''Total'' is the debut album by American female R&B trio Total. It was released by

Bad Boy Records Bad Boy Records (or Bad Boy Entertainment) is an American record label founded in 1993 by rapper Sean "Puffy" Combs. It operates as an imprint of Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. It has been home to many artists, including ...

and

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...

on January 30, 1996 in the United States. Chiefly produced by Bad Boy head

Sean "Puffy" Combs 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 direct ...

, the album peaked at number 23 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and reached the top five of the US

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 ...

. ''Total'' was certified platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America 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 ...

(RIAA) and spawned the hit singles " Can't You See", " No One Else", "Kissin' You" and "Do You Think About Us"/"When Boy Meets Girl".

Critical reception

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 ...

senior editor

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

found that "while the album is simply too long to sustain the quality" of their previous "singles "See" and "No One Else," most of the record is filled with deep, seductive funk that follows through on the group's promise." ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

''s Dimitri Ehrlich wrote that "with a buttery delivery and enough sass to kill an elephant, this trio of hip-hop/soul vixens gives

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

good cause to be frightened. Brimming with irresistibly funky loops and gritty grooves, the self-titled ''Total'' is a pleasure from start to finish. Rap assists from label mate

The 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 ...

are the cherry on top." Connie Johnson from ''

The Los Angeles Times ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' felt that "the three singers themselves generate little heat. The vocals on the best cuts, “Can't You See” and “Do You Think About Us?,” mostly evoke

Faith Evans Faith Renée Evans (born June 10, 1973) is an American singer and actress. Born in Lakeland, Florida, and raised in New Jersey, she relocated to Los Angeles in 1991 for a career in the music business. After working as a backing vocalist for Al B ...

and

T-Boz Tionne Tenese Watkins (born April 26, 1970), better known by her stage name T-Boz, is an American singer and actress. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, Watkins rose to fame in the early 1990s as a member of the girl-group TLC. She has won four Grammy ...

of TLC. Except for the lasciviousness of “Who Is This,” Total doesn't distinguish itself other divas."

Track listing

Sample credits *"Do You Know" contains a sample from "Same Beat (Part 1)" as performed by

Fred Wesley Fred Wesley (born July 4, 1943) is an American trombonist who worked with James Brown in the 1960s and 1970s and Parliament-Funkadelic in the second half of the 1970s. Biography Wesley was born the son of a high school teacher and big band lead ...

and The J.B.'s. *"No One Else" contains a sample from "South Bronx" as performed by

KRS-1 Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from New York City. He rose to prominence as part of ...

. *"Can't You See" contains elements from "The Payback" as performed by

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

. *"Someone like You" contains a sample from "Save their Souls" as performed by

Hamilton Bohannon Hamilton Frederick Bohannon (March 7, 1942 – April 24, 2020), often credited and known professionally simply as Bohannon, was an American percussionist, band leader, songwriter, arranger, and record producer, who was one of the leading figure ...

. *"Tell Me" contains a sample from "Help Somebody Please" as performed by

The O'Jays The O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appearance with the minor ...

. *"Love Is All We Need" contains excerpts from "Atomic Dog" as performed by George Clinton. *"Don't Ever Change" samples "Computer Love" as performed by Zapp. *"Spend Some Time" contains a sample from "Love TKO" as performed by

Teddy Pendergrass Theodore DeReese Pendergrass (March 26, 1950 – January 13, 2010) was an American soul and R&B singer-songwriter. He was born in Kingstree, South Carolina. Pendergrass spent most of his life in the Philadelphia area, and initially rose to musi ...

. *"When Boy Meets Girl" incorporates re-recorded portions of "Love You Inside Out" as written and performed by

The Bee Gees ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

Credits

*Charles "Prince Charles" Alexander – Flute, Mixing *Eddie Alford – Guitar *Bob Brockman – Mixing *Gerry Brown – Mixing *

– Executive Producer, Producer, Remixing, Voices *Lane Craven – Engineer *Da Brat – Rap *Stephen Dent – Engineer *Chad "Dr. Seuss" Elliott – Producer *Dan Evans – Production Coordination *Guzman (Constance Hansen and Russell Peacock) – Photography *Chad Hugo – Producer *Stevie J. – Producer *Julian Jackson – Drums, Engineer, Keyboards, Percussion, Programming *Rodney Jerkins – Remixing *D. Jones – Vocals (Background) *Steve Jordan – Producer *Paul Logus – Engineer, Mixing *Pam Long – Voices *Tammy Lucas – Vocal Producer *Keith M. – Vocals (Background) *

Tony Maserati Tony Maserati is an American record producer and audio engineer specializing in mixing. He was involved in the development of the New York R&B and hip-hop scene in the 1990s, working with Mary J. Blige, Notorious B.I.G., Puff Daddy, and Queen ...

– Engineer, Mixing *Keenya Mauldin – Hair Stylist *Alisha Melvin – Hair Stylist *Herb Middleton – Keyboards *Nasheim Myrick – Engineer *Axel Niehaus – Engineer, Mixing *Jean Claude "Poke" Olivier – Producer *Sybil Pennix – Assistant Producer, Stylist, Executive Producer *Herb Powers – Mastering *Terri Robinson – Producer, Vocals (Background) *Raphael Saadiq – Guitar (Bass), Producer, Vocals (Background) *LaTrice Shaw – Production Coordination *Rashad Smith – Producer *Eric Spearman – Make-Up *Kevin Thomas – Engineer *Chucky Thompson – Guitar, Keyboards, Producer *Total – Vocals (Background) *Richard Travali – Engineer *Pharrell Williams – Producer *Doug Wilson – Engineer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control Total (group) albums 1996 debut albums Albums produced by Sean Combs Albums produced by Rashad Smith Albums produced by Rodney Jerkins Albums produced by Raphael Saadiq Albums produced by the Neptunes Bad Boy Records albums