''A Jagged Era'' is the debut studio album by American R&B group Jagged Edge, released on October 21, 1997, by

So So Def So So Def Recordings is an American record label based in Atlanta, Georgia, founded by producer Jermaine Dupri in 1993. Specializing in Southern hip hop, R&B, and bass music, the label has signed musical acts such as Bow Wow, Kris Kross, Xsca ...

and

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. The quartet worked with So So Def head

Jermaine Dupri Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper and record producer. Raised in Atlanta, Georgia as the son of Columbia Records executive Michael Mauldin, he began his career in music at the age of nine. He discovered th ...

and his protégé

Manuel Seal Manuel Lonnie Seal, Jr. (born September 26, 1960) is an American multi-instrumentalist, record producer, composer, singer, songwriter, vocal coach, and arranger. He has been credited, often in tandem with Jermaine Dupri, on releases by Mariah Ca ...

on the majority of the album. Additional production was provided by Gary Smith, Darcy Aldridge, Carl Breedings, Flash Technology, and Them Damn Twins. The album peaked at a number 104 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and at number 19 on the

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip-hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...

. Despite its disappointing peak, it was moderately successful with sales of over 500,000 copies in the United States, earning a Gold certification 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). ''A Jagged Era'' produced two singles, including "The Way That You Talk" and follow-up "I Gotta Be," the latter of which peaked at number 23 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Promotion

Three singles from the album were released. Lead single "The Way That You Talk" peaked at a number 34 on ''Billboard'' US

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks 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, while becoming their first single to chart on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Follow-up "I Gotta Be" performed better on the charts, peaking at number 11 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart and number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the first Top 40 single. "I Gotta Be" had two videos shot for the song, one in 1997 and one in 1998 which featured Jagged Edge with members of

Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final lineup comprised Beyoncé, Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams (singer), Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Hou ...

, with

Kelly Rowland Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling gir ...

in the first shot,

LeToya Luckett LeToya Luckett-Coles (born March 11, 1981) is an American R&B singer and actress. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a founding member of the R&B girl group Destiny's Child, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. As a mem ...

in the second shot,

LaTavia Roberson LaTavia Marie Roberson is an American R&B singer. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as an original member of the R&B group Destiny's Child, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. During her time as a member, Roberson record ...

in third and

Beyoncé Knowles Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most culturally significant figu ...

in the final shot before Jagged Edge takes over the rest of the video.

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 ...

editor John Bush wrote: "A

Bone Thugs-n-Harmony Bone Thugs-n-Harmony (formerly known as B.O.N.E. Enterpri$e and also referred to as simply Bone Thugs or Bone) is an American hip hop group formed in 1991 in Cleveland, Ohio. Consisting of rappers Bizzy Bone, Wish Bone, Layzie Bone, Krayzie ...

with more polish to their harmonies and fewer rough edges image-wise, Jagged Edge performs well on their debut album ..There are a few songs that don't work at all on ''A Jagged Era'', but for the most part, the quartet sounds interesting." ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' noted that ''A Jagged Era'' was "packed with potential hits."

Commercial performance

''A Jagged Era'' peaked at number 104 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and number 19 on the

chart. On December 3, 1998, it was certified Gold by the

(RIAA) based on shipments figures in excess of 500,000 units. By June 2001, the album had sold 613,000 units domestically. In 2009, ''A Jagged Era'' was the best-selling album in cassette format.

Track listing

Notes * denotes co-producer(s) Sample credits *"Ain't No Stoppin'" contains a portion of " Don't Stop the Music" (1980) performed by

Yarbrough and Peoples Yarbrough and Peoples was an American urban contemporary duo from Dallas, Texas. The duo’s biggest-selling release was " Don't Stop the Music," a US ''Billboard'' R&B chart topper in 1981. Career Cavin Leon Yarbrough (January 22, 1954 – Ju ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jagged Era, A Jagged Edge (American group) albums 1997 debut albums Albums produced by Jermaine Dupri