True to Myself is the debut album by the American R&B musician Eric Benét. It was released by Warner Bros. Records on September 24, 1996, in the United States. It was his first outing as a solo artist after the dissolution of his former group Benét, which he formed with his sister Lisa Jordan and cousin George Nash, Jr. Benét received his deal with Warner Bros. Records from former EMI Records executive Alison Ball-Gabriel after corporate shakeups caused his former group to be dropped by the record label.
Background Benet produced most of his debut with Demonté Posey and Nash, both of whom would work with him on his later recordings. In 1995, he released the song "Let's Stay Together", which originally appeared on the soundtrack of the 1996 Martin Lawrence film A Thin Line Between Love and Hate. The music video to the song was directed by Charles Stone III. The second single released from True to Myself was the McG directed "Spiritual Thang". The album's biggest hit was the third single "Femininity", which was directed by a then-unknown Francis Lawrence. "Femininity" also featured an appearance from then-unknown rapper Tiye Phoenix, who played a pregnant woman in the music video. The title track was the fourth and final single released from the album with a video directed by Joseph Kahn.
Critical reception
AllMusic editor Leo Stanley called found that "the album suffers from inconsistent material which prevents it from being a thoroughly impressive debut. As it stands, True to Myself is merely an appealing, promising collection of soul that usually straddles the line between classic and urban soul quite skillfully." Billboard editor Paul Verna wrote: "Benét delivers sincere lyrics with an often viscous R&B flow. [He] demonstrates versatility with his voice — from the raw and gritty delivery of the previously mentioned track to the warm clarity used on the ballad "While You Were Here." Musically, the artist also shows chameleon-like diversity."
Commercial performance By December 1998, the album had sold 213,000 units domestically. By August 2008, True to Myself had moved 295,000 units, according to Nielsen Soundscan.
Track listing
Personnel Credits adapted from liner notes.Eric Benet - True To Myself (CD liner notes). Warner Bros. Records. 46270-2
Performers and musicians
George Nash, Jr. – Guitar, Drums, Clavinet Demonte Posey – Keyboards, Drums, Melodica Mark Lomax – Drums Warren Crawford – Bass Rio – Bass Skeeta – Bass, Guitar Gumby – Guitar Eric "Kenya" Baker – Guitar Christian Warren – Keyboards, Drums, Fender Rhodes, Piano Curtis "Sauce" Wilson – Drums Roger Troutman – Keyboards, Bass, Guitar, Vocoder Tyrone W. Griffin – Trumpet Fernando Harkless – Saxophone Steve Baxter – Trombone Barbara "Bobbi" Schneider – Violin Paul Gminder – Cello Eric Benét, Lisa Jordan-Weathers – Background vocals Alison Ball-Gabriel – Executive Producer Recording engineer – Eric Benét, Demonte Posey and George Nash, Jr., Roger Troutman, Hilary Bercovici, Skeeta Mixing: Eric Benét, Demonte Posey and George Nash, Jr., Kevin "K.D." Davis, Roger Troutman, Hilary Bercovici, Skeeta Mastering: Brian Gardner Brad Hitz – Photography Terry Robertson, Stephen Walker – Art Direction Stephen Walker – Design
Charts +Weekly chart performance for True to Myself Chart (1996) Peakposition
Release history + True to Myself release history Region Date Format Label United States September 24, 1996 Warner Bros.
References