I Gotta Make It
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''I Gotta Make It'' is the debut
studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
by American R&B recording artist
Trey Songz Tremaine Aldon Neverson (born November 28, 1984), known professionally as Trey Songz, is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer and songwriter. After being discovered by record producer Troy Taylor (record producer), Troy Taylor in 2003, Songz ...
. It was released on July 26, 2005, by
Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...
. Recording sessions for the album took place from 2004 to 2005, with Songz' then mentor Troy Taylor overseeing most of the production. Additional producers include
Warryn Campbell Warryn Stafford Campbell, Jr. (born August 21, 1975) is an American record producer. He has worked with a number of contemporary gospel, gospel, hip hop and Contemporary R&B, R&B artists. Campbell originally got his start as a session musician a ...
, Scott Storch, J.R. Rotem, Bei Maejor, and Organized Noize. Guest vocalists include American
rapper Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...
s
Twista Carl Terrell Mitchell (born November 27, 1973), better known by his stage name Twista (also known as Tung Twista), is an American rapper. He is best known for his Chopper (rap), chopper style of rapping and for once holding the title of fastest ...
, Juvenile and
T.I. Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. (born September 25, 1980), known professionally as T.I. or Tip, is an American rapper and singer raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Harris is credited as a pioneer of the hip hop subgenre trap music, along with fellow Georgi ...
as well as R&B singer
Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...
. The album earned generally positive reviews from music critics who praised its production and Songz' vocal performance. ''I Gotta Make It'' debuted and peaked at number 20 on US ''Billboard'' 200, with first week sales of 40,000 copies, and eventually sold 400,000 units in the United States. The album was preceded by the release of its lead single " Gotta Make It" which reached the top 30 on the US
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 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. Follow-up " Gotta Go," released in July 2005, peaked at number 11 on the same chart.


Background

Record producer Troy Taylor was introduced to Songz through Songz's stepfather with whom Taylor attended high school, ultimately leading to Songz signing a recording contract with
Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...
in 2003. After graduating from Petersburg High School in 2002, Songz moved to
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
to begin recording his debut album, though recording did not actually begin until 2003. While recording his debut album in 2004, Songz released multiple mixtapes under the alias ''Prince of Virginia''. One of the mixtapes featured an "answer track" to R. Kelly's " Trapped in the Closet", entitled "Open the Closet". The song gave Songz some notoriety. When asked about the direction of his debut album, Songz said in 2005: "I had hip-hop instilled in me before R&B and then R. Kelly. I mixed rap into my singing so it flows R&B with hip-hop urgency. Its R&B but it feels like hip-hop. It's good R&B."


Critical reception

Margeaux Watson from ''
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, ...
'' described the album as "a sexy collection of eleven slow jams and thumping grooves that pay homage to
Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...
's golden era. The disc not only bridges the stylistic gap between
Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...
and R. Kelly, it warmly introduces hip-hop soul's finest new voice." ''
HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of Hip hop music, hip hop music criticism and news. ''HipHopDX'' has over 3.5M monthly readers, the website encompassing hip hop news, interviews, music, and reviews. The website's founder and CEO is Sharath C ...
'' called the album "a unique blend of R&B soul and funk with a mix of Trey Songz' spicy creativity and originality; A combination of hot production, smooth flowing vocals, and strong lyrics makes this a tight album ..''I Gotta Make It'' is a CD that eschews a breath of fresh air." Andy Kellman of
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 ...
said found that "while Songz is hopefully shaking off his obvious indebtedness to .Kelly here, ''I Gotta Make'' It is both very enjoyable and full of promise, carrying a fine balance between throwback and modern hip-hop soul. You can always sense that Songz is excited to be making an album; he doesn't even bother to affect a distant sense of cool, unlike so many of his youthful contemporaries, which is a definite asset." ''
Vibe Vibe, alternatively '' vibes,'' is short for ''vibration''. A "vibe" is an emotional reaction to the aura or energy felt to belong to a person, place or thing. Vibe may also refer to: People * DJ Vibe (born 1968), Portuguese DJ * Lasse Vibe (b ...
'' editor Letisha Marrero Songz's wrote that Songz' "11-track offering is cohesive but missing that mind-blowing club joint. Perhaps the understatement is by design, as it allows for particular attention to the singer's versatile writing." Will Lavin, writing for '' Gigwise'', felt that Songz' vocal performance on ''I Gotta Make It'' "showcases the rise of an artist destined for big things."


Chart performance

''I Gotta Make It'' debuted and peaked at number 20 on US ''Billboard'' 200 chart in the week August 13, 2005, selling 40,000 copies. In September 2010, ''Billboard'' reported that the album had sold 396,000 units in the United States by then.


Track listing

Notes * signifies vocal producer(s) * signifies co-producer(s) Sample credits * "Gotta Make It" contains elements from "It's Forever" performed by The Ebonys. * "Cheat on You" contains elements from "(Let Me Put) Love on Your Mind" performed by
Con Funk Shun Con Funk Shun (formerly known as Project Soul) is an American R&B and funk band from Vallejo, California, formed in 1969. They were influenced by funk progenitors James Brown and Sly and the Family Stone. Signed to Mercury Records in 1976, the ...
. * "Gotta Go" and "Gotta Go (Reprise)" contains elements from "Child" performed by 21st Century.


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Release history


References

{{Authority control Trey Songz albums 2005 debut albums Albums produced by Maejor Albums produced by Scott Storch Albums produced by J. R. Rotem Albums produced by Troy Taylor (record producer) Albums produced by Warryn Campbell Atlantic Records albums