album by
Monica
ReleasedJune 17, 2003 (2003-06-17)
GenreR&B[1]
Length52:34
LabelJ
Producer
Monica chronology
All Eyez on Me
(2002)		 After the Storm
(2003)		 The Makings of Me
(2006)
Singles from After the Storm
  1. "So Gone"
    Released: April 8, 2003
  2. "Knock Knock"/"Get It Off"
    Released: September 2003
  3. "U Should've Known Better"
    Released: May 18, 2004

After the Storm is the fourth studio album by American singer Monica. It was first released on June 17, 2003 through J Records. Created over a period of three years, in which Monica experienced personal struggles and its original version, All Eyez on Me, was delayed numerous times following the moderate success of single "All Eyez on Me" as well as the leak to Internet file-sharing services and heavy bootlegging after its Japan-wide release, Monica decided to scrap most of the album in favor of new material for which she consulted new collaborators such as Missy Elliott, who would receive executive producer credit due to her predominant share of contributions on the album.

The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, Monica's first album to do so, and sold 185,500 copies in its first week. It produced three singles that attained Billboard chart success, including Billboard Hot 100 top ten hit "So Gone" and R&B hit "U Should've Known Better," and has been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipments of over 500,000 copies in the United States.[2] After the Storm received generally mixed to positive reviews from music critics. As of November 2014, the album has sold 1,070,000 copies in the United States.[3]

Background

Following the release of her second album The Boy Is Mine (1998) and her contribution to "I've Got to Have It", a collaboration with Jermaine Dupri and rapper Nas, recorded for the soundtrack of the 2000 comedy film Big Momma's House, Monica took a hiatus from her recording career. During the hiatus, she tied up filming commitments on J. J. Abrams's prime time drama series Felicity and the theatrical film Boys and Girls and garnered a starring role in the MTV Films drama Love Song.[4] In an interview with MTV News amid promotion for Oscar Mayer's Jingle Jam Talent Search contest in June 2000, Monica revealed that she was planning to start work on her third album throughout the summer season, with a first single to be released by October of the same year.[5]

In the following month, personal tribulations put a temporary halt on the album's production, when her friend and former boyfriend Jarvis "Knot" Weems committed suicide.[6] Knot left behind a daughter from a previous relationship, who Monica took into care after going into hiatus.[7] She eventually resumed work on her third album in fall 2001, involving her usual stable of producers such as Dallas Austin, production team Soulshock & Karlin, Jermaine Dupri, and Rodney Jerkins and his Darkchild crew.[8] Though originally expected to be released worldwide, All Eyez on Me received a wide release on October 21, 2002 in Japan only.[9] The set was initially scheduled for a US release in July 2002 and then pushed back to September before a final November 12 release date.[8][10] At the time it was scheduled for domestic release However, All Eyez on Me had been heavily bootlegged in Japan and become widely available through Internet file-sharing services.[6] In addition, the first two singles from the project, "All Eyez on Me" and "Too Hood", had experienced moderate chart success.[6]

Conceptualization

With the market evolving very quickly and the sound of urban radio shifting to hip hop and edgier artistry,[11] J Records asked Monica to substantially reconstruct the record with a host of new producers, leading to the cancellation of the US release of All Eyez on Me.[11] After the commercial failure of original lead single "All Eyez on Me"—a sunny, upbeat groove with a pop feel that the label thought had misled audiences into believing that she was trying to break away from her core R&B fan base[11]—Monica agreed that she would once again return to the studio, significantly raising the financial stakes of the project.[11] Fresh from the success of her album Under Construction (2002), the label consulted rapper-producer Missy Elliott to work with her.[11] While the pair had never worked together before, Monica, who had felt increasingly frustrated that the album still did not reflect where she wanted to go artistically after a series of unfruitful recording sessions, connected with Elliott after their first night in a studio in Miami where the rapper had played demos with old-school soul sounds to her.[11]

