Happy 20th Anniversary to Toni Braxton’s third studio album The Heat, originally released April 25, 2000.
Toni Braxton has one of those voices that has an undeniable sound that even the most uneducated music lover could and would identify in an instant. It circles an almost masculine tone when she drops low and yet always remains sultry to the point of sensuality that is never vulgar. Her voice can evoke the entire gamut of emotions from heartbreak all the way through to putting you in the “mood”—sometimes within the same hour. You see, Toni Braxton and her voice are, simply put, beyond compare.
The ‘90s were all about Ms. Braxton. She had managed to successfully and seamlessly transition from girl group (The Braxtons, the quintet made up of Braxton and her four sisters) into a solo superstar with her eponymous 1993 smash debut, Toni Braxton. This album, which entered the charts at number one and garnered Braxton three GRAMMY awards, paved the way for her sophomore album Secrets (1996). Continuing her number one streak, her follow-up album also gave Braxton a further two GRAMMYs, but for all of Braxton’s massive commercial success, the financial gains were nearly non-existent resulting in that now infamous law suit (Against then label Arista and LaFace Records) and her subsequent filing for bankruptcy.
After a nearly three-year-long battle with both Arista and LaFace, Braxton not only settled, but had now been signed to a new multi-million dollar contract. Finally, Braxton was free and she wasted no time in releasing her highly anticipated third album The Heat in April of 2000. A new decade and millennium was not only bringing in a new beginning for Braxton, but it also heralded a newfound confidence in the singer, priming the path for a fresh sound coupled with a more involved attitude towards her music by being a part of both the writing and production processes on the album.
The Heat saw Braxton back together with some familiar faces that were instrumental in the success of her two previous albums. Babyface, L.A. Reid, David Foster and Diane Warren all made appearances on The Heat, either via writing and/or in a production capacity. The album’s lead single “He Wasn’t Man Enough” was produced in part by one of the hottest production maestros at the time, Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins. The upbeat R&B song stormed the charts, hitting the #2 spot and again garnered another GRAMMY award for Braxton, reaffirming that her star power was more than just a fleeting notion—she was here to stay (and slay).
A further three songs were released from the album, with the second single “Just Be A Man About It” featuring Dr. Dre, bringing Braxton back into that breakup ballad territory that she had mastered so well. Whilst none of the subsequent singles matched “He Wasn’t Man Enough,” the third single “Spanish Guitar” managed to take out the #1 spot on the US Dance Club Songs chart. Written by Diane Warren, who penned Braxton’s greatest commercial hit “Un-break My Heart,” one can easily draw comparisons between the two songs which is somewhat inevitable and not just because of the sound either. Both songs were also produced by David Foster, creating a sophistication that only two powerhouses such as Warren and Foster could create, but at the same time, also creating an incredibly familiar sound.
The album’s fourth and final single “Maybe” is a gentle upbeat track that should have performed better chart-wise. Maybe its failure to chart was in part due to the then controversial video Braxton created and then pulled. It centered around Braxton returning home after her GRAMMY win in that infamous white dress and being watched by a neighboring peeping tom as she slowly undressed. It pales in shock value to pretty much everything that has followed by other artists, but if you must see it, YouTube has a bootleg version floating around.
Something that seems to be all too common with many albums made in the late ‘90s and early 2000s is the amount of incredibly beautiful and high quality songs that were used as fillers and in reality, should have been released as singles. This is incredibly evident on The Heat’s fifth track “Gimme Some” which features a rap by the late Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes of TLC fame. One of the more uptempo tracks on this album, Braxton makes a declaration for the man she is chasing, as Lopes raps her support. Delicious and still a floor filler in 2020.
Whilst this album took a different turn for Braxton musically, her heart still broke as easily as it did on her two previous albums, and in some kind of weird way, we were all grateful. It is through Braxton’s heartbreak that we somehow heal, almost as if she is telling the listener “It’s ok, I’ve been there too.” On “Fairy Tale,” Braxton takes Babyface’s influence and uses it to her advantage, whilst on “The Art of Love,” she delivers a modern take on Barry White as she vocally orgasms over rippling beats. Sensuality still reigns supreme.
The Heat continued Braxton’s canon of consistency where taste and performance are concerned. She knows her voice and never punches above her weight; instead, she swims in the beautiful amber tones of her sultry and perfectly soothing voice (think: “Speaking In Tongues” & “You’ve Been Wrong”). This album, much like the artist herself, has only gotten better with time and for better or worse, provides all those that are lovelorn a sensual and romantic lifeline, that, let’s face it, only Toni Braxton can provide.
LISTEN: