''Make It Hot'' is the debut studio album by American singer

Nicole Wray Nicole Monique Wray (born May 2, 1979), also known as Lady Wray, is an American singer and songwriter. Her 1998 debut single "Make It Hot" was certified gold. Early life Nicole Monique Wray was born on May 2, 1979, in Salinas, California, to ...

. The album was released in August 1998 through Missy Elliott's Elektra-distributed

vanity label A vanity label (see related topic on vanity press) is an informal name sometimes given to a record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometim ...

, The Goldmind. The album was produced by Missy Elliott and

Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer, rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. He has received widespread acclaim for his innovative production work and distinc ...

. Some editions of the release credit Nicole as ''Nicole Ray'', an artist name she only used here and on her single "I Can't See".

Critical reception

Michael Gallucci from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

gave ''Make It Hot'' "is virtually a textbook primer on Elliott's stylistic touch and influence on end-of-the-millennium hip-hop (she raps on, writes songs for, produces, and executive produces ''Make It Hot'' – and it's on her custom label). Along with pal Timbaland, Elliott transforms young Nicole's somewhat standard bow into a stuttering slab of post-rap R&B that's as sleekly modern as it is customarily cold." ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'' journalist Rob Brunner gave the album a B rating and concluded: "Even if the distinctive Missy-Timbaland sound is getting a little old, ''Hot'' proves the formula hasn’t gone cold just yet."

Chart performance

''Make It Hot'' reached number forty-two on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and number nineteen on the R&B album chart. The first single, "

Make It Hot ''Make It Hot'' is the debut studio album by American singer Nicole Wray. The album was released in August 1998 through Missy Elliott's Elektra-distributed vanity label, The Goldmind. The album was produced by Missy Elliott and Timbaland. Some ...

", reached number five on the Hot 100 chart, number two on the

R&B singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart, and was certified

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

. The second single, " I Can't See", reached number thirty-six on the

Rhythmic Top 40 The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, and previously named Rhythmic Songs, Rhythmic Top 40 and CHR/Rhythmic) is an airplay chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on ...

chart. In 1999, the third and final single from the album, "

Eyes Better Not Wander Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and conve ...

", reached number seventy-one on the R&B singles chart."Eyes Better Not Wander" (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs chart)
'' Billboard'', June 19, 1999.

Track listing

Limited Edition bonus disc

# Clipse - "We Get Money (Got Caught, Pt. 2)" #

Flipmode Squad Flipmode Squad is a hip hop collective founded and fronted by rapper Busta Rhymes. The first Flipmode album debuted in 1998 with ''The Imperial'', Rampage and Rah Digga went on to record solo efforts. In the move to J Records in 2000, Lord Hav ...

- "Everything" #

Yo Yo ''Yo Yo'', original title ''Yoyo'', is a 1965 French comedy film directed by and starring Pierre Étaix. The story follows the son of a millionaire from the 1920s to the 1960s. After losing his fortune in the stock-exchange crash, he teams up with ...

- "Do You Wanna Ride?" # Missy Elliott - "Get Contact" ¹ #

Coko Cheryl Elizabeth Gamble (formerly Clemons; born June 13, 1970), better known by her stage name Coko, is an American singer-songwriter best known as the lead singer of the R&B vocal trio Sisters With Voices (SWV). Aside from her R&B career, Gamble ...

- "He Be Back" ¹ #

En Vogue En Vogue is an American vocal girl group whose original lineup consisted of singers Terry Ellis, Dawn Robinson, Cindy Herron, and Maxine Jones. Formed in Oakland, California, in 1989, En Vogue reached No. 2 on the US Hot 100 with the single ...

- "No Fool No More" ¹ Denotes demo version

Personnel

Credits are taken from the album's liner notes. ;Instruments and performances * Davis Barnett –

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* Larry Gold –

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...

* Donald "Lenny" Holmes – bass,

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

* Emma Kummrow – violin * Brian Morgan –

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

* Nat The Great –

beatbox Beatboxing (also beat boxing) is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum machines (typically a TR-808), using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice.

* Igor Sewic –

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

;Technical and production * Executive producers: Missy Elliott, Merlin Bobb, Sylvia Rhone * Producers: Big Baby, Merlin Bobb, Missy Elliott, Kevin Hicks, Donald Holmes,

Brian Alexander Morgan Brian Alexander Morgan is an American record producer from Wichita, Kansas, United States, best known for his work writing and producing with the R&B group SWV. Career In his early 20s, Morgan recorded a demo tape with his childhood friend LaChe ...

, Tim Mosley, Sylvia Rhone, Smokey, Suga Mike,

* Vocal producer: Nicole Wray * Vocal assistance: Missy Elliott * Engineers: Claude "Swifty" Achille, Jimmy Douglas, Paul Falcone, Nat Foster, Eddie Hudson, Ted Reiger, Jon Smeltz, Stevie Sola * Assistant engineers: Chuck Bailey, Steve Macauley, Rob Murphy, Jason Rea * Mixing: Claude "Swifty" Achille, Kevin Davis, Jimmy Douglas, Paul Falcone, Nat Foster, Senator Jimmy D * Programming: Timbaland * Mastering: Herb Powers * Arranger: Missy Elliott, Nat Foster, Larry Gold, Brian Morgan,

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1998 debut albums Nicole Wray albums The Goldmind Inc. albums Albums produced by Missy Elliott Albums produced by Timbaland