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Ten years and four albums deep into a career while many singers her age are just getting started, Monica has now been through enough in her life to fully relate to all the subject matter she works with. Despite the title of the album and all her talk about making a more personal set of songs than before, she isn't credited as a songwriter on any of these ten songs -- all the more peculiar given that the songs she co-wrote on 2003's After the Storm were hardly problematic. She evidently went through some more storms and significant life experiences after she last recorded (including the birth of her son and a perhaps predictably rocky relationship with Young Buck), and though she wasn't involved in the songwriting process, she certainly sounds more connected to her material. After the obligatory club track -- the decent but ultimately forgettable "Everytime tha Beat Drop," featuring fellow Atlantans Dem Franchize Boyz -- The Makings of Me rolls through a concise and mostly sweet (if occasionally unremarkable) set of songs that don't depart far from After the Storm. Missy Elliott remains a valuable collaborator: the Curtis Mayfield-sampling "A Dozen Roses (You Remind Me)" is practically a replay of the similarly nostalgia-tinted "So Gone," albeit a welcomed one; "Doin' Me Right" is the album's "Knock Knock," providing yet another sweet twist on a soft-soul classic; "Gotta Move On" is a kiss-off dipped in honey. (The minor drawback to each of these songs is that Elliott has yet to find a discreet way to put a vocal stamp on her productions.) The Underdogs-produced "Sideline Ho" is the clearest instance where Monica didn't have to dig deep or put herself in someone else's shoes to sell her material: "Ain't you tired of being on the sideline?/Tired of getting yours after I get mine?" If she's the least bit jealous, the other woman would have no way of knowing.
© Andy Kellman /TiVo
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Monica, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Associated Performer - Dem Franchize Boyz, Associated Performer, Featured Artist - Monica featuring Dem Franchize Boyz, Associated Performer - J. Dupri, Composer, Lyricist - Jermaine Dupri, Mixing Engineer, Producer - L-Roc, Co-Producer - Jeffrey Phillips, Composer, Lyricist - Phil Tan, Mixing Engineer - J. Austin, Composer, Lyricist - Tadd Mingo, Recording Engineer - John Horesco IV, Recording Engineer - J. Willingham, Composer, Lyricist - Josh Houghkirk, Assistant Engineer - B. Leverette, Composer, Lyricist - G. Tiller, Composer, Lyricist - M. Gleaton, Composer, Lyricist - C.hammond, Composer, Lyricist - R. Hill, Composer, Lyricist - D. Hunt, Composer, Lyricist
(P) 2006 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Monica, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Associated Performer - Missy Elliott, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Corte Ellis, Composer, Lyricist, Recording Engineer - David "Davey Boy" Lindsey, Co-Producer - Cliff Jones, Co-Producer - Paul Falcone, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer - Curtis Mayfield, Composer, Lyricist
(P) 2006 J Records, a unit of SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Monica, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Associated Performer - Monica Arnold, Composer, Lyricist - The Underdogs, Associated Performer, Mixing Engineer, Producer - Tank, Associated Performer, Co-Producer, Composer, Lyricist - Dabling "Hobby Boy" Harward, Editor, Recording Engineer - Harvey Mason, Jr., Composer, Lyricist - Aaron Renner, Assistant Engineer - Riley Mackin, Assistant Engineer - Damon Thomas, Composer, Lyricist - Antonio Dixon, Composer, Lyricist - Eric Dawkins, Composer, Lyricist - Steve Russell, Composer, Lyricist
(P) 2006 J Records, a unit of SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Monica, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Associated Performer - Monica Arnold, Composer, Lyricist - Jermaine Dupri, Composer, Lyricist, Mixing Engineer, Producer - Manuel Seal, Co-Producer, Composer, Lyricist - John Horesco IV, Recording Engineer - Tadd Mingo, Assistant Engineer - Phil Tan, Mixing Engineer - Josh Houghkirk, Assistant Engineer - Harold Lilly, Composer, Lyricist
(P) 2006 J Records, a unit of SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Monica, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Associated Performer - Twista, Associated Performer, Featured Artist - Monica featuring Twista, Associated Performer - Bryan-Michael Cox, Associated Performer, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Sean Garrett, Co-Producer, Composer, Lyricist - Carl Mitchell, Composer, Lyricist - Sam Thomas, Editor, Recording Engineer - Phil Tan, Mixing Engineer - S. Vaughn Merrick, Recording Engineer
