''Back of My Lac is the debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

from American R&B singer

J. Holiday Nahum Thorton Grymes (born November 29, 1981), better known by his stage name J. Holiday, is an American singer, songwriter, and rapper. He came into prominence in 2007 with his breakthrough hit "Bed", peaking at number five on the US ''Billboar ...

that was released in the United States on October 2, 2007, by Music Line Group and

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

. Production for this album was handled by Los Da Mystro,

Darkchild Rodney Roy Jerkins (born July 29, 1977), also known by his stage name Darkchild, is an American record producer, rapper, and songwriter. He has collaborated with a broad range of popular artists. Jerkins has won multiple Grammy Awards. Among hi ...

The-Dream Terius Youngdell Nash (born September 20, 1977), better known by his stage name The-Dream, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. His co-writing credits include songs with "Me Against the Music" (2003) for Britney Spears, " Rid ...

, The Platinum Brothers, Donnie Scantz, Travis Cherry,

J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League J.U.S.T.I.C.E. (Just Undeniably Some of The Illest Composers Ever) League is an American record production team composed of producers and instrumentalists from Tampa, Florida. The group is made up of members Erik "Rook" Ortiz, Kevin "Colion ...

Sean Garrett Garrett Robin Hamler, known professionally as Sean Garrett, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is responsible for a series of chart-topping compositions, most notably Usher's " Yeah!" which ranks second on the ''Billboa ...

and

Oak Felder Warren "Oak" Felder (born November 9, 1980)Dale KawashimaSongwriter Universe, September 7, 2017. is a Turkish-born American songwriter and record producer based in Atlanta and Los Angeles. He is known for his work as part of the production duo Po ...

The album was supported by three singles, "

Be with Me ''Be with Me'' is a 2005 Singaporean drama film directed by Eric Khoo. The film is inspired by the life of deaf-and-blind teacher Theresa Poh Lin Chan. It premiered as the Director's Fortnight selection in the 2005 Cannes Film Festival. It was a ...

", "

Bed A bed is an item of furniture that is used as a place to sleep, rest, and relax. Most modern beds consist of a soft, cushioned mattress on a bed frame. The mattress rests either on a solid base, often wood slats, or a sprung base. Many beds ...

" and " Suffocate". Upon its release, ''Back of My Lac received generally mixed reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

. The album debuted at number five on the US ''Billboard'' 200, selling 105,000 copies in its first week. The album was nominated for

Best Contemporary R&B Album The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works on albums in the contemporary ...

at the 51st Grammy Awards, but lost to

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

's ''

Growing Pains ''Growing Pains'' is an American television sitcom created by Neal Marlens that aired on ABC from September 24, 1985, to April 25, 1992. The show ran for seven seasons, consisting of 166 episodes. The series followed the misadventures of the Se ...

''.

Background

In early 2000s, he met Corey Green whom he found was in the same direction with him. Soon both formed a duo called 295 that experienced mild popularity. All the while Corey would hook them up with music executives that come to Washington just to watch their performances. They soon got frustrated for not getting discovered and eventually disbanded in 2003 while remaining friends until Holiday's solo career. Holiday would soon secure a record deal with

Jazze Pha Phalon Anton Alexander, (born April 15, 1974), professionally known as Jazze Pha ( ), is an American record producer, singer, songwriter and rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. He is the founder and chief executive officer of Sho'nuff Records, to wh ...

's Sho'nuff Records. The album was originally meant to be released by the end of 2006, however it was pushed back to early 2007 and then pushed to its final release of October 2. J. Holiday worked with

Ne-Yo Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, and record producer. He gained fame for his songwriting abilities when he penned Mario's 2004 hit " Let Me Love You ...

on three songs between December 2005 and January 2006 that did not make the album.

Singles

The album's lead

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, "

", was released on October 31, 2006. The song was produced by

Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins Rodney Roy Jerkins (born July 29, 1977), also known by his stage name Darkchild, is an American record producer, rapper, and songwriter. He has collaborated with a broad range of popular artists. Jerkins has won multiple Grammy Awards. Among hi ...

. The song did not fare well commercially, failing to chart on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and has since peaked at #83 on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 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 ...

. The second single, "

", was released on June 19, 2007, it peaked at number 5 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number one on Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs for five weeks total and 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). The third single, " Suffocate" was released on October 2, 2007, the song has peaked at #2 on the

Chart and #18 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The video for the single was shot in Paris, France and debuted on

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...

's 106 & Park on November 7, 2007.Video: J. Holiday - Suffocate
Pop-Junkie.com (November 7, 2007). Accessed November 7, 2007. "City Boy" featuring

8 Ball & MJG 8Ball & MJG is an American hip hop duo from Memphis, Tennessee. They met at Ridgeway Middle School (Memphis, Tennessee) in 1984. In 1993, the duo released their debut album '' Comin' Out Hard''. They went on to release '' On the Outside Looking ...

was released as a promotional single, the song was not included in the US version of the album, but is featured on the album only as a bonus track in several countries. "Come Here" was released as a single but was ultimately canceled.

Critical reception

''Back of My Lac'' received mixed reviews from critics. Mark Edward Nero from

About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, ...

reviewed the album favorably, saying: "It's rare that young artist puts out such a well-rounded album, one that young men can totally relate to and that young women will be swept off their feet by, but ''Back of My Lac, is just such an album. It's charming, gritty, sensual, original and most of all-real. Ladies and gentlemen, J. Holiday has arrived. And he definitely is that dude." Fan reviews remain highly favorable for the album, praising its overall consistency and well roundness. "Fatal", "Bed","Thank You" and "Suffocate" have been frequently referenced as favorites.

Commercial performance

The album debuted on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 chart at number 5, selling 105,000 copies in its first week.Katie Hasty
"Springsteen Is Boss Of Album Chart With 'Magic'"
Billboard.com, October 10, 2007. It debuted at #1 on the

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 Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated J ...

. The album debuted in the Top 20 R&B/Hip Hop albums in Canada and charted within the Top 100 albums in Canada. It became a Top 10 R&B/Hip Hop album in the UK and a Top 40 UK album entry peaking at #32. In the U.S it also made it to #8 on the

Tastemakers The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in '' Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

chart and #5 on the Top Digital Albums and Billboard Comprehensive Albums Chart.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

Certifications and sales

References

External links

J. Holiday's Official Site

J. Holiday's Myspace Page

J. Holiday Fan Site

* ttp://thepopculturejunkie.blogspot.com/2007/08/get-caught-up-with-j-holiday.html Exclusive Interview with J. Holiday
J. Holiday - Suffocate Video

{{DEFAULTSORT:Back Of My Lac' 2007 debut albums Albums produced by Rodney Jerkins Capitol Records albums J. Holiday albums Albums produced by J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League Albums produced by Oak Felder