Happy 20th Anniversary to Faith Evans’ third studio album Faithfully, originally released November 6, 2001.
Bad Boy Records and Sean “P. Diddy” Combs continued their supremacy at the top of the hip-hop and R&B world with Faith Evans’ Faithfully. The anticipation was high for the album’s release, considering that its platinum-certified precursor—1998 Keep The Faith—was so successful.
Faithfully is a sample-heavy project possessed of an overtly “old-school” vibe, like so much of the mainstream R&B of the era. One of the most underrated facets of the album is its production, featuring contributions from the likes of Mario Winans, Buckwild, The Neptunes, Battlecat, and many others. There’s so much to offer on this record with the combination of Evans’ vocals ranging from ballads like “I Love You” to dance club tracks like “You Gets No Love.”
In reality, Evans thought “You Gets No Love” was an unusual choice as a leading single for the release of Faithfully. “The first single is unexpected, because I think I've been portrayed as a soft-spoken, turn-the-other-cheek [type],” Evans confided to MTV just prior to the album’s release. “But I'm human, I go through drama, I break.” On this track, she also decides to pay homage to her late husband The Notorious B.I.G. by busting a rhyme of her own, flipping the lyrics from the "Get Money" remix: “I'm the rapper with clout everybody rap about/ Check it out/ Guns I bust 'em / Problems with my wife, don't discuss 'em,” Biggie rhymed. In her modified rendition, Evans spouts, “I'm the diva with clout everybody raps about / Check it out / Rhymes I bust 'em / Problems with my life, don't discuss 'em.”
In hindsight, this was definitely one of the most exhilarating moments on the album. The track would eventually peak at #28 on the US Billboard Hot 100 charts, while also reaching #8 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts.
Originally written for Jennifer Lopez, “I Love You” was instead given to Evans to perform. Atop a well-placed sample of Isaac Hayes' 1976 track "Make a Little Love to Me,” the song finds Evans proclaiming her love and dignity to a man who has yet to feel the same for her. The most successful single unveiled from Faithfully, “I Love You” peaked at #14 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the US R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts—marking Evans' highest-charting single since "Never Gonna Let You Go" in 1999.
Featuring the emcee Loon and production courtesy of The Neptunes’ Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams, the third single “Burnin' Up” is a dance-inducing, beat-heavy, up-tempo song. Lyrically, it has Evans pleading to a man she feels is destined to be hers, encouraging him to recognize what he’s missing out on. Initially, Missy Elliott replaced Loon on the single version. There’s also another remixed version of the song re-titled “Just Burnin,’” which is a little more rap-heavy and features both P. Diddy and Freeway, who all appeared alongside Evans in the music video for “Burnin Up.’” It was the final single from the album to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 at #60.
While it wasn’t released as a single, “Back To Love” takes us back to the sound of the late ‘70s, early ‘80s soul/funk era with the likes of the S.O.S. Band, Evelyn King, Patrice Rushen and many others from that era. On the chorus, Evans sings, “Bring me back to love, cuz real love is what I’m thinking of,” signifying that she was ready to put herself out there to find love again, nearly five years on from her husband’s passing. Showcasing Evans’ versatility and featuring another great sample in the form of Indeep’s 1982 track “Last Night a D.J. Saved My Life,” “Back To Love” is arguably one of the best deep cuts on the album.
Finally, we must visit the underappreciated title track “Faithfully,” which was surprisingly not released as an official single. Again, Evans pays homage to Biggie’s debut single “Juicy” with a rendition of her own from Mtume’s “Juicy Fruit.” Evans injects so much raw emotion into the song, as she sings in the chorus, “Faithfully, you love me / You're just what I need / Please don't change / Everyone can see that you love me faithfully.” Seemingly, she is telling who she loves that she appreciates them and they’re exactly what she is looking for.
In its first week, Faithfully debuted and peaked at #14 on the US Billboard 200 album chart, selling over 100,000 copies, Evans' highest opening week sales figures up to that point in her career. On the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop albums charts, the album ascended to the #2 spot. Faithfully may not have attained the same level of success as her previous albums, but it was still certified gold and stamped Evans’ name in the R&B world as one of the best female singers to ever do it. She would sustain the success by receiving another gold album with the release of The First Lady in 2005.
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