''Cheers 2 U'' is the only studio album by American R&B group Playa, released March 24, 1998, on

Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The l ...

subsidiary

Def Soul Def Soul was an R&B-based division of American multinational record label Def Jam Recordings. It was formed in 1996 by Russell Simmons and Kevin Liles to expand R&B and soul music through Def Jam's said genre-related roster following the successe ...

Background

The album was originally going to be named

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

ously, and release was planned for October 1997. Later,

Static Static may refer to: Places *Static Nunatak, a nunatak in Antarctica United States * Static, Kentucky and Tennessee *Static Peak, a mountain in Wyoming ** Static Peak Divide, a mountain pass near the peak Science and technology Physics *Static e ...

named the album ''Cheers 2 U'' after one of their songs. It was primarily produced by Smokey 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 ...

. All three members share lead vocals on most songs, with Static dueting with

Aaliyah Aaliyah Dana Haughton (; January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was an American singer and actress. She has been credited for helping to redefine contemporary R&B, pop and hip hop, earning her the nicknames the "Princess of R&B" and "Q ...

on "One Man Woman", Black leading "Everybody Wanna Luv Somebody", and Black and Smokey handling leads on the title track.

Release and reception

The album peaked at number 86 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and reached 19 on the

R&B 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 Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated Jan ...

chart. Leo Stanley of

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 dat ...

called the album "a promising debut" and also referred to it as a work of "enormous potential".

Track listing

Personnel

Information taken from

. *Arranging, vocals and backing vocals – Playa *Assistant engineering – Wayne Allison, Victor Bruno, James Rosenthal *Assistant mixing – James Rosenthal, Todd Wachsmuth *Engineering – Wayne Allison,

Jimmy Douglass Jimmy Douglass, also known as "The Senator", is an American recording engineer and record producer. His career has spanned more than four decades. Career In the early 1970s at Atlantic Records studios in New York City, he started his studio ca ...

, Rob Paustian, Steve Sola, Timbaland *Executive production –

Barry Hankerson Barry Hankerson (born August 3, 1947) is an American record producer, music label owner and manager. Hankerson is the founder of Blackground Records. He is the uncle of singer and actress Aaliyah. Career Born and raised in Harlem, New York C ...

, Jomo Hankerson *Guitar – Bill Pettaway *Keyboards – Kerie Cooper *Mixing – Conley Abrams, Jimmy Douglass, Timbaland *Performer(s) – Aaliyah, Magoo, Missy Elliott, Foxy Brown *Photography –

Jonathan Mannion Jonathan Mannion (born December 3, 1970) is a photographer and film director. Mannion has shot over 300 album covers working with hip hop and R&B performers including Jay Z, Dr. Dre, Aaliyah, Outkast, Nas, Nicki Minaj, Brandy Norwood and Kendrick ...

*Production – James Earl Jones III, Derick "D Man" McElveen, Smokey, Timbaland *Programming – Derick "D Man" McElveen *Vocal arrangement – James Earl Jones III, Playa, Static

Charts

Album

Singles

References

External links

*
Cheers 2 U
' at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

{{Authority control 1998 debut albums Albums produced by Dr. Dre Albums produced by Timbaland Def Jam Recordings albums Playa (band) albums