Blaque (album)

Blaque (internationally nicknamed Blaque Ivory) is the debut album by the American girl-group Blaque. It was released by Trackmasters Entertainment and Columbia Records on May 19, 1999 in the United States. A R&B and pop album, with hip hop and teen pop influences,^[2] the album was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on April 10, 2000.^[3] and has sold 1.5 million copies to date.^[4]

Blaque
Studio album by Blaque
Released	May 19, 1999
Recorded	1997–1999
Genre	R&B[1] pop[1]
Length	53:00
Label	Trackmasters Columbia
Producer	Michael Anthony Bob Baldwin Sideeq "The Beat" Freak Marcus Goins Curt Gowdy R. Kelly L.E.S. Elgin Manson Natina Reed Poke & Tone Timothy "Tyme" Riley Cory Rooney She'kspere Ric Wake
Blaque chronology
Blaque (1999) Blaque Out (2002)
Singles from Blaque
"808" Released: March 15, 1999 "I Do" Released: July 28, 1999 "Bring It All to Me" Released: October 11, 1999

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Entertainment Weekly	C−[5]

AllMusic criticized the album as mediocre "generic urban soul" with "serviceable" production, sometimes hitting the mark but more often not.^[2] Entertainment Weekly gave the album a C− grade, criticizing the songs as derivative "mimicry" of other groups, saying that the girls "slide from genre to genre with all the care and discrimination of a bar mitzvah band."^[5]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Blaque Intro"			0:37
2.	"Roll with Me"	Kevin Briggs Nicolia Turman Natina Reed	She'kspere	3:42
3.	"I Do"	Reed	Michael Anthony Elgin Manson[A]	3:27
4.	"Leny"	R. Peterkin Billy Lawrence Isaac Hayes Lenny Nicholson Reed Richard Pimentel Timothy Riley	Riley Curt Gowdy	4:20
5.	"Rainbow Drive"	Andre "Sideeq" Jones Brandi Williams Reed Shamari Fears Marcus Goins	Sideeq "The Beat" Freeq Goins[A]	3:48
6.	"808"	Robert Kelly Reed	R. Kelly Poke & Tone Cory Rooney[A]	5:06
7.	"Time After Time"	Cyndi Lauper Rob Hyman	Poke & Tone Rooney	4:05
8.	"Bring It All to Me" (featuring JC Chasez of NSYNC)	Lawrence Nidra Sylvers LeShan Lewis Linda van Horssen William Shelby Kevin Spencer Violet Ruby Rooney	Rooney L.E.S.	3:38
9.	"Mind of a King"	Jones Reed Goins	Goins Freeq	3:57
10.	"Don't Go Looking for Love"	Mariah Carey Rooney Samuel Barnes Jean-Claude Olivier Steven Ettinger Darryl Pierce Dwayne Simon James Todd Smith Bobby Ervin	Rooney Poke & Tone[A]	4:01
11.	"Release Me"	Barnes Lawrence Bobby Coleman Olivier Rooney Sting	Poke & Tone Rooney[A]	3:03
12.	"Right Next to Me"	Kangol	Anthony Bob Baldwin[A]	5:27
13.	"Stay By Your Side"	Reed Fears	Anthony Manson[A]	3:24
14.	"When the Last Teardrop Falls"	Lawrence Ric Wake Sheppard Soloman	Wake	4:37

Japanese bonus track

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
15.	"808 (remix)"	Poke & Tone	3:55

Notes

• ^{^[A]} denotes co-producer

Sample credits

• "Leny" contains excerpts from the composition "Bumpy's Lament", written and performed by Isaac Hayes.
• "Bring It All to Me" contains excerpts from the composition "I Don't Wanna Be The Last To Know", performed by Shalamar.
• "Don't Go Looking for Love" contains excerpts from the composition "I Need Love", performed by LL Cool J.
• "Release Me" contains elements of "Shape of My Heart", performed by Sting.^[6]

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Blaque Chart (1999–2000) Peak position Japanese Albums (Oricon)[7] 24 US Billboard 200[8] 53 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[9] 23

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for Blaque Chart (2000) Position US Billboard 200[10] 155

Certifications

Certifications for Blaque

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[11]	Platinum	1,000,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Blaque release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
Japan	May 19, 1999	CD	Sony Music	[7]
United States	June 1, 1999			[2]
Japan	July 23, 1999		Columbia	[12]
New Zealand	May 8, 2000	Cassette		[13]