Enter the Dru is the second studio album from American R&B group Dru Hill. Released on October 27, 1998, it was the group's second and final album for Island Black Music, the urban music division of Island Records; Island was merged with Def Jam Recordings following a company merger in December the same year, as Dru Hill would later be transferred to Def Jam's Def Soul subsidiary.[1][2]
This is the first album that the group were credited as executive producers as all four members wrote and produced several of the songs. It released three singles, "How Deep Is Your Love", "These Are The Times" and "You Are Everything". The singles all had music videos released, but the music video for "You Are Everything" was a remix video, which featured rapper Ja Rule, and Woody did not appear in it due to him leaving the group in early 1999. The remix version was later featured on lead singer Sisqó's debut album, Unleash the Dragon, which was released that November.
Recording sessions for the album took place at Larabee Studios in Los Angeles. The album peaked at number two on both the Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. In May 1999, it was certified double-platinum in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), after exceeding 2,000,000 copies in the United States.
The songs on the album are mainly performed by lead singer, Sisqó, who performs solo on four songs: "Real Freak", "How Deep Is Your Love", "This Is What We Do" and "One Good Reason". Jazz performs solo on "Holding You" and "I'll Be the One". Woody performs solo on "Angel". Nokio does not perform solo on any songs but he does get more lead vocals than on the group's eponymous debut album.
Backgroundedit
The album was recorded over a three-week span at Larabee Studios in Los Angeles during the early months of 1998.[3] Group member James "Woody Rock" Green would leave the group soon after the release of the album to pursue a career as a gospel musician. The other members also went on to do solo albums, which forced the group to go on hiatus.[3]
The album peaked at number two on both the U.S. Billboard 200 and the R&B Albums chart.[9] The album was certified gold in December 1998 and eventually recertified double-platinum by May 1999.[10] Michael Gallucci of Allmusic gave the group and their second effort a favorable review, stating that "Dru Hill slice into the section of '90s soul music that crosses bedroom come-ons with classic street savvy (and nervy beats) without sounding at all whipped."[4]
Assistant engineering – Tom Bender, Greg Burns, Mick Guzauski, Kevin Lively, Ted Reiger, Aaron Sprague, The Storm, Dylan Vaughn, Pascal Volberg
Assistant mixing – E'lyk, The Storm, Pascal Volberg
Bass – Alex Al, Ronnie Garrett, Michael Thompson
Clothing/wardrobe – Julieanne Mijares
Conductor(s) – Larry Gold, Sisqó
Drum programming – Babyface, Nokio the N-Tity, Greg Phillinganes, Guy Roche, Daryl Simmons, Ralph Stacy, Damon Thomas, William "P Sound" Thomas
Engineering – Paul Boutin, Greg Burns, Felipe Elgueta, Thom "TK" Kidd, Mario Lucy, Manny Marroquin, Jason Rome, Rafa Sardina, Jon Smeltz, Ralph Stacy, Moana Suchard, Joe Warlick
Executive production – Dru Hill, Hiriam Hicks, Haqq Islam, Kevin Peck, Kenneth Crear
Grooming – Heba Thorisdottir
Guitar – James Harrah, Sonny Lallerstedt, Michael Hart Thompson
Keyboards – Babyface, David Foster, Nokio the N-Tity, Greg Phillinganes, Guy Roche, Daryl Simmons, Ralph Stacy, Damon Thomas, Phil Weatherspoon
Mastering – Chris Gehringer
Mixing – Bonzai, Jon Gass, Mick Guzauski, Thom "TK" Kidd, Manny Marroquin, Thom Russo, Jon Smeltz
Performer(s) – Chinky Brown Eyes, Method Man
Photo assistance – Beth Coller, John Garcia
Photography – Beth Coller, John Garcia, Tracy Lamonica
Piano – Alex Al, Warryn Campbell, Greg Phillinganes
Production – Baby Dave, Babyface, Warryn Campbell, Dutch, David Foster, James "Woody" Green, Nokio the N-Tity, Guy Roche, Daryl Simmons, Sisqó, Ralph Stacy, Damon Thomas
Production coordination – Ivy Skoff
Rapping – Method Man
Strings – Cameron Stone
String arranging – Larry Gold, Sisqó
String conduction – Larry Gold
Stylistic advisor – Laurie Chang, April Roomet
Stylistic assistant – Laurie Chang, April Roomet
Synclavier – Simon Franglen
Synclavier programming – Simon Franglen
Vocal arranging – R. Brown, Nokio the N-Tity, Guy Roche, Sisqó
Vocal production – Nokio the N-Tity
Vocals – Dru Hill, Nokio the N-Tity, Sisqó
Vocals (background) – Dru Hill
Notesedit
^Hochman, Steve (1999-08-15). "Def Jam Plans a Happy New Year". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-10-03.