Elliott recorded three full-length songs with Monica that altered the course of the album and prompted J Records to replace former executive producer Jermaine Dupri with her.[6] Additional recording sessions were set up with producers BAM & Ryan, Jasper DaFatso, and Jazze Pha,[6] with rappers DMX, Dirtbag, Busta Rhymes and Mia X, and singers Tweet and Tyrese joining.[12] Labelmate Mýa was originally set to lend her voice to a track, but was eventually replaced by Faith Evans; the untitled song did not, however, make the final track listing.[12] Although the album was still planned to be titled All Eyez on Me until its completion, the singer decided to change the album title to a more personal one after years of private tribulations: "I wanted this to be more of my testimony," Monica told Jet Magazine in 2003.[13] "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."[14] In 2016, she further commented: "Everything about After the Storm was about my life after the hardship. This album came when I felt whole enough to make a record again."[15]

Songs

The standard edition of After the Storm comprises thirteen tracks, five of which were transferred from All Eyez on Me.[11] It opens with "Intro", a skit about people stuck in a traffic jam that ends in a drive-by shooting provoked by someone, voiced by Missy Elliott, playing Monica's "So Gone" too loudly.[16] After the Storm then launches into the Elliott-crafted song "Get It Off", a club-friendly,[17] percussive,[1] 1980s-style jam with a percolating groove,[18] that samples American hip hop group Strafe's single "Set It Off" (1984) and features uncredited vocals from rapper Dirtbag.[11] Third track "So Gone", another retro-soul song,[18] has a 1970s soul groove that samples from American vocal group the Whispers' "You Are Number One" (1976) and is built upon old-school touches including horns and vinyl surface noise.[1] Elliott convinced Monica to record a rap portion for the song, which is about a woman almost losing her mind over an unfaithful lover.[19] The singer explores a painful personal relationship on "U Should've Known Better",[20] a Jermaine Dupri-produced slow jam, set against a pulsating backbeat, about a girl who stands by her man during his jail term.[21] Critics noted that it alludes to Monica's relationship with C-Murder, who was arrested in connection with murder in 2002.[22]

Missy Elliott (pictured) replaced Jermaine Dupri as After the Storm's executive producer.[1]

Monica plays the other woman in "Don't Gotta Go Home", a sassy, guitar-led duet, produced by BAM & Ryan, with rapper DMX as her straying husband.[20] "Knock Knock", a "get back record" and thematic sequel to "So Gone",[23] also produced by Elliott, similarly features old-school soul sounds, sampling from American vocal band The Masqueraders' "It's a Terrible Thing to Waste Your Love" (1976).[11] It was described as "erotic boogie fare",[1] in which she sends away a lover who used to take her for granted.[24] Rapper Kanye West, whose mixtape track "Apologize" (2005) the Monica song is based on, is credited as a co-producer.[22] "Breaks My Heart", produced by Danish duo Soulshock and Karlin, is a "heartbreaking personal lament" in which "a classic slow rhythm-and-blues piano rolls",[20] while the singer "apologizes to the man who stayed with her despite her affairs".[24] Eighth track "I Wrote This Song", neatly set off by a sample from American singer Shuggie Otis' "Aht Uh Mi Hed" (1970), deals with Weems' suicide.[25] Monica commented that writing the song was a healing process for her as well as a "way of sharing the intimate situation between [them]."[25]

Rodney Jerkins-produced "Ain't Gonna Cry No More" was described as an upbeat "angry kiss-off".[24] "Go to Bed Mad", a duet with singer Tyrese, is a "soulful" and "heartfelt jam" that has a couple asking each other to compromise after an argument before they go to bed at night.[26] On pop ballad "Hurts the Most", another Soulshock and Karlin contribution, consisting of acoustic guitars and an understated drum pattern,[26] Monica says goodbye to a former lover who has entered a new relationship since their last meeting, though she still pines for him.[24] Jazze Pha-produced "That's My Man" is an acoustic-guitar-laced mid-tempo track, talking about a woman's proudness of her man.[18] The standard edition of After the Storm ends with "Outro", a remix version of "So Gone", that features rapper Busta Rhymes as well as more prominent background vocals from singer Tweet.[21] Monica admitted that she was initially intimidated by recording her rhymes alongside Rhymes.[21] Bonus track "Too Hood", an upbeat song produced and featuring Dupri, was described as "an image-mongering song in which Monica tells a guy who's not rough enough that she's 'too hood' for" him.[24]

