''Chain Letter'' is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter

Brooke Valentine Kanesha Nichole Brookes (born October 5, 1984), better known by her stage name Brooke Valentine, is an American singer, actress, and model. Her single "Girlfight" peaked on U.S. music charts in 2005, paving the way for her debut album ''Chain L ...

, released on March 15, 2005, by Subliminal Entertainment and

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...

. Work on the album began after Valentine left the female group Best Kept Secret, in order to pursue a solo career. She moved to Los Angeles, California with producer and Subliminal Entertainment CEO Deja the Great to begin work on the album. Valentine enlisted a variety of producers to work on the album including

Bink! Roosevelt Harrell III (born February 20, 1972) professionally known as Bink is an American hip hop producer from Norfolk, Virginia, who is noted for his work with Roc-A-Fella Records artists. His most high-profile work has been Jay-Z's critica ...

Bloodshy & Avant Bloodshy & Avant are a Swedish songwriting and production duo consisting of Christian "Bloodshy" Karlsson and Pontus "Avant" Winnberg. They have worked with many prominent artists, including Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue, Ms. Dynamite, Madonna, ...

, Déjà "The Great",

Jermaine Dupri Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, record executive, entrepreneur, and DJ. Early life Jermaine Dupri Mauldin was born on September 23, 1972, the son of Tina (Mosley) and Michael ...

Brandon Howard Brandon Howard , also known as B. Howard, is an American singer, record producer and songwriter. His album ''Genesis'' was released in 2010. Howard was credited as songwriter and producer on the song "I Ain't Gotta Tell You" from Ne-Yo's album ' ...

Lil Jon Jonathan H. Smith (born January 17, 1971) better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, producer and former frontman of the rap group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz. He was instrumental in the emergence of the hip hop subgenre cru ...

Matt Serletic Matthew Michael Serletic II (born 1970 or 1971) is an American record producer, songwriter, and music executive. Career As a teenager, Serletic joined a band with members of Collective Soul, a group for which he would later produce. Serletic h ...

among others. Musically the album is predominantly a R&B body of work, that features elements of hip hop, pop,

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

, and

crunk Crunk is a subgenre of hip hop music that emerged in the early 1990s and gained mainstream success during the mid 2000s. Crunk is often up-tempo and one of Southern hip hop's more dance and club oriented subgenres. An archetypal crunk track freq ...

. Upon release "Chain Letter" was met with critical acclaim from music critics who praised the album's production, with other critics comparing the album to the work of film producer

Steven Soderbergh Steven Andrew Soderbergh (; born January 14, 1963) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer and editor. A pioneer of modern independent cinema, Soderbergh is an acclaimed and prolific filmmaker. Soderbergh's direc ...

. Commercially the album fared well and peaked at sixteen on the ''Billboard'' 200 and three on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart. The album sold 290,000 copies in the US. The album was preceded by the release of the lead single "Girlfight", that features

Big Boi Antwan André Patton (born February 1, 1975), better known by his stage name Big Boi, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is best known for being a member of the southern hip hop duo Outkast alongside André 3000. ...

from the band Outkast, and

. "Girlfight" was a commercial success peaking at twenty-three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 as well as making appearances on charts in Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and the UK. The second single released from the album was "

Long As You Come Home "Long as You Come Home" is the second single from American R&B singer Brooke Valentine's debut album ''Chain Letter''. It was released in April 2005. The song samples Dynasty's 1980 song " Adventures in the Land of Music", the same sample that was ...

", which reached number 71 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart where it spent 5 weeks. The third single was "Cover Girl", however the song failed to chart.

Background

She started her musical career as a member of the female group Best Kept Secret. To pursue a solo career, she moved to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

with producer and Subliminal Entertainment CEO Deja the Great and signed to

Singles

The

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

, "

Girlfight ''Girlfight'' is a 2000 American sports drama film written and directed by Karyn Kusama and starring Michelle Rodriguez in both of their film debuts. It follows Diana Guzman, a troubled teenager from Brooklyn who decides to channel her aggressio ...

", which features

and

was first released on January 4, 2005. It succeeded internationally, peaking in the top fifty in Australia and Ireland, and Top 40 in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The second single, "

Long as You Come Home "Long as You Come Home" is the second single from American R&B singer Brooke Valentine's debut album ''Chain Letter''. It was released in April 2005. The song samples Dynasty's 1980 song " Adventures in the Land of Music", the same sample that was ...

" was released on July 5, 2005. It peaked at #71 on the US R&B/Hip-Hop chart. The third single, "Cover Girl" was released on October 18, 2005. It failed to chart. “Laugh Til I Cry” was promoted to radio as well.

Music and lyrics

The album's opening song

was described as a "friendly

" song that contains "grunts" as well as guest appearances from

and

. Lyrically the discusses female fisticuffs. ''Chain Letter''/ref> “Taste of Dis” is a "hyperactive club banger". “Blah Blah Blah” is an organ-fueled reggae-funk song that lyrically turns Valentine "into a naughty girl" who sings about still loving her "thug boyfriend, strangely demure and believable." "Cover Girl," is a "somber" song led by an "acoustic guitar and churchy organ swells" and contains a "guitar-based folk song", that lyrically discusses what Valentine has to do "to attract a man". "I Want You Dead" is, a demented revenge fantasy in which she does "funny and gruesome" things to a wrongdoing ex-lover. “Thrill of the Chase” is described as containing a "Hendrix riff" in which she uses to underscore her rant against her boyfriend for demanding that she commit to him, introducing the song's concept with lyrics including “I’m really feeling you but you don’t understand / I’m not sure if I can settle down with just one man.”

Critical reception

Upon release "Chain Letter" was met with critical acclaim from music critics.

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

gave a positive review to album, giving it four out of five stars. Allmusic praised the album's production continuing to say "A debut that fulfills and promises at the same time, Chain Letter contains 40 faultless minutes of club tracks and a few minutes of seductive balladry. That's not bad for someone who put it all to bed before hitting the age of 20."

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

gave acclaim to the album comparing it to play like

's filmography sayingT"here's a little popcorn for the cineplex and some chewier fare for the art houses. But Valentine's eccentricities, unlike Soderbergh's, actually improve her chances for stardom."

Track listing

Notes * denotes vocal producer * denotes additional producer * denotes co-producer Sample credits * "

" samples "

Adventures in the Land of Music ''Adventures in the Land of Music'' is the second album by the Los Angeles, California-based R&B group Dynasty, released in 1980. The title track was sampled by producer DJ Ski for Camp Lo's 1997 hit "Luchini AKA This Is It". Track listing # " ...

" by

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

. * "Million Bucks" samples " I'm Alive" by

Spooky Tooth Spooky Tooth were an English rock band originally formed in Carlisle in 1967. Principally active between 1967 and 1974, the band re-formed several times in later years. History Prior to Spooky Tooth, four of the band's five founding members h ...

. * "American Girl" samples "

Shake Your Groove Thing "Shake Your Groove Thing" is a song by disco duo Peaches & Herb. The single reached No. 5 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' R&B Chart. It also reached No. 2 for four weeks on the '' Billboard'' Disco chart in 1 ...

" by

Peaches & Herb Peaches & Herb is an American vocal duo. Herb Fame (born October 1, 1941) has remained a constant as "Herb" since the duo was created in 1966; seven different women have filled the role of "Peaches", most notably Francine Edna "Peaches" Hurd B ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control 2005 debut albums Brooke Valentine albums Virgin Records albums Albums produced by Bloodshy & Avant Albums produced by Matt Serletic Albums produced by Jermaine Dupri Albums produced by Bink (record producer) Albums produced by Lil Jon