The Way It Is (Keyshia Cole album)

The Way It Is is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Keyshia Cole, released on June 21, 2005, by A&M Records. The album features guest appearances from Jadakiss, Chink Santana, Metro City and Eve. Cole co-wrote every song on the album, and also worked with a number of producers and writers, including Ron Fair, Sean Garrett, Kerry "Krucial" Brothers, Polow da Don, John Legend, Alicia Keys and Kanye West. The Way It Is is a R&B album, with some tracks having hip hop and hip hop soul sensibilities. Lyrically, the album speaks of romantic relationships.

The Way It Is
Studio album by
Keyshia Cole
ReleasedJune 21, 2005
Recorded2004–2005
Genre
Length48:51
LabelA&M
Producer
Keyshia Cole chronology
Team Invasion Presents: Keyshia Cole
(2005)		 The Way It Is
(2005)		 Just Like You
(2007)
Singles from The Way It Is
  1. "I Changed My Mind"
    Released: November 9, 2004
  2. "(I Just Want It) To Be Over"
    Released: April 5, 2005
  3. "I Should Have Cheated"
    Released: August 3, 2005
  4. "Love"
    Released: January 6, 2006

Four official singles were released from The Way It Is; all reached the top 40 of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Cole's official debut single and the album's lead single "I Changed My Mind" peaked at number twenty-three on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and number seventy-one on the Billboard Hot 100. "(I Just Want It) To Be Over" was released as the album's second single and peaked at number thirty on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The third single "I Should Have Cheated" became Cole's first single to reach the top five on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The fourth single "Love" was the album's best-performing song on the Hot 100, spending 19 weeks on the chart and becoming Cole's first top 20 hit. It also became Cole's second single to reach the top five on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Cole promoted the album by performing as the supporting act, for the tours by artists such as Nelly and Kanye West.

The Way It Is received generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised Cole's vocals and musical themes. The album enjoyed commercial success and launched Cole's career in R&B music, selling 89,000 units in its first week.[1]

In the United States, it topped the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart for 84 weeks, and was certified gold by the RIAA within 17 weeks, and then platinum only eight weeks later. The Way It Is was Cole's highest-selling and longest-charting album on the Billboard 200, remaining on the chart for 64 weeks in total and staying on the chart for over a year, eventually selling over 1.6 million copies.

Background

Cole grew up in foster care in Oakland, California after being adopted by Yvonne Cole. "I went through a lot as a young girl," she told Sonia Murray of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "That's why I'm so serious and determined to make it in this business. So I can help young ladies in general; but especially those in foster care, who I know need help finding jobs, and just getting their goals in line."[2] Cole managed to convince rapper MC Hammer into giving her a backup vocal slot and a chance to record with him.[3][4]

Eventually, Cole managed to gain recognition into the Bay Area's hip hop and R&B scenes. She appeared on recordings by rapper Messy Marv ("Nubian Queen") and Tony! Toni! Toné! member D'wayne Wiggins (the soundtrack for the film Me and Mrs. Jones).[5][6] After she caught her then boyfriend cheating on her with another woman, within “minutes” she got in her car and drove for nine hours to Los Angeles, California to further pursue her music career according to her biography page on her website.[7]

After getting an interview with him, Cole was signed to A&M Records by its president, Ron Fair and he later began mentoring her in 2004.[8] While explaining her life struggles and career beginnings, Cole said, "I was 21, He signed me after he heard half a song, Ron took me to Jimmy Iovine that next week, and then 'I Changed My Mind' came out."[5]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic77/100[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[10]
Robert Christgau 2005
Entertainment Weekly(B)[11]
Los Angeles Times [12]
New York Times(favorable) 2005
Rhapsody(favorable) 2005
Rolling Stone 2005
Stylus(B) 2005
Vibe 2005
Village Voice(favorable) 2005

Upon its release, The Way It is garnered generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a rated mean out of 100 from mainstream critics, the album received a score of 77.[9] Andy Kellman of Allmusic rated the album four out of five stars. He felt that "from the opener, the album seems to be set up like a linear narrative about a crumbling relationship, but it doesn't quite play out that way, with the scenes shuffled out of order. None of it's all that profound, but Cole sells it all extremely well. [Her] voice is sweet and ringing, like a wiser version of Lil' Mo who has had to weather a tremendous amount of drama. She could be around for a while."[10] Janet Tzou, writing for Entertainment Weekly found that "Cole certainly nails all the basics on The Way It Is: big-name guest talent and husky ballads lamenting those tricky matters of the heart. But Cole's native Oakland, California upbringing gives her vocals depth and her songs a genuine, lived-in feel."[11]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."(I Just Want It) To Be Over"
4:03
2."I Changed My Mind"
3:19
3."Love, I Thought You Had My Back"
  • Cole
  • Randolph Murph
  • Ralph Eskridge
  • Clarence Johnson Jr
  • Frederick Taylor
  • Fair
  • Toxic
4:10
4."I Should Have Cheated"
  • Jones
  • Fair
5:31
5."Guess What?" (featuring Jadakiss)
3:45
6."Love"
  • Cole
  • Gregory G. Curtis
4:15
7."You've Changed"
  • Cole
  • Fair
  • Leonard Huggins
  • Rich Shelton
  • Shelton
  • Kevin Veney
  • Loren Hill
  • Fair
4:17
8."We Could Be"
  • Cole
  • Errol McCalla Jr.
  • E-Poppi
  • Fair
3:11
9."Situations" (featuring Chink Santana)
  • Santana
  • Fair[a]
4:46
10."Down and Dirty"
  • Cole
  • Curtis
  • Elliott
Curtis3:52
11."Superstar" (featuring Metro City)
  • Cole
  • G. Cole
3:48
12."Never" (featuring Eve)
  • E-Poppi
  • Fair
4:03
International bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
13."I Changed My Mind" (Remix) (featuring Shyne)
3:38
UK bonus track
No.TitleLength
14."Love" (AOL live version)4:35
Notes
  • ^[a] signifies a vocal producer
  • ^[b] signifies an additional producer
Sampling credits

