Mahogany Soul is the second studio album by American singer Angie Stone. It was first released in the United States on October 16, 2001, by J Records. In the US, the album sold 71,000 copies in its first week of release. The album spawned five singles: "Brotha", "Brotha Part II", "Wish I Didn't Miss You", "More Than a Woman", and "Bottles & Cans".
Critical reception
AllMusic editor Jose F. Promis called the album "one of the best R&B albums of 2001". He found that Mahogany Soul "delivers more of the organic, gritty, rootsy yet sophisticated soul which put her on the map as a solo artist. The production is great and the songs are funky, mature, and intelligent, but when she truly shines is when she actually spreads her wings and glides away from her neo-soul trappings, which she manages effortlessly." Similarly, the Los Angeles Times wrote: "There is a sense throughout of real stories, real people, real emotions – and that's as good a definition as any for true soul music. One of the year's most commanding works." Billboard remarked: "Stronger musically and lyrically, Mahogany Soul oozes with heart-warming energy that's simultaneously contemporary and old-school. Stone once again rolls her gospel-honed vocals around real-life issues and emotion-filled lyrics."
Reviewing for PopMatters in October 2001, Mark Anthony Neal hailed Mahogany Soul as "an accomplished piece of R&B music" in a year with other impressive debut albums by singers in the genre, including Alicia Keys' Songs in A Minor, Bilal's 1st Born Second, and Res's How I Do. He highlighted Stone's detailed lyrics, casually sassy "down-home" persona, and use of sophisticated samples in the context of authentic soul music. In response to the popular reception for the lead single "Brotha", Neal said he regards it as a "passionate and thoughtful defense" of African-American men, while pointing out "brutally trenchant" perspectives of men elsewhere in the album's relationship songs. Rolling Stones Barry Walters found that "like its title suggests, Mahogany Soul isn't flashy [or] even all that catchy [...] Like D'Angelo, Stone specializes in dramatic moods expressed with mellow methods. Give her understated passion time to marinate, and Stone's soul picnic will satisfy."
Entertainment Weekly journalist Tom Sinclair felt that "too often Mahogany falls into the same artistic cul-de-sac that made D'Angelos Voodoo more admirable than enjoyable; the preponderance of tastefully atmospheric filler topped with melismatic vocal athletics makes Mahogany more so-so than soulful." The Village Voice critic Robert Christgau was less enthusiastic, singling out "Brotha" and "Bottles and Cans" as highlights while finding the album in general to be "longer on groove than song" and "longer on song than the brothas". Stephen Dalton from NME called the album "well-made, but very boring nu-soul stuff." He found that "Stone is stranded in prematurely middle-aged MOR." Writing in 2009 for BBC Online, Daryl Easlea said Mahogany Soul "remains her masterpiece" and called it "a confident musical statement of what it means to be African-American [that] came to define the neo-soul movement of the early 21st century".
Year-end lists
Chart performance
Mahogany Soul debuted and peaked at number 22 on the US Billboard 200 in the week of November 24, 2001, selling 71,000 copies in its first week of release. It also entered the top five of the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, reaching number four. On February 12, 2002, it was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of more than 500,000 units. By September 2003, Mahogany Soul had sold 758,000 copies domestically.
Track listing
Notes
signifies a co-producer
signifies a programming producer
signifies an associate producer
signifies a remixer and additional producer
Sample credits
"Snowflakes" contains elements from "Let's Make Love Now" by The Supremes and the Four Tops. "Wish I Didn't Miss You" contains elements from "Back Stabbers" by The O'Jays. "The Ingredients of Love" contains replayed elements from "Red Clay" by Freddie Hubbard. "20 Dollars" contains elements from "Simply Beautiful" by Al Green. "Brotha Part II" contains excerpts from "I'll Play the Blues for You" by Albert King. "Time of the Month" contains replayed elements from "I Can't Say No" by Natalie Cole.
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Mahogany Soul.