Singles

After the Storm spawned four singles. Lead single "So Gone" became Monica's biggest commercial successes in years, reaching number 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and spent five consecutive weeks on top of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. It was eventually ranked fourth on the 2003 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs year-end chart.[27] Follow-up single "Knock Knock" did not make it out of the lower half of the Billboard Hot 100, while the 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. "Don't Gotta Go Home", a collaboration with rapper DMX, was considered for release as the album's third single.[28]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[29]
Chicago Sun-Times[30]
Entertainment WeeklyB−[31]
The Guardian[16]
Los Angeles Times[1]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[32]
USA Today[20]

After the Storm received generally mixed to positive reviews from music critics. AllMusic editor Andy Kellman gave the album four out of five stars and found that it picked up where previous album The Boy Is Mine "left off with nary a speed bump. Rather than come across as if there's lost time being made up, the album has all the assuredness and smart developments that should keep Monica's younger longtime followers behind her – all the while holding the ability to appeal to a wider spectrum of R&B and hip-hop fans [...] with just the right amount of swagger added to the singer's more wide-eyed personality of the '90s."[29] Caroline Sullivan from The Guardian commented that while "executive producer Missy Elliott is reliably ebullient on the burbling party number "Get It Off", and her enthusiasm clearly rubbed off on Monica [...] things plod a bit in the second half, though, making After the Storm more it'll-do than must-buy."[16]

Vanessa Jones from Entertainment Weekly also called the non-Elliott-produced material mediocre, noting that "super producer Missy Elliott tarts things up with a trio of streetwise party anthems. Otherwise, in between are bland ballads and derivative midtempo tunes that often fail to match the creative heights of Monica's lush, church-trained voice. Only on a four-track bonus CD do vocals and music achieve equal footing as the singer moves beyond hackneyed beats to explore gospel, hip-hop, and quiet-storm grooves."[31] Natalie Nichols of the Los Angeles Times also complimented Elliott's input on the album. She added that "great R&B moments have come from singers who dwell on tragedy as intensely as on overcoming. Clearly, the title After the Storm implies moving on rather than wallowing, but the album too often feels generic, despite the personal sentiments Monica lets out [...] So maybe she should've dwelt a little more, at that."[1] The Village Voice critic Allison Stewart found that After the Storm "dissolves into a pillowy mixture of limpid ballads and self-help expositions from which it never recovers."[33]

Commercial performance

After the Storm became Monica's first number-one album in the United States debuting on the Billboard 200 with first week sales of 185,500, during the week ending on July 5, 2003.[34][35] As of 2020, this remains her highest-selling week within her discography. On the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart the album debuted at 84 and reached its peak at number two, the following week later.[36] On July 17, 2003, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for exceeding domestic shipments in excess of 500,000 copies.[37] After spending 24 consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200, Billboard ranked it at number 104 on their year-end chart.[38] The album also placed at number 36 on their Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums year-end chart.[39] By March 2007 After the Storm had sold 997,000 copies,[40] and as of August 2010 the album's total sales stand at over 1,070,000 copies sold in the US, according to Billboard.[3] In Canada the album peaked at number 56, meanwhile in the United Kingdom it debuted and peaked at number 32 on the UK R&B Albums Chart.[41][42]