Personnel
  • Keyshia Cole- Lead vocals,Background vocals, Songwriter,Producer
  • Charlie Bisharat – violin
  • Jacqueline Brand – violin
  • Roberto Cani – violin
  • Nico Carmine Abondolo – bass guitar
  • Mario de Leon – violin
  • Brian Dembow – viola
  • Joel Derouin – violin
  • Bruce Dukov – violin
  • Stephen Erdody – cello
  • Steve Erody – cello
  • Marlo Fisher – viola
  • Matt Funes – viola
  • Armen Garabedian – violin
  • Berj Garabedian – violin
  • Julie Gigante – violin
  • Endre Granat – violin
  • Alan Grunfield – violin
  • Clayton Haslop – violin
  • Dan Higgins – flute, horn
  • Josephina Vergara – violin
  • David F. Walther – viola
  • Jerry Hey – horn
  • Suzie Katayama – cello
  • Songa Lee – violin
  • Natalie Leggett – violin
  • Gayle Levant – harp
  • Phillipe Levy – violin
  • David Low – cello
  • Rene Mandel – violin
  • Darrin McCann – viola
  • Vicki Miskolczy – viola
  • Robin Olson – violin
  • Simon Oswell – viola
  • Sid Page – violin
  • Sara Parkins – violin
  • Joel Peskin – horn
  • Katia Popov – violin
  • Steve Rodriguez – bass guitar
  • Anatoly Rosinsky – violin
  • Sarah Thornblade – violin
  • Kenneth Yerks – violin
  • Raj Ertui – clarinet
  • Miri Ben-Ari – Israel violin

Production
  • Executive producers: Keyshia Cole, Ron Fair
  • Producer: Tal Herzberg, Loren Hill, Sean Garrett, Diesel, Daron Jones, Kerry "Krucial" Brothers, John Legend, Chink Santana, Rich Shelton, Kevin Veney, Kanye West
  • Vocal producer: Keyshia Cole, Ron Fair, Sean Garrett, Alicia Keys
  • Engineers: Shannon Braxton, Tal Herzberg, Jun Ishizeki, Anthony Kilhoffer, Ann Mincieli
  • Assistant engineers: J.D. Andrew, Jun Ishizeki
  • Mixing: Ron Fair, Dave Pensado
  • Mixing assistance: Ariel Chobaz
  • A&R: Justin Siegel destiny
  • Design: Jason Clark, Michelle Thomas
  • Photography: Chapman Baehler
  • Co-Songwriter: Tim "Timbaland" Mosley

Charts

Release history
Region Date
Japan June 21, 2005
United States June 26, 2005
Canada
United Kingdom July 3, 2005
Spain March 6, 2006

References
  1. Whitmir, Margo (2005-06-29). "Coldplay Logs A Third Week A No. 1". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. Archived from the original on June 22, 2014. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
  2. "Keyshia Cole's career on fast track". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. AJC.com. Retrieved May 20, 2009.
  3. "Keyshia Cole Has Kanye, Shyne On LP, Proof That Stalking MC Hammer Pays Off". MTV News. MTV.com. 2004-12-08.
  4. "Keyshia Cole comes home". East Bay Times. July 13, 2006.
  5. George, Nelson; Carr, Daphne. Best Music Writing 2008 (1st ed.). Google Books. p. 43. ISBN 978-0-306-81734-2.
  6. "Steppers Song Of The Day". SteppersUSA.com. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  7. "Keyshia Cole official site". KeyshiaCole.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2007. Retrieved November 7, 2008.
  8. Billboard. 120. Google Books. 2008. p. 24.
  9. "The Way It Is Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2012-10-17.
  10. Kellman, Andy. "The Way It Is". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Review. Retrieved 2012-10-14.
  11. Tzou, Janet (2012-10-03). "Music Review — The Way It Is (2005)". Entertainment Weekly / CNN. Retrieved 2012-10-04.
  12. Natalie, Nichols (2007-07-10). "Charting romantic rivals". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-10-17.
  13. "Keyshia Cole Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  14. "Keyshia Cole Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
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