On this DAY 28 years ago, Monica released her DEBUT album, ‘Miss Thang’!
It was released by Rowdy Records and distributed through the Arista label on July 18, 1995, in the United States. Recorded throughout her early teenage years, the album was conceived under the guidance of Rowdy head Dallas Austin who would emerge as a tutor and father figure to Monica and serve as Miss Thang‘s sole executive producer. Austin recruited protégés from his DARP production camp such as Tim & Bob, Arnold Hennings, and Colin Wolfe as well as Daryl Simmons, and Soulshock & Karlin to work on the album. It incorporates a wide range of contemporary genres such as soul, pop, hip hop and blues.
Upon release, Miss Thang received generally mixed to positive reviews from music critics, who complimented Monica’s versatility and mature sound appearance, as well as the album’s eclectic number of songs. A steady seller, the album became a commercial success as well. It debuted and peaked at number 36 of the Billboard 200 and reached the top ten on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums in the United States, where it was certified three-times Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and sold over 1.5 million copies.
The album was supported by four singles. Debut single “Don’t Take It Personal (Just One of Dem Days)” reached number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 and became a top ten hot in Austria and New Zealand, where it ranks among Monica’s highest-charting singles.[5] Follow-up “Before You Walk Out of My Life,” released on a double-A-side with “Like This and Like That” became a top ten hit in the US and, along with “Don’t Take It Personal” made Monica, at the age of 14, the youngest recording artist to have two consecutive number-one hits on Billboard‘s Hot R&B Songs.[ Ballad “Why I Love You So Much,” released together with “Ain’t Nobody,” a collaboration with Treach from American hip hop trio Naughty by Nature, recorded for the soundtrack of the 1996 motion picture The Nutty Professor, became another top ten entry in the year of 1996.
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