Track listing

Standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Intro"
  • Elliott
1:04
2."Get It Off" (featuring Dirtbag)
  • Elliott
  • Herbet Jordan
  • Brockman
  • Steve Standard
  • Dirtbag
  • Elliott
  • DJ Scratchator[a]
  • Brockman[b]
4:19
3."So Gone"
  • Elliott
  • Kenneth Cunningham
  • Jamahl Rye
  • Zyah Ahmounel
  • Elliott
  • Spike & Jamahl[a]
4:02
4."U Should've Known Better"
4:17
5."Don't Gotta Go Home" (featuring DMX)
BAM & Ryan3:55
6."Knock Knock"
  • Elliott
  • West[a]
4:18
7."Breaks My Heart"
Soulshock & Karlin4:26
8."I Wrote This Song"
Soulshock & Karlin3:48
9."Ain't Gonna Cry No More"
Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins4:10
10."Go to Bed Mad" (featuring Tyrese)
BAM & Ryan4:37
11."Hurts the Most"
  • Soulshock & Karlin
  • Biker
4:44
12."That's My Man"
Pha4:34
13."So Gone (Remix)" (featuring Busta Rhymes; listed as "Outro")
  • Arnold
  • Elliott
  • Cunningham
  • Rye
  • Ahmounel
  • Elliott
  • Brockman
4:20
Total length:52:34
Japanese bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
14."All Eyez on Me"
Darkchild4:03
Total length:56:37
Limited edition bonus CD and iTunes Store deluxe edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Too Hood" (featuring Jermaine Dupri)
  • Arnold
  • Dupri
  • Lilly
4:05
2."Down 4 Whatever"
  • Arnold
  • Daniels
Darkchild4:39
3."What Part of the Game" (featuring Mia X)
  • Arnold
  • Mia Young
  • Raymond Pool Percy
  • Chad Butler
Jasper Da Fatso3:08
4."Searchin'" (North American bonus CD only)
  • Arnold
  • Lilly
Cox4:27
5."So Gone" (video)   
Total length:16:19

Notes

  • ^a signifies a co-producer
  • ^b signifies an additional producer

Sample credits[43]

  • "Get It Off" contains a sample of Strafe's 1984 "Set It Off".
  • "So Gone" contains a sample of The Whispers' 1976 "You Are 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 He'd".
  • "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's 1996 "Break 'Em Off Somethin'".

Personnel

Production

  • Monica Arnold – album producer
  • Melinda Dancil – executive album coordinator
  • Clive Davis – album producer
  • Missy Elliott – executive producer
  • DeVyne Stephens – creative direction

Performance credits

Visuals and imagery

Instruments

Technical

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for After the Storm
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[37] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates and formats for After the Storm
Region Date Format(s) Label Edition(s) Ref
United States June 17, 2003
  • CD
  • digital download
 J Records Standard
Canada June 24, 2003
Japan June 25, 2003 BMG Japan
United Kingdom June 30, 2003 NuLife
Europe September 21, 2004 J Records