^Philips, Chuck (1998-12-10). "Merger Puts Seagram at Top of Music Charts". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-10-03.
^ abWilliams, Chris (2011-01-23). "Dru Hill founder Nokio recalls making Enter the Dru LP (1998) : Return To The Classics : SoulCulture". SoulCulture.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-04-03.
^ abGallucci, Michael. "'Enter the Dru' Review". Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
^Tyehimba, Cheo (1998-10-30). "Enter the Dru Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2011-04-03.
^"Top Pop Albums - Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times. 1998-12-03. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
^Hardy, Ernest (1998-12-10). . Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2008-08-21. Retrieved 2012-10-25.
^"Dru Hill - Enter the Dru CD Album". CD Universe. Retrieved 2012-10-25.
^"allmusic ((( Enter the Dru > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
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Enter the Dru is the second studio album from American R amp B group Dru Hill Released on October 27 1998 it was the group s second and final album for Island Black Music the urban music division of Island Records Island was merged with Def Jam Recordings following a company merger in December the same year as Dru Hill would later be transferred to Def Jam s Def Soul subsidiary 1 2 Enter The DruStudio album by Dru HillReleasedOctober 27 1998Recorded1998StudioLarabee Studios Los Angeles GenreR amp B hip hop soulLength66 01LabelIslandProducerKenneth Crear exec Dru Hill exec Hiriam Hicks exec Haqq Islam exec Kevin Peck exec Baby Dave Babyface Warryn Campbell Dutch David Foster James Woody Green Nokio the N Tity Guy Roche Daryl Simmons Sisqo Ralph Stacy Damon ThomasDru Hill chronologyDru Hill 1996 Enter The Dru 1998 Dru World Order 2002 Singles from Enter The Dru How Deep Is Your Love Released June 23 1998 These Are the Times Released November 17 1998 Beauty Released January 31 1999 You Are Everything Released May 18 1999The album s title was inspired by the Bruce Lee 1973 film Enter the Dragon This is the first album that the group were credited as executive producers as all four members wrote and produced several of the songs It released three singles How Deep Is Your Love These Are The Times and You Are Everything The singles all had music videos released but the music video for You Are Everything was a remix video which featured rapper Ja Rule and Woody did not appear in it due to him leaving the group in early 1999 The remix version was later featured on lead singer Sisqo s debut album Unleash the Dragon which was released that November Recording sessions for the album took place at Larabee Studios in Los Angeles The album peaked at number two on both the Billboard 200 and Top R amp B Hip Hop Albums charts In May 1999 it was certified double platinum in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America RIAA after exceeding 2 000 000 copies in the United States Contents 1 Overview 2 Background 3 Release and reception 4 Track listing 5 Charts 5 1 Weekly charts 5 2 Year end charts 5 3 Certifications 6 Personnel 7 Notes 8 External linksOverview editThe songs on the album are mainly performed by lead singer Sisqo who performs solo on four songs Real Freak How Deep Is Your Love This Is What We Do and One Good Reason Jazz performs solo on Holding You and I ll Be the One Woody performs solo on Angel Nokio does not perform solo on any songs but he does get more lead vocals than on the group s eponymous debut album Background editThe album was recorded over a three week span at Larabee Studios in Los Angeles during the early months of 1998 3 Group member James Woody Rock Green would leave the group soon