(P) 2006 J Records, a unit of SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Monica, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Associated Performer - Missy Elliott, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Lamb, Co-Producer - Miguel "Pro" Castro, Co-Producer - Paul J. Falcone, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer - Cainon Lamb, Composer, Lyricist - Miguel Castro, Composer, Lyricist - Craig Brockman, Composer, Lyricist - Corte Ellis, Composer, Lyricist, Recording Engineer - Wayne Bell, Composer, Lyricist
(P) 2006 J Records, a unit of SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Swizz Beatz, Associated Performer, Featured Artist, Producer - Monica, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Associated Performer - Monica featuring Swizz Beatz, Associated Performer - Kaseem Dean, Composer, Lyricist - Harold Lilly, Co-Producer, Composer, Lyricist - Cainon Lamb, Composer, Lyricist - Vernon Mungo, Recording Engineer - Angel Aponte, Recording Engineer - Loren Howard, Recording Engineer - Andrew Dawson, Mixing Engineer
(P) 2006 J Records, a unit of SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Monica, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Associated Performer - Monica Arnold, Composer, Lyricist - The Underdogs, Associated Performer, Mixing Engineer, Producer - Steve Russell, Associated Performer, Co-Producer, Composer, Lyricist - Dabling "Hobby Boy" Harward, Editor, Recording Engineer - Harvey Mason, Jr., Composer, Lyricist - Damon Thomas, Composer, Lyricist - Antonio Dixon, Composer, Lyricist - Eric Dawkins, Composer, Lyricist - Aaron Renner, Assistant Engineer - Tank, Composer, Lyricist
(P) 2006 J Records, a unit of SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Monica, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Associated Performer - Missy Elliott, Composer, Lyricist - Craig Brockman, Composer, Lyricist - Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, Producer - Craig X. Brockman, Co-Producer - Paul J. Falcone, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer - Corte Ellis, Recording Engineer - Charlene Keys
(P) 2006 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Monica, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Associated Performer - Monica Arnold, Composer, Lyricist - Jermaine Dupri, Mixing Engineer, Producer - P.J. Morton, Composer, Keyboards, Lyricist, Piano - Tom Knight, Drums - Carolyn Toll Hancock (soloist), Violin - Adelaide Federici, Violin - Helen Kim, Violin - Tania Maxwell Clements, Viola - Alice Lord, Viola - P. David Hancock, Cello - Karen Freer, Cello - Jackie Pickett, Bass - John Horesco IV, Recording Engineer - Tadd Mingo, Assistant Engineer - Phil Tan, Mixing Engineer - Josh Houghkirk, Assistant Engineer - Eddie Horst, Arranger
(P) 2006 J Records, a Unit of SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Album review
Ten years and four albums deep into a career while many singers her age are just getting started, Monica has now been through enough in her life to fully relate to all the subject matter she works with. Despite the title of the album and all her talk about making a more personal set of songs than before, she isn't credited as a songwriter on any of these ten songs -- all the more peculiar given that the songs she co-wrote on 2003's After the Storm were hardly problematic. She evidently went through some more storms and significant life experiences after she last recorded (including the birth of her son and a perhaps predictably rocky relationship with Young Buck), and though she wasn't involved in the songwriting process, she certainly sounds more connected to her material. After the obligatory club track -- the decent but ultimately forgettable "Everytime tha Beat Drop," featuring fellow Atlantans Dem Franchize Boyz -- The Makings of Me rolls through a concise and mostly sweet (if occasionally unremarkable) set of songs that don't depart far from After the Storm. Missy Elliott remains a valuable collaborator: the Curtis Mayfield-sampling "A Dozen Roses (You Remind Me)" is practically a replay of the similarly nostalgia-tinted "So Gone," albeit a welcomed one; "Doin' Me Right" is the album's "Knock Knock," providing yet another sweet twist on a soft-soul classic; "Gotta Move On" is a kiss-off dipped in honey. (The minor drawback to each of these songs is that Elliott has yet to find a discreet way to put a vocal stamp on her productions.) The Underdogs-produced "Sideline Ho" is the clearest instance where Monica didn't have to dig deep or put herself in someone else's shoes to sell her material: "Ain't you tired of being on the sideline?/Tired of getting yours after I get mine?" If she's the least bit jealous, the other woman would have no way of knowing.
© Andy Kellman /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 10 track(s)
- Total length: 00:38:13
- Main artists: Monica
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: J Records
- Genre: Soul/Funk/R&B R&B
(P) 2006 J Records, a unit of SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
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