Brand New (Salt-n-Pepa album)

Brand New is the fifth studio album by American hip hop group Salt-N-Pepa, released on October 21, 1997, by London Records. The group's international label at the time, Red Ant Entertainment, filed for bankruptcy before the album was officially released; aside from a brief tour and some TV and print ads, almost no promotion was available to boost the record. Brand New spawned two singles: "R U Ready" and "Gitty Up". The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on November 25, 1997, a sharp decline from the group's previous efforts.

Brand New
Studio album by Salt-N-Pepa
Released	October 21, 1997 (1997-10-21)
Studio	Axis (New York City)[a] Quad (New York City)[b] Soundtrack (New York City)[c] The Music Palace (West Hempstead, New York)[d] The Basement, Inc. (Dix Hills, New York)[e] Tone X Recording (Washington, D.C.)[f] Record Plant (Los Angeles)[g] The Hit Factory (New York City)[h] Chung King (New York City)[i] AMG (New York City)[j] Horizon (Capitol Heights, Maryland)[k] Flyte Tyme (Edina, Minnesota)[l]
Length	57:27
Label	London
Producer	Cheryl "Salt" James Sandra "Pepa" Denton Chad "Dr. Ceuss" Elliott Esmail Sean "The Mystro" Mather Josef Powell Al West David "D.J." Wynn
Salt-N-Pepa chronology
Very Necessary (1993) Brand New (1997) The Best of Salt-N-Pepa (1999)
Singles from Brand New
"R U Ready" Released: August 29, 1997 "Gitty Up" Released: December 7, 1997

Production

Brand New was the first Salt-N-Pepa album released after the group parted ways with longtime producer, writer, and manager Hurby "Luv Bug" Azor.^[1] Instead, Salt took the lead in co-writing and co-produced the album.^[2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Robert Christgau	[4]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[5]
Entertainment Weekly	B−[6]
Music Week	[7]
Rolling Stone	[8]
The Source	[9]

Natasha Stovall of Rolling Stone praised the "richer piano-, guitar- and vocal-filled sound, emphasizing gritty soul and sweet, unadulterated funk."^[8] Jon Pareles of The New York Times wrote that the group "still juxtapose catchy come-ons ... and determinedly positive messages."^[10] Connie Johnson of the Los Angeles Times wrote that "while it's commendable that they're stretching out in a more uplifting, spiritually motivated arena, the group's forte is still worldly, raunchy, of-the-flesh fare."^[11] In a review for The Source, Raquel Cepeda described the album as "[m]elodically heavy, but lacking in the lyrical department".^[9]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"R U Ready"	Cheryl James Sandra Denton Chad Elliott Rufus Moore Al West Randy Muller	Cheryl "Salt" James Chad "Dr. Ceuss" Elliott West	3:58
2.	"Good Life"	C. James Maurice Scott Richard Evans Bernard Grobman Gavin Wray	C. James Elliott[a]	3:54
3.	"Do Me Right"	C. James David Blake Robert Bacon George Archie Wilbert Milow D.J. Walker	C. James Josef Powell	4:36
4.	"Friends" (featuring Queen Latifah and Mad Lion)	Denton Powell Vanesa Powers Anthony Criss Dana Owens	Powell Sandra "Pepa" Denton	4:42
5.	"Say Ooh"	C. James C. James C. James C. James Larry Young Linda Logan Fernando Saunders	Elliott C. James[b]	4:09
6.	"Imagine" (featuring Sheryl Crow)	C. James Powell	C. James Powell[a]	5:26
7.	"Knock Knock"	Denton Powell Earnest Hairston Jr. David Wynn	Powell Denton David "D.J." Wynn	4:32
8.	"Gitty Up"	C. James Moore Rick James	Elliott West	4:00
9.	"Boy Toy"	Denton Elliott Norman Whitfield Otwane Roberts	Elliott West Denton[b]	4:24
10.	"Brand New"	C. James Denton Gary Wright	C. James Sean "The Mystro" Mather Esmail Powell[a]	4:05
11.	"Silly of You"	C. James Keef James	C. James	3:52
12.	"The Clock Is Tickin'"	C. James	C. James	4:51
13.	"Hold On" (featuring Kirk Franklin and Sounds of Blackness)	C. James Powell	C. James Powell[a]	5:06

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies an additional producer
• ^{^[b]} signifies a co-producer

Samples

• "R U Ready" contains excerpts from "Watch Out" by Brass Construction.
• "Gitty Up" contains samples from "Give It To Me Baby" by Rick James
• "Say Ooh" contains a sample from "Turn Off the Lights" by Larry Young.
• "Brand New" contains an interpolation of "Love Is Alive" by Gary Wright.

Personnel

• Prince Charles Alexander – mixing
• Eddie Anzueto, Jr. – percussion
• Steven Augustine – bass
• Kent Belden – creative director
• Blue Denim – background vocals
• Mike Campbell – guitar
• Melvin Chandler – keyboards
• Lewis Christian – percussion
• Day Ta Day – background vocals
• Andre Debourg – engineer, mixing
• James Denton – photography
• Sandy "Pepa" Denton – producer
• DJ Flexx – background vocals
• Chad "Dr. Ceuss" Elliott – programming, producer, engineer, mixing
• Glenn Ellis – bass
• Esmail – producer
• Alan Forney – photo imaging
• Kirk Franklin – performer
• Wayne Garrick – keyboards
• Khari Green – guitar
• Bernard Grobman – guitar
• Andrew Hellier – guitar, background vocals
• Cheryl "Salt" James – producer
• Jon Jones – guitar
• Gerhard Joost – mixing
• Carol Kirkendall – executive producer
• LaTrece – background vocals
• Michael Lockwood – guitar
• Al (Taz) Machera – mixing
• Sean "Mystro" Mather – producer
• Gary Montoute – synthesizer
• Michael Moore – photography
• Rufus Moore – background vocals, performer
• Joseph Powell – programming, background vocals, producer, engineer, mixing
• Wayne Rickard – guitar
• Alicia Rushing – background vocals
• Ken Schubert – engineer, mixing
• Dawne Shivers – background vocals
• Peggy Sirota – photography
• Sounds of Blackness – performer
• Spinderella – performer
• Kevin Thomas – engineer
• Al West – producer
• Jimmy White – bass
• David Wynn – producer
• George Belton - bass

Charts

Chart performance for Brand New

Chart (1997)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[12]	186
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[13]	64
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[14]	23
US Billboard 200[15]	37
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[16]	16

Certifications

Certifications for Brand New

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[17]	Gold	500,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Notes

1. Tracks 1, 4, 10 and 11
2. Track 1
3. Tracks 1, 5 and 8
4. Tracks 2, 11 and 13
5. Tracks 2, 3, 5–7 and 10–13
6. Tracks 3, 4, 6 and 7
7. Track 4
8. Track 6
9. Tracks 6 and 12
10. Track 9
11. Tracks 10 and 12
12. Track 13