after the release of the album to pursue a career as a gospel musician The other members also went on to do solo albums which forced the group to go on hiatus 3 Release and reception editProfessional ratingsReview scoresSourceRatingAllmusic nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 4 Entertainment WeeklyC 5 Los Angeles Times nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 6 Rolling Stone nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 7 Spin 7 10 8 The album peaked at number two on both the U S Billboard 200 and the R amp B Albums chart 9 The album was certified gold in December 1998 and eventually recertified double platinum by May 1999 10 Michael Gallucci of Allmusic gave the group and their second effort a favorable review stating that Dru Hill slice into the section of 90s soul music that crosses bedroom come ons with classic street savvy and nervy beats without sounding at all whipped 4 Track listing editNo TitleWriter s Producer s Length1 Enter the Dru Interlude Mark Andrews David EvansSisqo Baby Dave0 532 Real Freak featuring Chinky Brown Eyes Mark Andrews David EvansSisqo Baby Dave3 343 How Deep Is Your Love Tamir Ruffin Mark Andrews Warryn CampbellDutch Nokio The N Tity Warryn Campbell4 034 This Is What We Do featuring Method Man Mark Andrews Tamir Ruffin Rick CousinNokio The N Tity Dutch4 215 Holding You Larry Anthony Rick CousinDutch Jazz4 286 I m Wondering Tamir Ruffin Warryn Campbell Rick CousinWarryn Campbell Nokio The N Tity4 177 You Are Everything Mark Andrews Rick CousinSisqo Dutch4 348 I ll Be The One Daryl SimmonsDaryl Simmons4 269 Nowhere Without You Interlude Mark Andrews James GreenSisqo Warryn Campbell1 0610 One Good Reason Ralph Stacy Raphael BrownRalph Stacy Nokio The N Tity4 1511 Angel Interlude James Green Warryn CampbellWarryn Campbell Woody1 3312 Angel James Green Warryn CampbellWarryn Campbell Woody Nokio The N Tity4 2413 What Do I Do With The Love Diane WarrenDavid Foster Guy Roche Nokio The N Tity4 4614 Beauty Tamir Ruffin Guy Roche Phil WeatherspoonGuy Roche Nokio The N Tity4 3215 These Are the Times Kenneth Edmonds Damon ThomasBabyface Damon Thomas4 0916 The Love We Had Stays On My Mind Terry Callier Larry WadeDaryl Simmons5 3517 What Are We Gonna Do Tamir Ruffin Ralph Cousin Shep CrawfordNokio The N Tity Dutch5 06Charts editWeekly charts edit Chart 1998 PeakpositionAustralian Albums ARIA Charts 11 76Canadian Albums Billboard 12 11Canadian R amp B Albums Nielsen SoundScan 13 2Dutch Albums Album Top 100 14 27German Albums Offizielle Top 100 15 19UK Albums OCC 16 42UK R amp B Albums OCC 17 2US Billboard 200 18 2US Top R amp B Hip Hop Albums Billboard 19 2 Year end charts edit Chart 1998 PositionUS Top R amp B Hip Hop Albums Billboard 20 94Chart 1999 PositionUS Billboard 200 21 41US Top R amp B Hip Hop Albums Billboard 22 10 Certifications edit Region Certification Certified units salesCanada Music Canada 23 Gold 50 000 United Kingdom BPI 24 Gold 100 000 United States RIAA 10 2 Platinum 2 000 000 Sales figures based on certification alone Shipments figures based on certification alone Personnel editInformation taken from Allmusic 25 26 A amp R Matthew Schwartz Arranging Nokio the N Tity Guy Roche Assistant engineering Tom Bender Greg Burns Mick Guzauski Kevin Lively Ted Reiger Aaron Sprague The Storm Dylan Vaughn Pascal Volberg Assistant mixing E lyk The Storm Pascal Volberg Bass Alex Al Ronnie Garrett Michael Thompson Clothing wardrobe Julieanne Mijares Conductor s Larry Gold Sisqo Drum programming Babyface Nokio the N Tity Greg Phillinganes Guy Roche Daryl Simmons Ralph Stacy Damon Thomas William P Sound Thomas Engineering Paul Boutin Greg Burns Felipe Elgueta Thom TK Kidd Mario Lucy Manny Marroquin Jason Rome Rafa Sardina Jon Smeltz Ralph Stacy Moana Suchard