Diary of a Mad Band

Diary Of A Mad Band
Studio album by Jodeci
Released	December 21, 1993
Recorded	July, 1993 - September, 1993
Studio	The Hit Factory (New York City, New York)
Genre	New jack swing[1] soul[1] R&B[1][2]
Length	66:03
Label	Uptown MCA
Producer	Tim Dawg (exec.) Andre Harrell (exec.) Jodeci (exec.) Steve Lucas (exec.) Mr. Dalvin DeVante Swing
Jodeci chronology
Forever My Lady (1991) Diary of a Mad Band (1993) The Show, the After Party, the Hotel (1995)
Singles from Diary of a Mad Band
"Cry for You" Released: November 23, 1993 "Feenin'" Released: March 8, 1994 "What About Us" Released: August 2, 1994

Diary of a Mad Band is the second studio album from American R&B group Jodeci, released in 1993 on Uptown Records and distributed through MCA Records. The album also featured the first ever album appearances from Timbaland and Missy Elliott (credited as Misdemeanor) and Sista two years before they became known in the music industry. New Jersey rapper Redman also makes a guest appearance on the album. It was Jodeci's second album to reach number-one on the R&B album chart where it stayed for two weeks. It spawned the #1 R&B hit "Cry for You"; the classic #2 R&B hit "Feenin'", and the Top 15 R&B hit "What About Us". Despite not being released as a single, the album's opening track, "My Heart Belongs To U", was also a hit. Song for song, this album is generally considered the group's best effort overall.

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Chicago Tribune	[3]
Christgau's Consumer Guide	[4]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[5]

Dimitri Ehrlich of Entertainment Weekly wrote that at times bested the group's first, stating that the songs on their sophomore effort "often transcend the formulaic histrionics that marred their debut."^[5] AllMusic critic Ron Wynn deemed the record "jarring" and "mismatched", preferring its sentimental love songs to the sexually explicit, hip hop-influenced "come-on numbers", which he found to be in poor taste.^[1] Rohan B. Preston from the Chicago Tribune found the lyrics clichéd and Jodeci "certainly not as funky as H-Town nor as stirring as Boyz II Men at their best".^[3] Robert Christgau was even less impressed and assigned it a "neither" symbol in his Consumer Guide book, indicating an album that "may impress once or twice with consistent craft or an arresting track or two. Then it won't."^[4]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"My Heart Belongs to U"	Donald Earle DeGrate, Jr.	5:02
2.	"Cry for You"	DeGrate	5:01
3.	"Feenin'"	DeGrate	5:10
4.	"What About Us"	DeGrate Devell Moore	5:20
5.	"Ride & Slide"	DeGrate	4:57
6.	"Alone"	DeGrate Dalvin DeGrate	4:44
7.	"You Got It" (featuring Redman)	DeGrate Reginald Noble	5:56
8.	"Won't Waste You" (featuring Missy Elliott and Sista)	Cedric Renard Hailey Melissa Elliott	4:55
9.	"In the Meanwhile" (featuring Timbaland)	DeGrate Timothy Mosley	4:22
10.	"Gimme All You Got"	DeGrate Joel Hailey Cedric Renard Hailey Dalvin DeGrate	3:42
11.	"Sweaty" (featuring Sista)	DeGrate Dalvin DeGrate Elliott	5:54
12.	"Jodecidal Hotline"	Dalvin DeGrate	3:11

Jodeci-CD bonus track
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
13.	"Success"	K-Ci Hailey Dalvin DeGrate	7:41

Chart history

Album

Chart (1994)[6]	Peak position
U.S. Billboard 200	3
U.S. R&B Albums	1

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions[7]
		U.S. Billboard Hot 100	U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	U.S. Rhythmic Top 40
1993	"Cry for You"	15	1	5
1994	"Feenin'"	25	2	16
	"What About Us"	—	14	—

"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Personnel

Information taken from Allmusic.^[8]

• arranging – Dalvin DeGrate, Cedric "K-Ci" Hailey, DeVante Swing
• assistant engineer – Steve Fitzmaurice
• creative director – Brett Wright
• engineer – Lyndell Fraser
• scratches - Timbaland
• executive producers – Tim Dawg, Andre Harrell, Jodeci, Steve Lucas
• guitar – Darryl Pearson
• horn – Charles "Prince Charles" Alexander
• mastering – Chris Gehringer
• mixing – Charles "Prince Charles" Alexander, Bob Brockman, Dalvin DeGrate, Steve Fitzmaurice, Tony Maserati, DeVante Swing, John Wydrycs
• multi-instruments – Dalvin DeGrate, DeVante Swing
• talkbox - Mike "Funky Mike" Jackson
• photography – Daniel Hastings
• production – Mr. Dalvin, DeVante Swing
• production coordination – Dean "Mr. Magoo" Moodie
• vocal consultant – Kenny Hicks
• backing vocals – Jodeci
• guest appearances - Redman, Timbaland, Sista & Misdemeanor

See also

• List of number-one R&B albums of 1994 (U.S.)

Notes

1. Wynn, Ron. "Jodeci – Diary of a Mad Band". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
2. "8. Jodeci, Diary of a Mad Band - The 50 Best R&B Albums of the '90s". Damien Scott, Brendan Frederick, Craig Jenkins, Elena Bergeron, Justin Charity, Ross Scarano, Shannon Marcec of Complex. July 10, 2014. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
3. Preston, Rohan B. (February 10, 1994). "Diary of a Mad Band (Uptown)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 21, 2016.
4. Christgau, Robert (2000). Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. Macmillan. pp. xvi, 150. ISBN 0312245602.
5. Ehrlich, Dimitri (1993-12-24). "MUSIC REVIEW: Diary of a Mad Band (1993) -fidello22 Jodeci". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2010-04-10.
6. "allmusic ((( Diary of a Mad Band > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-03-25.
7. "allmusic ((( Diary of a Mad Band > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-03-25.
8. "allmusic ((( Diary of a Mad Band > Credits )))". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-03-24.

External links

• Diary of a Mad Band at AllMusic
• Diary of a Mad Band at Discogs