''The Naked Truth'' is the fourth studio album by American rapper
Lil' Kim
Kimberly Denise Jones (born July 11, 1974), Those giving 1974 include:
*
*
*
*
* better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper and reality television personality. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, she lived much of he ...
, released on September 27, 2005. The album was released the same week she started her year-long prison sentence for
perjury
Perjury (also known as foreswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an inst ...
and it was her last studio album released by
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...
before deciding to part ways in 2008. Two official singles were released from the album: "
Lighters Up" as the lead single, released in September 2005, and "
Whoa", as the second and final single, in February 2006. ''The Naked Truth'' remains the only album by a female rapper to be rated five mics by ''
The Source
''The Source'' is an American hip hop and entertainment website, and a magazine that publishes annually or . It is the world's longest-running rap periodical, being founded as a newsletter in 1988 by Jonathan Shecter. David Mays was the ma ...
''. The album has sold over 400,000 copies in the United States.
Singles
The first single taken from the album was "
Lighters Up". It was released on September 13, 2005, and was a moderate success, peaking at number 31 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100. The second, and final, single from the album was "
Whoa". Released on February 7, 2006, it was less successful than its predecessor and failed to make the Hot 100. It did manage to chart in the UK, peaking at number 43.
Promotional singles
The first promo single taken from the album was "Shut Up Bitch". For the release the title was censored to "Shut Up". Released to radio on July 12, 2005, the song served as a promotional single for the album and peaked at number 73 on the ''Billboard'' Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It can be heard at the start of the "Lighters Up" music video. The second promo single was "Spell Check". It was released to US radio as a promo single for the album in December 2005, alongside "Whoa". The song was promoted in the music video for "Whoa" with Kim rapping the first verse and chorus near the end.
Critical reception
The album received generally positive reviews and was given a score of 66 out of 100 by
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
,
with 5 star ratings from ''
The Source
''The Source'' is an American hip hop and entertainment website, and a magazine that publishes annually or . It is the world's longest-running rap periodical, being founded as a newsletter in 1988 by Jonathan Shecter. David Mays was the ma ...
'' (in which she became the first and only female rapper to ever receive 5 mics), ''
Vibe Magazine
''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down production ...
'', and ''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...
'', and less than favorable reviews from ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' and
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 ...
. ''
Blender
A blender (sometimes called a mixer or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen appliance, kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsion, emulsify food and other substances. A stationary blender consists of a blender ...
'' gave the album four stars, calling it her "strongest work since her pheromone-thick
1996 debut". While the album did receive several 5 star ratings, ''
Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...
'' journalist Jess Harvell, who gave the album a positive 7.8 rating, stated, "''The Naked Truth'' may be better than 80% of the other rap albums to be released in 2005, but that doesn't make it another ''
Ready to Die
''Ready to Die'' is the debut studio album by American rapper The Notorious B.I.G., released on September 13, 1994, by Bad Boy Records and Arista Records. The album features productions by Bad Boy founder Sean "Puffy" Combs, Easy Mo Bee, Chucky ...
''."
Commercial performance
''The Naked Truth'' debuted at number six on the
''Billboard'' 200 and at number three 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 ...
chart, selling 109,000 copies in its first week. It sold 394,000 copies in the US
and 500,000 worldwide.
Track listing
Sample credts
*"Spell Check" contains interpolations of "
Mo Money Mo Problems
"Mo Money Mo Problems" is a song by American rapper The Notorious B.I.G., released through Bad Boy Records and Arista Records, which impacted US mainstream radio stations on July 15, 1997, as the second single from his second and final stud ...
" by
Notorious B.I.G.
Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...
*"All Good" contains samples from "
Juicy" by Notorious B.I.G..
*"I Know You See Me" contains samples from "
Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get may refer to:
* "Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get" (album), a 1971 album by The Dramatics
** "Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get" (song), the title track from the album
* '' Stand by Me (Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get)'', 1971 album by P ...
" by
The Dramatics
The Dramatics are an American soul music vocal group, formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1964. They are best known for their 1970s hit songs " In the Rain" and "Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get", both of which were Top 10 Pop hits, as well as their late ...
.
*"Durty" contains samples from "Wild Bird" by
Martha Veléz
Martha Veléz (born in New York City on August 25, 1945) is an American singer and actress of Puerto Rican descent.
Biography
Veléz started singing at age five and won an opera scholarship at age 12, as a mezzo-soprano. She studied for three ...
and elements from "Phunk U Symphony" by
Millie Jackson
Mildred Virginia Jackson (born July 15, 1944) is an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and Soul music, soul recording artist. Beginning her career in the early 1960s, three of Jackson's albums have been certified Music recording certification, gold ...
.
*"Kitty Box" contains elements from "
Love Buzz
"Love Buzz" is a song by Dutch rock band Shocking Blue. It was written by Robbie van Leeuwen and first released on the group's 1969 album '' At Home''. The song was covered by Nirvana, released as their debut single in 1988.
Nirvana cover versio ...
" by
Shocking Blue
Shocking Blue was a Dutch rock band formed in 1967 in The Hague. It was part of the music movement in the Netherlands that was generally known by the name Nederbeat. The band had a number of hits throughout the counterculture movement during ...
.
Personnel
* Kimberly "Lil' Kim" Jones –
executive producer
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 ...
* Christopher "The Notorious B.I.G." Wallace – executive producer
* Craig Kallman – executive producer
*
Hillary Weston
Hillary Weston is the American former longtime manager and friend of female American rap artist Lil' Kim.
Weston has served as associate producer on three of her albums - '' The Notorious K.I.M.'', ''La Bella Mafia'', and ''The Naked Truth''. She ...
– co-executive producer, manager
* Jean Nelson – co-executive producer, A&R
* Gee Roberson – co-executive producer, A&R
* Dre Weston – A&R
* Kyambo "HipHop" Joshua – A&R
* Lanre Gaba – A&R administrator
* Jamel Jackson – product manager
* Veronica Alvericci – product manager
* Dan the Man for Dan Man Productions – engineer
* Chris Gehringer – mastering
* Will Quinell – assistant mastering engineer
* L. Londell McMillian – legal affairs
* Berdon LLP – business affairs
* Deborah Mannis-Gardiner – sample clearances
* Robert D'Este – photography (cover and page 12)
* Roger Erickson – photography (outside inlay and pages 2–11)
* Patty Wilson – styling
* Kithe Brewster – styling
* Will Robinson – hair
* JJ – makeup
* Andrew Zach – art producer
* Ellen To – art direction, design
* Alex Kirzhner – design
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naked Truth, The
2005 albums
Albums produced by Fredwreck
Albums produced by J. R. Rotem
Albums produced by Mr. Porter
Albums produced by Scott Storch
Atlantic Records albums
Lil' Kim albums
International Rock Star Records albums