Nivea (album)

Nivea
Nivea
Studio album by Nivea
Released	September 25, 2001
Genre	R&B
Length	54:49
Label	Jive
Producer	Nivea (exec.); Colin Lampkin (exec.); Teddy Bishop; Leslie Braithwaite; Burn-Unit; Carlos & Dada; Bryan-Michael Cox; Roy "Royalty" Hamilton; R. Kelly; The Neptunes; Organized Noise; Paul Poli; Scorpio & Mystery; Adonis Shropshire; Swift C; Twin Beats;
Nivea chronology
Singles from Nivea
	"Don't Mess with the Radio"; Released: June 12, 2001; "Run Away (I Wanna Be with U)"; Released: December 10, 2001; "Don't Mess with My Man"; Released: June 3, 2002; "Laundromat"; Released: April 28, 2003; "25 Reasons"/"Ya Ya Ya"; Released: 2003;

Nivea is the debut studio album by American R&B singer Nivea. It was released by Jive on September 25, 2001. A contemporary R&B album with major influences of the pop and hip hop genres, Nivea worked with a wide range of producers and songwriters on her self-titled album which features credits by Leslie Braithwaite, Bryan-Michael Cox, Roy "Royalty" Hamilton, R. Kelly, The Neptunes, Organized Noise, Adonis Shropshire, Teedra Moses, Johnta Austin, and Ne-Yo, among others.

Upon its release, Nivea debuted at number 80 on the US Billboard 200 and number 35 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. The album was preceded by its first two singles "Don't Mess with the Radio", which became a top twenty hit in Australia, and "Don't Mess With My Man", a collaboration with Brandon Casey and Brian Casey from boy group Jagged Edge, which became a smash hit, reaching the top ten in France, New Zealand and on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Singles

"Don't Mess with the Radio" was selected as Nivea's solo debut single and was released on June 12, 2001. While not a major hit in the United States or most other countries, it was a top-twenty success in Australia, reaching number 14 on the ARIA Singles Chart. In April 2002, the song was released in the United Kingdom as a double A-side with "Run Away (I Wanna Be with U)". It peaked at number 48 on the UK Singles Chart. In Australia, "Run Away" was released as the album's second single on December 10, 2001.

"Don't Mess with My Man" was released on June 3, 2002, as the third single from the album. The song peaked at number eight on the US Billboard Hot 100 and was an international hit as well, reaching the top 10 in France and New Zealand and receiving a Gold certification in the former country. In the United Kingdom, the song reached number 41 on the UK Singles Chart upon its initial release. The recording earned the artists a nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 45th Grammy Awards in 2003.

The fourth single, "Laundromat", was released on April 28, 2003. The song peaked in the United States at number 58 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 20 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Internationally, it reached a peak number 33 on the UK Singles Chart as a double A-side with "Don't Mess with My Man".

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic

Alex Henderson from AllMusic rated Nivea three out of five stars and called it "a perfect example of how hip-hop-drenched R&B [had] become" by 2001: "From the production to the lyrics, this CD frequently underscores hip-hop's influence on modern R&B." He found that "Nivea provides a likable blend of girlishness and grit on catchy, hip-hop-minded offerings", while also being "teen-friendly, although not in a bubblegum way; in Nivea's case, teen-friendly doesn't mean teen pop." Henderson concluded: "But if Nivea's debut is slightly uneven, it still has more ups than downs and is — thanks to the more on-the-ball producers and writers — worth the price of admission."

Chart performance

Nivea debuted at number 109 on the US Billboard 200 in the week of December 28, 2002. It eventually peaked at number 80 in February 2023. By March 2003, the album had sold 134,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Track listing

*Nivea* – Standard edition
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Still in Love"	Cortez Harris Teedra Moses Paul Poli Dorothy Runner Shaffer Smith	Poli	3:33
2.	"Ya Ya Ya" (featuring Lil Wayne)	Robert Kelly Dwayne Carter, Jr.	R. Kelly	4:07
3.	"Don't Mess With My Man" (featuring Jagged Edge)	Brandon Casey Brian Casey Bryan-Michael Cox	Cox	3:34
4.	"The One for Me"	Nivea Hamilton Kelly Timothy Allen Larry Campbell	Scorpio & Mystery R. Kelly	3:35
5.	"Laundromat"	Kelly	R. Kelly	4:24
6.	"You Don't Even Know" (featuring Nick Cannon)	N. Hamilton James Brown Adonis Shropshire John Starks Fred Wesley	Shropshire	3:55
7.	"Run Away (I Wanna Be with U)" (featuring Pusha T)	Pharrell Williams Chad Hugo	The Neptunes	3:43
8.	"Just in Case"	N. Hamilton Leslie Braithwaite Garfield Duncan James Harris Terrance Kelly Terry Lewis Tim Patterson Dexter Archer Jasper Cameron	Braithwaite	3:59
9.	"No Doubt"	Johnta Austin Teddy Bishop	Bishop	4:06
10.	"Never Had a Girl Like Me"	N. Hamilton Allen Brown Campbell Lyn Collins	Scorpio & Mystery	3:53
11.	"Have Mercy"	Irish Grinstead Lemisha Grinstead Carlos Thornton Benny Tillman D'Wayne Wiggins Kameelah Williams	Carlos & Dada	3:52
12.	"Don't Mess with the Radio"	Cedric Barnett Marqueze Etheridge Ray Murray Rico Wade Jamahr Williams Patrick Brown Brandon Bennett	Organized Noize Swift C	3:58
13.	"25 Reasons"	N. Hamilton Brathwaite Cameron	Braithwaite	4:07

