''Sexy Versus'' is the third studio album by
Al B. Sure!
Albert Joseph Brown III (born June 4, 1968), known professionally as Al B. Sure!, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, radio host and former record executive. He was born in Boston and raised in Mount Vernon, New York. During the ...
It was his first album released exclusively by Warner Bros. Records, his first two having been released under
Uptown Records
Uptown Records is an American record label, based in New York City, founded in 1986 by onetime rapper Andre Harrell. From the late 1980s into the early 1990s, it was a leader in R&B and hip hop. During the 1990s, aided by its A&R worker Sean ...
with Warner Bros. Records handling distribution.
It was not as successful as his previous two albums but still managed to find success on the charts, making it to #41 on the
''Billboard'' 200 and #2 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 ...
. Three singles made it to the ''Billboard'' charts: "Natalie," "Right Now," and "I Don't Wanna Cry."
The track "See The Lady" is a remix of the song "Channel J" from his previous album ''
Private Times...and the Whole 9!''. The album's second single "Natalie" was written about actress
Halle Berry
Halle Maria Berry (; born Maria Halle Berry; August 14, 1966) is an American actress. She began her career as a model and entered several beauty contests, finishing as the first runner-up in the Miss USA pageant and coming in sixth in the Mis ...
after he saw her in the 1991 film ''
Strictly Business''. In 2014, Sure! referred to the success of the album as well as Berry's inspiration for "Natalie" on
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
.
It was recently revealed that one of the photos inside the booklet of this album in CD format is of Al B Sure! and his ex,
Kim Porter
Sean Combs (born Sean John Combs; November 4, 1969), also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, actor, record producer, and record executive. Born in New York City, he worked as a talent directo ...
, who died on November 16, 2018.
Track listing
*All Songs Co-Written By Al B. Sure!
#"Right Now" – 5:54 (Kyle West)
#"U & I" – 5:43 (Kiyamma Griffin)
#"Playing Games" – 6:04 (DeVante Swing)
#"Natalie" – 5:54 (West)
#"Ooh 4 You Girl
(ft. Grand Puba
Maxwell Dixon (born March 4, 1964), known professionally as Grand Puba, is an American rapper and emcee, best known as one of the members of the group Brand Nubian from New Rochelle, New York.
Biography
He made his debut as Grand Puba Max ...
& Chubb Rock
Richard Simpson, also known as Chubb Rock (born May 28, 1968 in Brooklyn, New York) is a New York-based rapper who released several successful hip hop albums in the late 1980s and early 1990s. A National Merit Scholar, Chubb Rock dropped out o ...
)" – 5:54 (Griffin)
#"Kick in the Head"
(ft. Rakim
William Michael Griffin Jr. (born January 28, 1968), better known by his stage name Rakim Allah or simply Rakim (), is an American rapper and record producer. One half of golden age hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, he is widely regarded as one of t ...
) – 4:58 (Kevin Deane)
#"Turn You Out"
(ft. Slick Rick
Richard Martin Lloyd Walters (born January 14, 1965), better known as Slick Rick, is an English-American rapper and record producer.
He rose to prominence with Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew in the mid-1980s. Their songs " The Show" and " ...
) – 5:56 (Swing)
#"See the Lady
(ft. Chubb Rock)" – 5:20 (West)
#"Thanks 4 a Great Time Last Nite" – 6:35 (Deane)
#"I Don't Wanna Cry" – 5:14 (West)
#"Die for You
(ft. Brione Lathrop)" – 5:31 (West)
#"I'll Never Hurt You Again" – 5:53 (West)
#"Papes in the End
(ft. Greg "To The Head" and Slick Rick
Richard Martin Lloyd Walters (born January 14, 1965), better known as Slick Rick, is an English-American rapper and record producer.
He rose to prominence with Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew in the mid-1980s. Their songs " The Show" and " ...
)" – 4:11 (Marc Choice, Howie Tee)
Personnel
*
Al B. Sure!
Albert Joseph Brown III (born June 4, 1968), known professionally as Al B. Sure!, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, radio host and former record executive. He was born in Boston and raised in Mount Vernon, New York. During the ...
- vocals
*Ike Lee III - drum programming
*Al B. Sure!, Kevin Deane, Kiyamma Griffin,
DeVanté Swing
Donald Earle DeGrate Jr. (born September 29, 1969), better known by his stage name DeVanté Swing, is an American record producer, singer, rapper and songwriter.
He is the older brother of fellow Jodeci member Dalvin DeGrate.
Career
In his ear ...
, Kyle West - keyboards
*Brione Lathrop,
Chubb Rock
Richard Simpson, also known as Chubb Rock (born May 28, 1968 in Brooklyn, New York) is a New York-based rapper who released several successful hip hop albums in the late 1980s and early 1990s. A National Merit Scholar, Chubb Rock dropped out o ...
,
Grand Puba
Maxwell Dixon (born March 4, 1964), known professionally as Grand Puba, is an American rapper and emcee, best known as one of the members of the group Brand Nubian from New Rochelle, New York.
Biography
He made his debut as Grand Puba Max ...
, Gregg "To The Head", Kyle West,
Rakim
William Michael Griffin Jr. (born January 28, 1968), better known by his stage name Rakim Allah or simply Rakim (), is an American rapper and record producer. One half of golden age hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, he is widely regarded as one of t ...
,
Slick Rick
Richard Martin Lloyd Walters (born January 14, 1965), better known as Slick Rick, is an English-American rapper and record producer.
He rose to prominence with Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew in the mid-1980s. Their songs " The Show" and " ...
- additional vocals
Production
*Executive Producer:
Benny Medina
Benny Medina (born January 24, 1958) is an American record executive, talent manager, and television producer.
Early life and education
Medina was born in East Los Angeles, California, of Dominican parents into a poor family. The death of hi ...
*Produced By Al B. Sure!, Kevin Deane, Kiyamma Griffin, Vincent Herbert, DeVanté Swing, Howie Tee & Kyle West
*Engineers: Steven Ett, Michael Gilbert, Paul Logus
*Assistant Engineers: Louis Alfred III
*Mixing: Al B. Sure!, Steven Ett, Michael Gilbert,
Mick Guzauski
*Mix Assistants: Andrew Godsberg, Gil Morales
*Editing: Al B. Sure!, Michael Gilbert
*Mastering: Herb Powers
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
References
External links
*
''Sexy Versus'' at allmusic
{{Authority control
Al B. Sure! albums
1992 albums
Warner Records albums
Albums produced by DeVante Swing
Albums produced by Howie Tee
Albums produced by Vincent Herbert