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Nichols, Natalie (June 22, 2003). "Maybe she's too quick to move on". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Gold & Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America.
  3. 1 2 Trust, Gary (August 6, 2010). "Ask Billboard: As Years Go By". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 5, 2016. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  4. ↑ "The Job Is Mine!". NME. 8 November 2000. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
  5. ↑ "Monica: Jingle Jamming". MTV News. MTV.com. 1 June 2000. Archived from the original on 2013-12-13. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Mumbi Moody, Nekesa (2003-06-27). "Monica Triumphs Over Tragedy After the Storm". Enquirer. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
  7. ↑ "Monica: It's Different Now". MTV News. MTV.com. 18 April 2001. Archived from the original on 2013-12-13. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  8. 1 2 "Superstar Monica Selects Self-Titled Album". Business Wire. 27 June 2002. Retrieved 25 November 2007.
  9. ↑ Casanova, Tara. "Music Sheet: Inspired by Tragedy: Enter Monica". Blackflix.com. Archived from the original on 14 March 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
  10. ↑ Salomon, Yves Erwin (5 September 2002). "Monica's 'All Eyez On Me' Due In November". Yahoo! Music. Archived from the original on 2013-01-05. Retrieved 25 November 2007.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Monica's new album is a smash, but getting there was a long, hard road (interview)". randbeing.com. July 6, 2003. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  12. 1 2 "Missy, DMX, Tyrese To Give Monica's New LP Extra Oomph". MTV News. Archived from the original on 2007-10-01. Retrieved 2006-02-10.
  13. ↑ "Monica shares life's lessons on new CD After the Storm". Jet Magazine. Retrieved 2006-02-10.
  14. ↑ "Monica After the Storm – Center Stage". Ebony Magazine. Archived from the original on 2005-01-29. Retrieved 2006-02-10.
  15. ↑ Starling, Lakin (August 24, 2016). "Monica Explains Why The #SoGoneChallenge Means So Much To Her". The Fader. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  16. 1 2 3 Sullivan, Caroline (July 4, 2003). "Monica: After the Storm". The Guardian. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  17. ↑ "After the Storm: Review". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. June 26, 2003. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  18. 1 2 3 Arnold, Chuck (June 30, 2003). "Picks and Pans Review: After the Storm". People. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  19. ↑ Christian, Margena A. (July 28, 2003). "Monica: shares life's lessons on new CD 'After The Storm'". Jet Magazine. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  20. 1 2 3 4 Jones, Steve (June 17, 2003). "Monica's 'Storm' brews; Hall weathers less well; Quirky 'Anthology' is antidote for 'Idol' amateurs". USA Today. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  21. 1 2 3 Racha Penrice, Ronda (July 3, 2003). "Older, wiser and in control". creativeloafing.com. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  22. 1 2 Hereford, Sharee (July 16, 2018). "A Look Back at Monica's 'After the Storm': From Losses to Lessons". theboombox.com. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  23. ↑ Moss, Corey (July 7, 2003). "'Knock Knock,' Who's There? Monica And Missy Elliott, Bringing The Heat". MTV News. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  24. 1 2 3 4 5 Pareles, Jon (July 8, 2003). "New CD's; A Midsummer Night's Steam". The New York Times. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  25. 1 2 C., Jeff (October 28, 2002). "Monica Gets Personal On 'I Wrote This Song'". rnbdirt.com. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  26. 1 2 Dene, Lewis. "After The Storm presents a different aspect of Monica's musicality, displaying the..." bbc.co.uk. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  27. ↑ "2003 Year End Chart: R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. December 27, 2003. Archived from the original on 2012-09-29. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  28. ↑ Moss, Corey (December 3, 2003). "Monica Sees What It's Like To Be DMX's Mistress On Likely Next Single". MTV News. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  29. 1 2 Kellman, Andy. "After the Storm Review". AllMusic. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  30. ↑ Myers, Angela. "Monica, 'After the Storm'". Chicago Sun-Times: 11. July 13, 2003. (Transcription of original review at talk page)
  31. 1 2 Jones, Vanessa (July 18, 2003). "After the Storm". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  32. ↑ Hoard, Christian. "The Rolling Stone Album Guide". Rolling Stone: 553. November 2, 2004.
  33. ↑ Stewart, Allison (August 12, 2003). "22 Going on 40 or Not". The Village Voice. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  34. ↑ Mayfield, Geoff (July 5, 2003). "Monica 'Storms' to First No.1 Album". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  35. ↑ "Billboard 200". Billboard. July 5, 2003. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  36. ↑ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. July 5, 2003. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  37. 1 2 "American album certifications – Monica – After the Storm". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
  38. 1 2 "Billboard 200: Year End 2003". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2015-12-15. Retrieved 2017-11-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  39. 1 2 "R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: Year End 2003". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2015-07-19. Retrieved 2015-06-15.
  40. ↑ Caulfield, Keith (March 2, 2007). "Ask Billboard - The Makings of Monica". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2015-06-21. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  41. 1 2 "Albums : Top 100". Jam!. Archived from the original on July 5, 2003. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  42. ↑ "Official Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. July 6, 2003. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
  43. ↑ "After the Storm". Discogs. Retrieved 2013-12-10.
  44. ↑ "Chart Log UK: 1994–2010: M – My Vitriol". Zobbel. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  45. ↑ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  46. ↑ "Monica Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
  47. ↑ "Monica Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
  48. ↑ "R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: Year End 2004". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2015-07-19. Retrieved 2015-06-15.
  49. ↑ Mitchell, Gail (May 24, 2003). "Rhythm, Rap, and The Blues". Billboard. Vol. 115, no. 21. p. 19. Retrieved September 10, 2023. Monica's long-anticipated J set, After the Storm, arrives June 17.
  50. ↑ "アフター・ザ・ストーム" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
  51. ↑ "New Releases — For Week Starting 30 June 2003" (PDF). Music Week. June 28, 2003. p. 30. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
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