''Traces of My Lipstick'' is the third studio album by American R&B group Xscape. The album was released on May 12, 1998, through

So So Def Recordings So So Def Recordings is an American record label based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, and owned by producer Jermaine Dupri, specializing in Southern hip hop, R&B and bass music. So So Def has managed artists such as Bow Wow, Kris Kross, TL ...

and

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

. The album was preceded by the release of three singles: "

The Arms of the One Who Loves You "The Arms of the One Who Loves You" is a 1998 pop ballad released on Valentine's Day by American recording group Xscape. The song was sent to mainstream urban radio stations in the United States on March 31, 1998 and Top 40 on April 7, 1998, and ...

", "

My Little Secret "My Little Secret" is Xscape's second single, produced by Jermaine Dupri, from their third studio album "Traces of My Lipstick". The song reached number nine on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number two on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tr ...

" and "Softest Place on Earth". The album debuted at number 28 on the US

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...

and number six Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The album was

certified Platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

the on June 21, 1999.

Background and release

"Traces of My Lipstick" was the group's first album in three years after the release of their second album '' Off the Hook'' (1995). As with previous albums ''

Hummin' Comin' at 'Cha ''Hummin' Comin' at 'Cha'' is the debut studio album by American R&B singing group Xscape. Released on October 12, 1993, by So So Def Recordings (as the label's inaugural release) and Columbia Records, the album produced the singles " Just Kic ...

'' (1993) and '' Off the Hook'' (1995), the album was chiefly produced by

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 ...

with Manuel Seal, Jr. and

Daryl Simmons Daryl L. Simmons is an American R&B musician, songwriter and record producer, who worked with the production duo of L.A. Reid and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds. In 1977–1980 Daryl, with Manchild (band) recorded 2 soul & funk albums & the minor h ...

, with addition production from

Babyface Babyface or Baby Face can refer to: Nicknames * Lester Joseph Gillis a.k.a. Baby Face Nelson, an infamous 1930s bank robber * Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette (1933–1971), an American hard bop and soul-jazz musician * "Baby Face", Jimmy McLarnin ...

, Joe Thomas, Warryn Campbell and

Keith Sweat Keith Sweat (born July 22, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and an early figure in the new jack swing musical movement. He is known for his collection of hits including "I Want Her", " Make It Last Forever", "I'll Give A ...

Critical reception

The album was met with positive to mixed reviews from critics. Leo Stanley from

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 ...

reviewed the album giving it a 3 out of 5 stating "On their third album, Traces of My Lipstick, Xscape pretty much follows the cue of their two earlier efforts, with only slightly diminished results. The group sounds as good as ever, bringing real soul and passion to their performances, but unfortunately much of their record consists of average, unremarkable material. There are enough strong songs (primarily the singles) to make the record enjoyable, but it simply doesn't have the same resonance as their two earlier efforts."

Singles

" was released as the lead single on February 14, 1998. The song peaked at number seven on the US

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

chart and number four on the

Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

Chart. It sold 800,000 copies, earning a

gold certification Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

from the

. "

" was released as the album's second single on July 7, 1998. The song charted at number nine on the US

chart and number two on the

Chart. "Softest Place on Earth" was released as the album's third and final single on September 29, 1998. The song failed to impact on the Billboard Hot 100 but did chart at number twenty-eight on the

Chart.

Other songs

"Am I Dreaming" is a song by

Ol' Skool Ol' Skool was an American new jack swing and urban R&B group from St. Louis, Missouri that consisted of Jason Little (vocals), Jerome "Pookie" Lane (vocals), Tony Herron (vocals), Curtis Jefferson (vocals, bass) and Bobby Crawford (vocals, dr ...

featuring

and Xscape and was released on January 27, 1998. The song peaked at number five on the

Chart.

Commercial performance

''Traces of My Lipstick'' debuted at number twenty-eight on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and number six 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, lower than their two previous albums. It eventually received

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

certification by the

for more than one million copies shipped to stores.

Track listing

Notes * denotes co-producer

Credits and personnel

Musicians

, Bobby Crawford, Sean "Sep" Hall, William "P Sound" Thomas -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

* Tomi Martin -

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

* Michael Thompson - guitar * George Wadenius - guitar * Babyface, Sean "Sep" Hall, Guy Roche -

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

Production

* Executive producers:

, Michael Mauldin * Producers: Babyface, Jermaine Dupri,

Joe Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

, Manuel Seal, Jr., Daryl Simmons,

, Warryn Campbell, Guy Roche * Main performer: Xscape * Additional vocals: Jagged Edge, Daryl Simmons,

, Foxy Brown * Engineers: Brian Frye, Karl Heilbron, Chris Puram, Everett Ramos, Mike Seieizi, Brian Smith, Rich Tapper * Mixing: Jermaine Dupri, Tom "TK" Kidd, Neil Pogue, Chris Puram, Ron A. Shaffer,

Phil Tan Phil Tan is a Malaysian-American music and audio engineer. Early life and education Tan was born in Malaysia. He attended Full Sail University in Florida in the U.S., where he attained a degree in Recording Arts in 1990. Afterwards he moved to Atla ...

Dave Way Dave Way is an American producer, mixer and audio engineer based in Los Angeles, California, United States. He has worked with Fiona Apple, Sheryl Crow, Kesha, Pink, Christina Aguilera, Macy Gray, Ringo Starr, Shakira, Phoebe Bridgers, John Doe, Sa ...

* Mixing assistance: John Frye, Kevin Lively, Alex Lowe, Thomas Rickert * Drum programming: Babyface, Bobby Crawford, Sean "Sep" Hall, William "P Sound" Thomas * Programming: Guy Roche, Joe Thomas

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Traces Of My Lipstick 1998 albums Albums produced by Jermaine Dupri Albums produced by Warryn Campbell Xscape (group) albums