''There's Something About Remy: Based on a True Story'' is the debut studio album by American rapper

Remy Ma Reminisce Mackie ( Smith; born May 30, 1980), known professionally as Remy Ma, is an American rapper. Discovered by Big Pun, she came to prominence for her work as a member of Fat Joe's group, Terror Squad. In 2006, she released her debut stud ...

. It was released on February 7, 2006, by SRC Records,

Universal Records 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 ...

and

Terror Squad Entertainment Terror Squad Productions is an American Hip hop and Rap record company founded by Fat Joe in 1997. The label had been distributed by Atlantic, EMI, and Imperial, E1 (formerly Koch). The label's flagship artist was Big Pun. History Early Years ...

. The album's release date served as the sixth anniversary of her mentor

Big Pun Christopher Lee Rios (November 10, 1971 – February 7, 2000), better known by his stage name Big Pun (short for Big Punisher), was an American rapper. Emerging from the underground hip hop scene in the Bronx borough of New York City in the e ...

's death. The title and cover art coincides with the 1998 film ''

There's Something About Mary ''There's Something About Mary'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly. It stars Cameron Diaz as the title character with Ben Stiller, Matt Dillon, Lee Evans, and Chris Elliott all playing men w ...

''. The album sold over 35,000 copies in its first week and as of 2007, has sold over 160,000 copies.

Background

While growing up with her sister Kristin Devereaux, in Castle Hill Projects in the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

, New York, Remy Ma often saw the consequences and terrors of her family's drug abuse with her own eyes. She was forced to take care of her little brothers and sisters at her young age and retreated from her home issues by writing poetry. Her reputation quickly grew around the Bronx and word eventually got to the late MC

of her and her work. After one meeting and a freestyle session, Pun became her mentor. Ma made her first appearances in the music industry on Big Pun's album ''Yeeeah Baby'' (under the name Remy Martin) on the tracks such as "Ms. Martin" and "You Was Wrong". Upon the death of Big Pun, rapper Fat Joe signed Smith to his imprint label under SRC and

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a ...

and made her a member of Terror Squad. Following the success of ''Lean Back'', which garnered Remy a Grammy nomination, Ma released three singles from her debut album '' There's Something About Remy'', the songs " Whuteva", " Conceited" and " Feels So Good" The album moved 40,000 units in its opening week and 160,000 units within the first year. The album received good reviews from ''XXL'' Magazine with XL to ''Rolling Stone'' and ''Vibe'' Magazine despite its low sales. Remy was frustrated at the way the album was being promoted by

and how the label wasn't releasing the right singles. With the solo albums lackluster debut, Smith decided to end her relationship with Fat Joe and the Terror Squad, breaking her deal with SRC/Universal in the process.

Commercial performance

Despite lack of promotion from the label, There's Something About Remy: Based On A True Story peaked at number 33 on Billboard 200, number 33 on Billboard Top Album Sales, number 2 on Billboard Top Rap Albums and number 7 on Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.

Singles

The album's lead single, called "Whuteva" was released on August 2, 2005. The song peaked at number 1 on Billboard Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, number 18 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 ...

and number 79 on the Top R&B Songs. In December 2006, the music video was added to her Official

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

account. The album's second single, called " Conceited" was released on December 13, 2005. The song peaked at number 7 Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Song Recurrents chart, number 17 on the Hot Rap Tracks, number 90 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, number 71 on Billboard Radio Songs chart, number 24 on Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, number 4 on Billboard Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and number 17 on Billboard Rap Airplay chart. The music video premiered on January 7, 2006, on VH1. The album's third single, "

Feel So Good "Feel So Good" is the debut single by American hip-hop artist Mase. It was released in October 1997 through Arista Records and Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records as the lead single from his debut album, ''Harlem World'', and it appeared on the ''Mone ...

" was released on April 25, 2006. The song features a

guest appearance In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other ...

from American singer-songwriter

Ne-Yo Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, and record producer. He gained fame for his songwriting abilities when he penned Mario's 2004 hit " Let Me Love You ...

. The song peaked at number 1 on Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100, number 20 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, number 11 on Billboard Hot Rap Songs, number 11 on Billboard Rap Airplay chart and number 2 on Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Recurrents chart with no promotion. The visual was scheduled to film in

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

but never resumed due to Remy completely shutting down all disagreements and dehumanizing staff with brutal verbal confrontations that ultimately lead her to cut ties ending all business deals with both Record Labels.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control 2006 debut albums Remy Ma albums Albums produced by Buckwild Albums produced by Cool & Dre Albums produced by Scott Storch Albums produced by Swizz Beatz Albums produced by the Alchemist (musician) Albums produced by Emile Haynie Albums produced by Agallah Albums produced by Scram Jones Universal Records albums