Joe Warlick Executive production Dru Hill Hiriam Hicks Haqq Islam Kevin Peck Kenneth Crear Grooming Heba Thorisdottir Guitar James Harrah Sonny Lallerstedt Michael Hart Thompson Keyboards Babyface David Foster Nokio the N Tity Greg Phillinganes Guy Roche Daryl Simmons Ralph Stacy Damon Thomas Phil Weatherspoon Mastering Chris Gehringer Mixing Bonzai Jon Gass Mick Guzauski Thom TK Kidd Manny Marroquin Thom Russo Jon Smeltz Performer s Chinky Brown Eyes Method Man Photo assistance Beth Coller John Garcia Photography Beth Coller John Garcia Tracy Lamonica Piano Alex Al Warryn Campbell Greg Phillinganes Production Baby Dave Babyface Warryn Campbell Dutch David Foster James Woody Green Nokio the N Tity Guy Roche Daryl Simmons Sisqo Ralph Stacy Damon Thomas Production coordination Ivy Skoff Rapping Method Man Strings Cameron Stone String arranging Larry Gold Sisqo String conduction Larry Gold Stylistic advisor Laurie Chang April Roomet Stylistic assistant Laurie Chang April Roomet Synclavier Simon Franglen Synclavier programming Simon Franglen Vocal arranging R Brown Nokio the N Tity Guy Roche Sisqo Vocal production Nokio the N Tity Vocals Dru Hill Nokio the N Tity Sisqo Vocals background Dru HillNotes edit Hochman Steve 1999 08 15 Def Jam Plans a Happy New Year Los Angeles Times Retrieved 2023 10 03 Philips Chuck 1998 12 10 Merger Puts Seagram at Top of Music Charts Los Angeles Times Retrieved 2023 10 03 a b Williams Chris 2011 01 23 Dru Hill founder Nokio recalls making Enter the Dru LP 1998 Return To The Classics SoulCulture SoulCulture co uk Retrieved 2011 04 03 a b Gallucci Michael Enter the Dru Review Allmusic Retrieved 2011 04 02 Tyehimba Cheo 1998 10 30 Enter the Dru Review Entertainment Weekly Retrieved 2011 04 03 Top Pop Albums Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Times 1998 12 03 Retrieved 2011 04 02 Hardy Ernest 1998 12 10 Dru Hill Enter The Dru Music Reviews Rolling Stone Archived from the original on 2008 08 21 Retrieved 2012 10 25 Dru Hill Enter the Dru CD Album CD Universe Retrieved 2012 10 25 allmusic Enter the Dru gt Charts amp Awards gt Billboard Albums Allmusic Retrieved 2011 04 02 a b American album certifications Dru Hill Enter the Dru Recording Industry Association of America Retrieved March 9 2022 Ryan Gavin 2011 Australia s Music Charts 1988 2010 PDF ed Mt Martha Victoria Australia Moonlight Publishing p 87 Dru Hill Chart History Canadian Albums Billboard Retrieved 2020 08 25 R amp B Top 50 Jam Archived from the original on December 6 1998 Retrieved April 10 2023 Dutchcharts nl Dru Hill Enter the Dru in Dutch Hung Medien Retrieved December 31 2022 Offiziellecharts de Dru Hill Enter the Dru in German GfK Entertainment Charts Retrieved December 31 2022 Official Albums Chart Top 100 Official Charts Company Retrieved December 31 2022 Official R amp B Albums Chart Top 40 Official Charts Company Retrieved December 31 2022 Dru Hill Chart History Billboard 200 Billboard Retrieved 2020 08 25 Dru Hill Chart History Top R amp B Hip Hop Albums Billboard Retrieved 2020 08 25 Top R amp B Hip Hop Albums Year End 1998 Billboard Retrieved 2020 08 25 Top Billboard 200 Albums Year End 1999 Billboard Retrieved 2020 08 25 Top R amp B Hip Hop Albums Year End 1999 Billboard Retrieved 2020 08 25 Canadian album certifications Dru Hill Enter the Dru Music Canada Retrieved March 9 2022 British album certifications Dru Hill Enter the Dru British Phonographic Industry Retrieved March 9 2022 allmusic Enter the Dru gt Credits Allmusic Retrieved 2011 04 03 Credits as per liner notes for Enter the Dru albumExternal links editEnter the Dru at AllMusic Enter the Dru at Discogs Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Enter the Dru amp oldid 1178420814, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,