''Reality'' is the fourth album by the American R&B singer Smooth. It was released on March 10, 1998, through

Perspective Records Perspective Records is an American record label, launched in 1991 by the producing team Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, through a joint venture with A&M Records—which Jam & Lewis had had a prosperous working relationship with throughout the 1980s, wi ...

, and contained production from Chris Stokes and the production duo

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III (born June 6, 1959) and Terry Steven Lewis (born November 24, 1956) are an American R&B/pop songwriting and record production team. They have enjoyed great success since the 1980s with various artists, most ...

. It was her first album for Perspective. ''Reality'' peaked at No. 48 on the

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine that ranks contemporary R&B, R&B and hip hop music, hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. Th ...

. It peaked at No. 32 on the

Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...

. The album contained Smooth's biggest hit, "

Strawberries The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown Hybrid (biology), hybrid species of the genus ''Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The f ...

", which peaked at No. 49 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 17 on the

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 ...

Critical reception

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 ...

wrote that "while the songwriting isn't always compelling, the producers give Smooth a rich instrumental backdrop that allows her to emphasize her charisma, and the result is her best record to date."

Track listing

#"Strawberries" (Lance Alexander, Tony Tolbert, Juanita Stokes)– 5:39 #"Don't Sleep" (Chris Stokes, Douglas Coleman, Juanita Stokes, Herbert Crawford) – 4:29 #"We Funk too Quick" (Juanita Stokes, Brion James, Chris Stokes) – 4:00 #"Anything I Like" (Chris Stokes, Brion James, Juanita Stokes) – 4:36 #"Do Ya" (James Strong, Juanita Stokes) – 4:20 #"Wishing Well" (Chris Stokes, Brion James, Juanita Stokes) – 4:08 #"He Thinks She Don't Know" (Chris Stokes, Claudio Cueni, Juanita Stokes, Tom Baker)– 3:57 #"It's On" (James Harris III, Terry Lewis, Juanita Stokes, Al Green) – 4:00 #"I'm in Love" (Chris Stokes, Claudio Cueni, Juanita Stokes) – 4:26 #"Willing to Fight" (James Harris III, Terry Lewis, Juanita Stokes, James Wright)– 5:22 #"You Said You Love Me" (Ephraim Galloway, Juanita Stokes) – 4:37 #"Loving You" (Chris Stokes, Sean Mather, Kelli Ball, Juanita Stokes) – 3:52 #"Reality" (Chris Stokes, Brion James, Juanita Stokes) – 2:58 #"Strawberries" (Computer Love Remix Featuring

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), known commonly as "Shaq" ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program '' Inside the NBA''. O'Neal is regarded as one of the great ...

Roger Troutman Roger Troutman (November 29, 1951 – April 25, 1999), also known as Roger, was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist and the founder of the band Zapp who helped spearhead the funk movement and heavily influen ...

) (Lance Alexander, Tony Tolbert, Juanita Stokes,

Shirley Murdock Shirley Murdock (born May 22, 1957) is an American R&B singer-songwriter, who is best known for her 1986 R&B hit single "As We Lay" and for her vocals on Zapp and Roger's hit single " Computer Love". Her lead vocal special guest appearance wit ...

Larry Troutman Larry is a masculine given name in English, derived from Lawrence or Laurence. It can be a shortened form of those names. Larry may refer to the following: People Arts and entertainment *Larry D. Alexander, American artist/writer *Larry Boone ...

, Roger Troutman) – 5:28

Samples

* "Strawberries" contains a sample of "Where There is Love", as performed by

Patrice Rushen Patrice Louise Rushen (born September 30, 1954) is an American jazz pianist and R&B singer. She is also a composer, record producer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and music director. Her 1982 single " Forget Me Nots" received a Grammy Awa ...

* "It's On" contains a sample of "Rhymes", as performed by

Al Green Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), better known as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Take Me to the River", ...

* "Loving You" contains samples of "Saturday Love", as performed by

Cherrelle Cheryl Anne Norton (born October 13, 1958), better known by her stage name Cherrelle, is an American R&B singer and songwriter who gained fame in the mid-1980s. Her signature hits include " I Didn't Mean to Turn You On", "Where Do I Run To", "Ev ...

and "Riding High", as performed by Faze-O * "Strawberries (Computer Love Remix)" contains a sample of "Computer Love", as performed by Zapp

Personnel

* Keyboards: Lance Alexander, Claudio Cueni, Jimmy Jam, James "Big Jim" Wright, Brion James, Steve Jones, James Strong, Herbert Crawford * Drum Programming: Brion James, Lance Alexander, Alex Richbourg, Afshin Jazayeri, James Strong, Douglas Coleman * Guitar: Mike Scott, Brion James * Organ: James "Big Jim" Wright * Piano: James "Big Jim" Wright * Background Vocals: Smooth, Tony Tolbert, Jamecia Bennett * Executive Producers: Henley "Jr." Regisford, Chris Stokes, Wanda Stokes-Withers, Ketrina "Taz" Askew * Recording engineers: Steve Hodge, Douglas Coleman, Susan Hernon, Claudio Cueni, Xavier Smith, Tom Baker * Mixing: Steve Hodge, Xavier Smith, Douglas Coleman, Claudio Cueni, Tom Baker, Dave Rideau * Mastering:

Brian Gardner Brian Knapp Gardner, also known as Brian "Big Bass" Gardner, is an American mastering engineer. He has worked on a number of recordings since the mid-1960s, including classic rock, funk, disco, alternative rock, R&B, hip hop, pop punk and danc ...

* Photography: Kate Garner * Art direction & design: Greg Ross

References

{{Authority control 1998 albums Smooth (singer) albums