*Nivea* – Standard edition bonus track
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
14.	"Don't Mess With My Man (Remix)" (featuring Jagged Edge)	Brandon Casey Brian Casey Cox	Cox	3:52

*Nivea* – Reissue
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
14.	"What You Waitin' for"	Hamilton Ralph Kearns James Maynes Steven A. White	Burn-Unit	3:36
15.	"Check Your Man" (featuring Mystikal)	Hamilton Michael Tyler James Brown Betty Jean Newsome Luther Campbell	Scorpio & Mystery	3:48
16.	"Cat's Got Your Tongue"	Lampson Forbes N. Hamilton R. Hamilton Hoskins	Roy "Royalty" Hamilton	3:15
17.	"Jewelry"	C. Jerkins E. Jerkins R. Hamilton Rockwell	Royalty Twin Beats	3:29
18.	"Problems"	Sylvers R. Hamilton Hoskins	Hamilton	3:41
19.	"Don't Mess With My Man (Remix)" (featuring Jagged Edge and Mystikal)	Brandon Casey Brian Casey Tyler Cox	Cox	3:52

*Nivea* – International edition
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Check Your Man" (featuring Mystikal)	N. Hamilton Michael Tyler James Brown Betty Jean Newsome Luther Campbell	Scorpio & Mystery	3:48
2.	"Cat's Got Your Tongue"	Carmen Lampson Claude "Quo" Forbes N. Hamilton Roy Hamilton Samuel "Cyph" Hoskins	Roy "Royalty" Hamilton	3:15
3.	"Radio (Interlude)"			0:34
4.	"Don't Mess with the Radio"	Cedric Barnett Marqueze Etheridge Ray Murray Rico Wade Jamahr Williams Patrick Brown Brandon Bennett	Organized Noize Swift C	3:58
5.	"Don't Mess With My Man" (featuring Jagged Edge)	Brandon Casey Brian Casey Bryan-Michael Cox	Cox	3:34
6.	"Problems"	Leon Sylvers III R. Hamilton Hoskins	Royalty	3:41
7.	"Jewelry"	C. Jerkins E. Jerkins R. Hamilton Rockwell	Royalty Twin Beats	3:29
8.	"Never Had a Girl Like Me"	Hamilton Allen Brown Campbell Lyn Collins	Scorpio & Mystery	3:53
9.	"Just in Case"	Hamilton Leslie Braithwaite Garfield Duncan James Harris Terrance Kelly Terry Lewis Tim Patterson Dexter Archer Jasper Cameron	Braithwaite	3:59
10.	"Phone (Interlude)"			0:37
11.	"25 Reasons"	Hamilton Brathwaite Cameron	Braithwaite	4:07
12.	"Argument (Interlude)"			1:06
13.	"Have Mercy"	Irish Grinstead Lemisha Grinstead Carlos Thornton Benny Tillman D'Wayne Wiggins Kameelah Williams	Carlos & Dada	3:52
14.	"No Doubt"	Johnta Austin Teddy Bishop	Bishop	4:06
15.	"Run Away (I Wanna Be with U)" (featuring Pusha T of the Clipse)	Pharrell Williams Chad Hugo	The Neptunes	3:43
16.	"I Love My Man (I'm Keepin' Him)"			3:13

Notes

^{^[A]} denotes co-producer

Sample credits

"Still in Love" samples Alicia Myers's "Concentrate On Love".
"You Don't Even Know" samples James Brown's "The Payback".
"Just in Case" samples Lost Boyz's "Renee".
"Never Had a Girl Like Me" samples Lyn Collins's "Think (About It)".
"25 Reasons" samples Blu's "Clap Your Hands".
"Check Your Man" samples James Brown's "It's A Man's Man's Man's World".

Personnel

Credits are taken from the album's liner notes.

Instruments and performances

Donnie Lyle – guitar
Charles Pettaway – guitar
Malachy Robinson – guitar
Swift C – drums
PJ Morton – piano, keyboards
R. Kelly – arranger

Production

Ted Bishop – engineering, instrumentation
Leslie Braithwaite – engineering, mixing
Tom Coyne – mastering
Ryan Freeland – engineering
Andy Gallas – engineering
Jeffrey Gamble – photography
Elisa Garcia – design
Abel Garibaldi – engineering
Serban Ghenea – mixing
Jay Goin – engineering
Mark Goodchild – engineering
Hachi – photography
Chaz Harper – mastering
R. Kelly – mixing
C.L. Lampkin – backing vocals
Ian Mereness – engineering, mixing
Rowie Nameri – engineering
Azuolas Sinkevicius – engineering
Brian Stanley – engineering
Adonis Shropshire – engineering
Richard Travali – mixing
Patrick Viala – mixing
Bernasky Wall – mixing
Arnold Wolfe – mixing

Charts

Weekly chart performance for *Nivea*
Chart (2001–03)	Peak position
Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)	29
French Albums (SNEP)	65
Japanese Albums (Oricon)	37
US Billboard 200	80
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)	1
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)	35

Release history

Release dates and formats for *Nivea*
Region	Date	Format(s)	Label	Edition(s)
Australia	September 25, 2001	CD digital download	Jive Records	Original
Germany	February 18, 2002
Japan	July 29, 2002
Singapore	September 16, 2002
United States	December 10, 2002			Re-release
United Kingdom	February 3, 2003			Original
France	March 10, 2003			Original
Australia	June 3, 2003			Re-release