''Release Some Tension'' is the third studio album by American R&B vocal group SWV. It was released by

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

on July 29, 1997. The album guest appearances by

E-40 Earl Tywone Stevens (born November 15, 1967), better known by his stage name E-40, is an American rapper. Stevens is a founding member of the rap group The Click (band), The Click and the founder of Sick Wid It Records. He has released 27 stud ...

Puff Daddy Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969), better known by his stage name Diddy, and formerly Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer, and record executive. Born in Harlem and raised in Mount Vernon, Combs worked as a ...

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott (born July 1, 1971), also known as Misdemeanor, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She began her musical career as a member of the Contemporary R&B, R&B girl group 4 All the Sistas Arou ...

Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer and rapper. Born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia, he is widely acclaimed for his distinctive production work and "stuttering" rhythm ...

, Foxy Brown,

Lil' Cease James Lloyd, better known by his stage name Lil' Cease, (; born August 20, 1977) is an American rapper and former member of hip hop group Junior M.A.F.I.A. Early life, family and education James Lloyd was born in Brooklyn, a borough of New Y ...

Lil' Kim Kimberly Denise Jones (born July 11, 1974), Those giving 1974 include: * * * * * better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper. She was born and raised in New York City and lived much of her adolescent life on the streets after ...

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

and Redman. The album was certified gold by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) for shipments exceeding 500,000 copies in the United States. The album features hits like "

Rain Rain is a form of precipitation where water drop (liquid), droplets that have condensation, condensed from Water vapor#In Earth's atmosphere, atmospheric water vapor fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is res ...

", " Someone", and " Can We". Another single " Lose My Cool" was slated to be released as the album's third single but due to limited radio airplay it was shelved in favor of "Rain" which became one of their most notable hits. The second single "Someone" reached number 19 on the ''Billboard'' charts and was certified gold by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

for sales of 500,000 copies. The girls and others claimed that this album was rushed and recording began while they were still promoting their second album '' New Beginning'' (1996).

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

senior editor

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...

found that "with their third album, SWV attempt to break away from the slick urban straitjacket and return to their hip-hop roots. In order to achieve their goal, the group hired a head-spinning array of producers and collaborators ..Considering all the extra starpower, it's not all that surprising that SWV occasionally become overwhelmed by their guests, but that doesn't prevent ''Release Some Tension'' from being a solid album, particularly when it's propelled by funky singles .." ''

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

'' wrote that the album "finds the sistas lifting their voices with rollicking dexterity and torchy soul, returning to what got them their multi-platinum status. Hip-hop phenoms Sean ”Puffy” Combs, Missy Elliott, and Redman add street cred and pop velocity."

Track listing

Notes * signifies a co-producer Sample credits *"Someone" embodies portions of " Ten Crack Commandments" as performed by

The Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in the New York rap scene and gangsta rap tradi ...

* "Release Some Tension" embodies portions of "Collage" as written by E. Green. *"Love Like This" embodies portions of "Raindance" as written and performed by

Jeff Lorber Jeffrey H. Lorber (born November 4, 1952) is an American keyboardist, composer, and record producer. After six previous nominations, Lorber won his first Grammy Award on January 28, 2018 for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for ''Prototype'' ...

. *"Give It Up" contains samples of "No Tricks" as performed by

The 45 King Mark Howard James (October 16, 1961 – October 19, 2023), professionally known as The 45 King and also known as DJ Mark the 45 King, was an American hip hop producer and DJ from The Bronx, New York. He began DJing in the mid-1980s. His pseudon ...

. *"Gettin' Funky" contains samples of "

Misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than admi ...

" as performed by Foster Sylvers.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* 1997 albums SWV albums Albums produced by Sean Combs Albums produced by Timbaland Pop albums by American artists {{1990s-R&B-album-stub