Soul Sista
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''Soul Sista'' is the debut studio album by American singer
KeKe Wyatt Ke'Tara Shavon "Keke" Wyatt (born March 10, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter and TV personality. After performing in a number of girl bands and working as a songwriter during her teenage years, in 2000 she garnered national attention after ...
. It was released on November 13, 2001, by
MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...
. The album's writing and production was entirely credited to Steve "Stone" Huff. ''Soul Sista'' debuted at number 33 on the US ''Billboard'' 200. It has been 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 of 500,000 copies within the United States.


Promotion

Wyatt promoted t''Soul Sista'' extensively by performing promotional concerts within the United States. In October 2001, she launched the KeKe Wyatt: Live Tour, which went on to do 50 shows throughout the United States and United Kingdom, ending in July 2002. After the tour, Wyatt continued the promotion by appearing on several talk shows and red carpets.


Critical reception

Natasha Washington, writing for ''
The Oklahoman ''The Oklahoman'' is the largest daily newspaper in Oklahoma, United States, and is the only regional daily that covers the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, Greater Oklahoma City area. The Alliance for Audited Media (formerly Audit Bureau Circul ...
'', found that "Wyatt's sleek yet gritty work brings to mind
Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and entrepreneur. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Qu ...
,
Faith Evans Faith Renée Evans (born June 10, 1973) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, and actress. Born in Lakeland, Florida, and raised in New Jersey, she relocated to Los Angeles in 1991 in pursuit of a recording career. Evans initially performed as ...
,
Missy "Misdemeanor" 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 R&B girl group Sista during the 1990s, who were part ...
and other hip-hop-influenced urban singers who emerged in the 1990s. Her ..song lineup includes the inspired, midtempo "Don't Take Your Love" and "I Don't Wanna," a serious soul adventure song. ''Soul Sista'' shows promise, and Wyatt shines as a potential new artist." ''
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 ...
'' also compared Wyatt to then-labelmate Blige, writing: "Wyatt’s strength lies in her ability to convey emotional tales of love and life ..At the end of the day, ''Soul Sista'' seems to be just the tip of the iceberg for this burgeoning talent." In a mixed review, John F. Butland from ''
Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...
'' remarked: "If she's smart, next time around ..she'll stamp a little more of herself onto the record, because her vocals are the only facet that rises above the mundane."
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 rated the album two and a half stars out of five. He wrote that ''Soul Sista'' "adds little to the repertoire of
Macy Gray Natalie Renée McIntyre (born September 6, 1967), known professionally as Macy Gray, is an American contemporary R&B, R&B and soul music, soul singer and actress. She is known for her distinctive raspy voice and a singing style heavily influence ...
,
Erykah Badu Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu, is an American singer and songwriter. Influenced by rhythm and blues, R&B, Soul music, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut al ...
, and Jill Scott, though Wyatt's strong voice and admirable range save the album from itself." Bush felt that Wyatt's "performances are good throughout, but too many tracks on ''Soul Sista'' rely on the retread blueprint for late-'90s R&B ..Most of the blame goes to impresario Steve "Stone" Huff, who wrote all but one of the songs, produced and arranged every track, and played every note heard on the album." Similarly, ''
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
'' remarked: "''Soul Sista'' is an example of what happens when a good voice is subjected to bad music and overdone concepts. Still, there is some evidence that KeKe Wyatt is beyond the candy-coated type of rhythm and blues that has ruled the airwaves over the last decade. Her debut does little to set her apart from other singers, but it will interesting to see if she lives up to being a true soul sista the next time around."


Commercial performance

''Soul Sista'' debuted and peaked at number 33 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and number five on ''Billboard''s US
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, ...
chart. On March 13, 2002, it 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 figures in excess of over 500,000 copies. By August 2006, the album had sold 566,000 copies in the United States, according to
Nielsen SoundScan Luminate Data, LLC (formerly MRC Data and P-MRC Data) is a provider of music and entertainment data. Established as a joint-venture in 2020, it brought together Nielsen Music, Alpha Data (formerly BuzzAngle Music) and Variety Business Intellige ...
.


Track listing

All tracks produced by Steve "Stone" Huff.


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


References

{{Authority control 2001 debut albums Keke Wyatt albums MCA Records albums