Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics
Encyclopedia
Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics is the fourth studio album
by American R&B
and neo soul
singer-songwriter India.Arie
, released February 10, 2009 on Universal Republic Records.
The single "Chocolate High" went for adds at U.S. urban adult contemporary
radio the week of November 28, 2008. That single as well as its follow-up, "Therapy", were both released to iTunes
in the U.S. on December 16, 2008.
The album debuted as "Hot Shot" on the Billboard 200
in the week of February 28, 2009 at number 3, selling in its first week around 76,000 copies, almost half less than her previous album in 2006. The next week it fell to number 7, selling another 32,000 copies. The album has sold 324,500 copies worldwide to date.
Speaking about the album to noted soul writer Pete Lewis of 'Blues & Soul' in April 2009, India stated; "What this album represents is me finally being my real self. You know, there'd been things I'd always wanted to say that I'd previously shied away from because they were too political, or too whatever... And I now realised that I had to let go of all those concerns and do exactly what I WANTED to do. Which is why 'Testimony Vol 2' sounds like it's exploring new territory to anyone who's familiar with my previous albums. Whereas all I'm actually doing is being more MYSELF than people have ever heard me be before."
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
and neo soul
Neo soul
The term neo soul was originally coined by Kedar Massenburg of Motown Records in the late 1990s as a marketing category following the commercial breakthroughs of artists such as D'Angelo, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, and Maxwell...
singer-songwriter India.Arie
India.Arie
India.Arie is a Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter and record producer . She has sold over 3.3 million records in the U.S. and 10 million worldwide. She has won four Grammy Awards from her 21 nominations, including Best R&B Album.-Background:Simpson was born in Denver, Colorado...
, released February 10, 2009 on Universal Republic Records.
The single "Chocolate High" went for adds at U.S. urban adult contemporary
Urban Adult Contemporary
Urban adult contemporary is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have rap music on their playlists. The format was designed by Barry Mayo when he, Lee S. Simonson and Bill Pearson organized Broadcast...
radio the week of November 28, 2008. That single as well as its follow-up, "Therapy", were both released to iTunes
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
in the U.S. on December 16, 2008.
The album debuted as "Hot Shot" on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
in the week of February 28, 2009 at number 3, selling in its first week around 76,000 copies, almost half less than her previous album in 2006. The next week it fell to number 7, selling another 32,000 copies. The album has sold 324,500 copies worldwide to date.
Speaking about the album to noted soul writer Pete Lewis of 'Blues & Soul' in April 2009, India stated; "What this album represents is me finally being my real self. You know, there'd been things I'd always wanted to say that I'd previously shied away from because they were too political, or too whatever... And I now realised that I had to let go of all those concerns and do exactly what I WANTED to do. Which is why 'Testimony Vol 2' sounds like it's exploring new territory to anyone who's familiar with my previous albums. Whereas all I'm actually doing is being more MYSELF than people have ever heard me be before."
Track listing
- "Intro: Grains" (Branden Burch, Simpson) – 0:48
- "Therapy" (feat. Gramps Morgan) (Leathers, Simpson, Alonzo Stevenson) – 3:58
- "Ghetto" (Burch, Simpson) – 3:13
- "Chocolate High" (feat. Musiq Soulchild) (Castro, Andrew, Musiq, Simpson) – 4:44
- "He Heals Me" (Simpson) – 4:59
- "Interlude: Grains" (Burch, Simpson) – 0:55
- "Pearls" (feat. Dobet GnahoreDobet GnahoreDobet Gnahoré is a singer from the Côte d'Ivoire. She settled in Marseille in 1999 due to the Civil War. Her father Boni is a percussionist who performs with her. She was a nominee at the 2006 World music for Newcomer and shared an award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance with India.Arie at...
) (Sade AduSade AduHelen Folasade Adu OBE , is a British singer-songwriter, composer, and record producer. She first achieved success in the 1980s as the frontwoman and lead vocalist of the Brit and Grammy Award winning English group Sade.-Biography:Sade was born in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria...
, Hale) – 4:23 - "River Rise" (Ruff, Simpson) – 3:57
- "Yellow" (feat. Terrell Carter) (Castro, Drew and ShannonDrew and ShannonDrew and Shannon is a Grammy winning producer/song-writing team from Nashville, Tennessee.- Collaboration :Drew Ramsey and Shannon Sanders met while both were on the contemporary Christian music circuit. Finding common interest in R&B they began to write together...
, Simpson) – 2:56 - "Better Way" (Barnes, Ferrell, Simpson) – 3:30
- "Interlude: Grains" (Burch, Simpson) – 1:06
- "Long Goodbye" (Simpson, Simpson, Nick Trevisick) – 4:05
- "Psalms 23" (feat. MC LyteMC LyteMC Lyte is an American rapper who first gained fame in the late-1980s becoming the first solo female rapper to release a full album with 1988's critically acclaimed Lyte as a Rock.-Early life:...
) (Castro, Andrew, Jared Lee Gosselin, Moorer, Lana Michelle, Simpson) – 5:15 - "The Cure" (feat. Sezen AksuSezen AksuSezen Aksu is a Turkish pop music singer, song-writer and producer who sold over 40 million albums worldwide. Her nicknames include the "Queen of Turkish Pop" and Minik Serçe ....
) (Aksu, Simpson) – 4:41 - "Outro: Grains" (Burch, Simpson) – 0:33
- "A Beautiful Day" (Robin RobertsRobin Roberts (newscaster)Robin René Roberts is an American television broadcaster. Roberts is the co-anchor of ABC's morning show Good Morning America-Early life:...
, India.Arie, Joyce Simpson, Trevisick) – 3:51 - "Beautiful Flower" (UK Bonus Track)
Charts
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Dutch Albums Chart | 53 | |
| Swiss Albums Chart | 44 | |
| U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
3 | 324,000 |
| U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999... |
2 |
External links
- Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics at MetacriticMetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...