Enter the Dru
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
Enter the Dru is the second studio album from American R&B group Dru Hill, released October 27, 1998 on Island Records. The album's name comes from Bruce Lee's film, Enter the Dragon. It released three singles "How Deep Is Your Love", "These Are the Times" and "You Are Everything". Recording sessions for the album took place at Larabee Studios in Los Angeles, California.
The album peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 chart. By May of 1999, it was certified double-platinum in sales by the RIAA, after sales exceeding 2,000,000 copies in the United States.
Background
The album was recorded over a three-week span at Larabee Studios in Los Angeles, California during the early months of 1998.[1] 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.[1]
Release and reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [2] |
| Entertainment Weekly | (C+)[3] |
| Los Angeles Times | [4] |
The album peaked at two on the U.S. Billboard 200 and on the R&B Albums chart.[5] The album was certified gold in December of 1998 and eventually double-platinum by May of 1999.[6]
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."[2]
Tracklisting
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Enter the Dru (Interlude)" | Andrews, Evans | Sisqó and Baby Dave | 0:53 |
| 2. | "Real Freak" (featuring Chinky Brown Eyes) | Andrews, Evans | Sisqó and Baby Dave | 3:34 |
| 3. | "How Deep Is Your Love" | Andrews, Campbell, Cousin, Cousins, Ruffin | Dutch, Nokio the N-Tity, and Warryn Campbell | 4:03 |
| 4. | "This Is What We Do" (featuring Method Man) | Andrews, Carter, Cousin, Ruffin, Smith | Nokio the N-Tity and Dutch | 4:21 |
| 5. | "Holding You" | Anthony, Cousin | Dutch | 4:28 |
| 6. | "I'm Wondering" | Campbell, Cousin, Ruffin | Warryn Campbell and Nokio the N-Tity | 4:18 |
| 7. | "You Are Everything" | Andrews, Cousin | Sisqó and Dutch | 4:35 |
| 8. | "I'll Be the One" | Simmons | Daryl Simmons | 4:26 |
| 9. | "Nowhere Without You (Interlude)" | Andrews, Green | Sisqó and Warryn Campbell | 1:08 |
| 10. | "One Good Reason" | Brown, Stacy | Ralph B. Stacy and Nokio the N-Tity | 4:03 |
| 11. | "Angel (Interlude)" | Campbell, Green | Warryn Campbell and Woody | 1:33 |
| 12. | "Angel" | Campbell, Green | Warryn Campbell, Woody, and Nokio the N-Tity | 4:24 |
| 13. | "What Do I Do with the Love" | Warren | David Foster, Guy Roche, and Nokio the N-Tity | 4:46 |
| 14. | "Beauty" | Roche, Ruffin, Weatherspoon | Guy Roche and Nokio the N-Tity | 4:32 |
| 15. | "These Are the Times" | Edmonds, Thomas | Babyface and Damon Thomas | 4:09 |
| 16. | "The Love We Had (Stays on My Mind)" | Callier, Wade | Daryl Simmons | 5:35 |
| 17. | "What Are We Gonna Do" | Cousin, Crawford, Ruffin | Nokio the N-Tity and Dutch | 5:04 |
Chart history
Album
| Chart (1998)[5] | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Top Canadian Albums | 11 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 2 |
| U.S. R&B Albums | 2 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions[7] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canadian Singles Chart | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | U.S. Rhythmic Top 40 | U.S. Top 40 Tracks | ||
| 1998 | "How Deep Is Your Love" | 16 | 3 | — | 1 | 33 |
| "These Are the Times" | 11 | 21 | 5 | 6 | — | |
| 1999 | "Beauty" | — | 79 | 24 | — | — |
| "The Love We Had (Stays on My Mind)" | — | — | 48 | — | — | |
| "You Are Everything" | 9 | 84 | 27 | — | — | |
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.
Personnel
Information taken from Allmusic.[8][9]
- a&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, 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 – Kenneth Crear, Dru Hill, Hiriam Hicks, Haqq Islam, Kevin Peck
- 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
Notes
- ^ 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. "allmusic ((( Enter the Dru > Review )))". Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
- ^ Tyehimba, Cheo (1998-10-30). "MUSIC REVIEW: Enter the Dru - Dru Hill". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2011-04-03.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Top Pop Albums - Page 2 - Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times. 12-03-1998. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b "allmusic ((( Enter the Dru > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
- ^ "RIAA - Gold & Platinum - April 2, 2011 : Search Results - Dru Hill". RIAA. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
- ^ "allmusic ((( Enter the Dru > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))". Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
- ^ "allmusic ((( Enter the Dru > Credits )))". Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-04-03.
- ^ Credits as per liner notes for Enter the Dru album