''Rated Love'' is the fourth studio album by American R&B recording artist

Keke Wyatt Ke'Tara Shavon "Keke" Wyatt (born March 10, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and television personality. After performing in a number of girl bands and working as a songwriter during her teenage years, in 2000 she garnered nation ...

. It was released on April 22, 2016, by Aratek Entertainment and INgrooves via

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

.The album was preceded by the release of three

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

: "

Sexy Song "Sexy Song" is a song recorded by the American R&B singer Keke Wyatt for her fourth studio album, ''Rated Love'' (2016). The song was released as the lead single on November 20, 2015, by her own label, Aratek Entertainment. The song was written by ...

", "Love Me" and "Jodeci".

Background, release and promotion

In 2015, after the release of her previous album

Ke'Ke' ''Ke'Ke is the first extended play from R&B singer Keke Wyatt. It came out three years after her third studio album, '' Unbelievable''. It features five newly-written and produced songs, including the mildly successful single, " Fall in Love". " ...

(2014), Keke Wyatt started recording her upcoming fourth album, titled ''Rated Love''. Wyatt posted a video on her personal YouTube account, previewing a snippet of her lead single "

" for her fourth album ''Rated Love'' on November 7, 2015. On February 19, 2016, Wyatt announced on her Twitter, that the album would be available for pre-order on digital music stores, while also revealing the album cover. On March 18, 2016, Wyatt announced on social media such as

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

, Twitter and Facebook, with a release of her second single from ''Rated Love'' would be called "Love Me". On October 13, 2016, Wyatt revealed a new single, called "Jodeci" on her Instagram account, stating "I think we got a new one with my new single Jodeci!!! I wanna know what ya'll think" revealing it would be released with a deluxe version of her album Rated Love on October 21, 2016.

Critical response

''Soulinstereo'' gave the album a 3.5 rating, stating that "If the album’s title wasn’t enough to clue you in on this album’s themes, the tracks themselves tell the story: “Love Me,” “Dumb Love,” Still Have Love,” “Love Reigns” — KeKe’s fourth album is an audio love letter, with the mistress of ceremonies simply narrating life’s emotional rollercoasters. Centric gave a review of the album stating "Her single "Love Me," perfectly captures the ups and downs of marriage and relationships, particularly when you're faced with conflict but yet can't help but be with the one you love. Another standout record on the album, "If It Ain't You"—among many others—is a beautiful ballad that showcases Keke's natural ability to breathe life into a love song like no other."

Singles

" was released as the album's lead single on November 20, 2015. The single featured on the U.S.

Adult R&B Songs The Adult R&B Songs chart (formerly called Adult R&B Airplay) is an airplay chart that is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on urban adult contemporary radio stations, whose playl ...

chart peaking at number 26. The music video for "Sexy Song" was released on Wyatt's YouTube channel on February 18, 2016, directed by Steven C. Pitts and filmed by Rite Media Group. "Love Me" was released as the album's second single on March 18, 2016. "Jodeci" was released as the album's third single. The music video was released to Wyatt's YouTube channel on October 17, 2016.Keke also sings a bit of Jodeci's "I'm Still Waiting", which was released in 1992, at the end of the track.

Live performances

Wyatt performed an impromptu version of the lead single "

" at

SOB's SOB's is a live world music venue and restaurant in the Hudson Square neighborhood of Manhattan. S.O.B.’s is an abbreviation of Sounds of Brazil. Larry Gold started SOBs in June 1982, and he currently still owns the space. Gold opened the ven ...

in New York City. Wyatt also performed "Sexy Song" at the Capitale night club in Washington, DC on December 12, 2015, and on Essence Live on February 12, 2016.

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 11 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Top R&B 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 ...

, number 16 on the ''Billboard'' Top Independent Album, and number 19 on the ''Billboard''

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 ...

charts on May 14, 2016. The album also charted at number eighty on the Billboard Top Current Albums chart.

Track listing

Album credits taken from Discogs.

Credits and personnel

Album credits taken from AllMusic. ; Performers and musicians *Keke Wyatt – vocals, background vocals, composition ; Technical personnel *Aaron Scott – production *Alex D. Rogers – photography *Brandon Hesson – composition *Carmael Frith – composition *Diego Morales – production *Dominic Gordon – composition, engineering, mixing, production *Eero Turunen – production *Jenny Karr – composition *Jevon Hill – production *Johnnie Miller – production *Kevin "KP" Pridgen, Jr. – engineering, mixing, production *Kyle Christopher – composition *Michael Ford – executive production *Peter Penn – composition *Profango Amore – graphic design *Robert Erness – composition, production *Shantee Tyler – composition *Steve Morales – engineer, mixing *Terrell "Hendrix" Green – production *Theodore Thomas – production *Wayne Wilson – composition

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2016 albums Keke Wyatt albums