''My Melody'' is the debut album by American rapper

Queen Pen Lynise Walters (born 1972), known professionally as Queen Pen, is an African American rapper, record producer, and novelist. Born in Brooklyn New York, she was discovered by record producer Teddy Riley at a local iHop restaurant in Virginia B ...

, released on December 16, 1997 by Lil' Man Records, a distribution by Interscope Records and was

executive produced Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

Teddy Riley Edward Theodore Riley (born October 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer credited with the creation of the New Jack Swing genre. Riley credits Barry Michael Cooper with giving the genre its name.Hogan, Paul. "Tedd ...

. The album went to number 78 on the ''Billboard'' 200, number 13 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 ...

and number one on the

Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...

, and had three charting singles "Man Behind the Music", " All My Love" and "Party Ain't a Party".

Track listing

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. Sample credits * "Queen of the Click" contains an interpolation of "Put The Music Where Your Mouth Is", written by

Pete Wingfield William Peter Wingfield (born 7 May 1948) is an English record producer, keyboard player, songwriter, singer and music journalist. Career Whilst at Sussex University Wingfield and three other students formed the group Jellybread. In 1969, he ...

and Jo Wright. * "Man Behind the Music" contains interpolations of: ** " I Know You Got Soul", written by

Bobby Byrd Bobby Howard Byrd (August 15, 1934 – September 12, 2007) was an American rhythm and blues, soul and funk singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, bandleader and talent scout, who played an integral and important part in the development ...

, Charles Bobbit, and James Brown. ** "Your Love", written by James Brown. * "All My Love" contains a sample of " Never Too Much", written and performed by Luther Vandross. * "My Melody" contains an interpolation of "'Cause You Love Me Baby", written by

Deniece Williams Deniece Williams (born June Deniece Chandler; June 3, 1951) is an American singer. She has been described as "one of the great soul voices" by the BBC. She is best known for the songs " Free", " Silly", "It's Gonna Take a Miracle" and two ''Bil ...

. * "Party Ain't a Party" contains a sample of "On Your Face", written by Maurice White,

Charles Stepney Charles Stepney (March 26, 1931– May 17, 1976) was an American record producer, arranger, songwriter and musician. Stepney is noted for his work with artists such as The Dells, Ramsey Lewis, Rotary Connection and Earth, Wind & Fire. Career He ...

, and

Philip Bailey Philip James Bailey (born May 8, 1951) is an American R&B, soul, gospel and funk singer, songwriter and percussionist, best known as an early member and one of the two lead singers (along with group founder Maurice White) of the band Earth, ...

; as recorded by

Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, big band, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million reco ...

. * "It's True" contains an interpolation of "

True True most commonly refers to truth, the state of being in congruence with fact or reality. True may also refer to: Places * True, West Virginia, an unincorporated community in the United States * True, Wisconsin, a town in the United States * ...

", written by

Gary Kemp Gary James Kemp (born 16 October 1959) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and actor, best known as the lead guitarist, backing vocalist, and principal songwriter for the New Romantic band Spandau Ballet. Kemp wrote the lyrics and music ...

. * "The Set Up" contains a sample of "Let Me Love You", written by

Ray Parker Jr. Ray Erskine Parker Jr. (born May 1, 1954) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. As a solo performer, he wrote and performed the theme song to the 1984 film '' Ghostbusters''. Previously, Parker achieved a US top-10 h ...

and

Michael Henderson Michael Earl Henderson (July 7, 1951 – July 19, 2022) was an American bass guitarist and vocalist. He was known for his work with Miles Davis in the early 1970s and on early fusion albums such as '' Jack Johnson'', '' Live-Evil'', and '' Ag ...

, as recorded by Michael Henderson. * "Get Away" contains a sample of "

In The Air Tonight "In the Air Tonight" is the debut solo single by English drummer and singer-songwriter Phil Collins. It was released as the lead single from Collins's debut solo album, ''Face Value'', in January 1981. Collins co-produced "In the Air Tonight" w ...

", written and performed by Phil Collins. * "I'm Gon Blow Up" contains an interpolation of "Hollywood", written by David Wolinski and Louis Fischer. * "Girlfriend" contains interpolations of: ** "If That's Your Boyfriend (He Wasn't Last Night)", written by Michelle Johnson. ** "

It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next to Me "It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next to Me" is a hit song by American singer Barry White. The song was written by Ekundayo Paris and Nelson Pigford, and arranged by Barry White. Chart performance Released from his album '' Barry White Sings for ...

", written by Ekundayo Paris and Nelson Pigford. * "No Hooks" contains a sample of "My Friend in the Sky", written by Robert DeBarge and

Bunny DeBarge Etterlene "Bunny" DeBarge (born March 10, 1955) is an American soul singer–songwriter and the lone female sibling of the Motown family group DeBarge. She was the lead vocalist on the R&B ballad "A Dream", from the group's ''In a Special Way'' ...

, as recorded by

Switch In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type of ...

Personnel

* Keyboards and drum programming: Teddy Riley, Kaseem "Mixture" Coleman, Knobody, William "Skylz" Stewart * Bass: Şerban Ghenea * Background vocals: Richard Stites,

Freaky Tah Tahliq Raymond Rogers (May 14, 1971 – March 28, 1999), better known as Freaky Tah, was an American rapper, music promoter and hype man. Freaky Tah was a member of a hip hop group called the Lost Boyz, together with Mr. Cheeks, DJ Spigg Nice, ...

, Teddy Riley,

Chauncey Hannibal Blackstreet (often stylized as BLACKstreet) is an American R&B group founded in 1991 by record producers Chauncey "Black" Hannibal, and Teddy "Street" Riley. The group has released four albums with Interscope Records until 2003. They achieved ...

* Recording engineers: George Mayers, Şerban Ghenea, Coleman Dagget, Earl Thomas * Mixing: George Mayers, Şerban Ghenea * Executive Producer: Teddy Riley * Co-Executive Producer: Markell Riley, Madeline Nelson * Mastering: Herb Powers * Photography: Dorothy Low

Charts

References

{{Authority control Queen Pen albums 1997 debut albums Albums produced by Knobody Albums produced by Teddy Riley Interscope Records albums