Truthfully Speaking

Truthfully Speaking
Studio album by
Truth Hurts
Released June 25, 2002
Length 60:48
Label
Producer
Truth Hurts chronology
Truthfully Speaking
(2002) 		Ready Now
(2004)
Singles from Truthfully Speaking
  1. "Addictive"
    Released: April 23, 2002
  2. "The Truth"
    Released: 2002

Truthfully Speaking is the debut studio album by American singer Truth Hurts. It was released on June 25, 2002, through Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. Dr. Dre served as the album's executive producer.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic
HipHopDX
Slant Magazine

Truthfully Speaking earned generally mixed reviews from music critics. BBC Music critic Emmy Perry called the album a "quality debut performance with solid production and Truth's considerable talents as a songwriter making up for the fact that few tracks match up to the originality of the first single. There is however no questioning the calibre and tone of her operatic voice, which appears to convey the harsh sound of the streets whilst keeping the church firmly in mind." Sal Cinquemani, writing for Slant Magazine, called Truthfully Speaking a "slow burner that draws on more traditional hip-hop and R&B sound structures and displays Truth’s versatile, often coquettish, vocal (think a less socially-conscious Jill Scott)."

PopMatters described Truthfully Speaking as a "a simple album filled with plenty of vocal potential but misses the mark with its overall simplicity." AllMusic editor John Bush found that despite a "star-studded credit list, Truthfully Speaking is a bland record; Truth Hurts' vocals, while evocative and rangy, aren't incredibly strong (especially when she's stretching a note), and she usually needs a backup chorus to keep the songs sounding good [...] A few of the productions make for good tracks, though most of the time Truth Hurts struggles to keep up with the best in the contemporary R&B field."

Commercial performance

The album debuted at five on the US Billboard 200, selling 89,000 copies. By October 2003, Truthfully Speaking had sold 338,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Track listing

Truthfully Speaking track listing
No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
1. "Push Play" (featuring Dr. Dre)
Dr. Dre 2:42
2. "Addictive" (featuring Rakim)
DJ Quik 3:46
3. "Next to Me"
Focus... 3:35
4. "Jimmy"
Dr. Dre 3:49
5. "Grown"
  • Watson
  • Darren "Limitless" Henson
  • Keith "Keshon" Pelzer
  • Henson
  • Pelzer
 3:36
6. "This Feeling"
McCalla 5:55
7. "Tired"
Mel-Man 4:32
8. "I'm Not Really Lookin'" (featuring DJ Quik)
  • Watson
  • Blake
 DJ Quik 3:57
9. "B S (Bullshit)" (featuring Big Rube)
  • Watson
  • Brandon Bennett
  • Mike Hardnett
  • Marvin Parkman
  • Ray Murray
  • Ruben Bailey
  • Taura Jackson
 Murray 4:47
10. "Queen of the Ghetto" (featuring Kittie)
  • Watson
  • Young
 Dr. Dre 2:46
11. "The Truth" Robert Kelly R. Kelly 3:53
12. "Real"
4:32
13. "Hollywood" (featuring Dr. Dre)
  • Watson
  • Tony Cotrell
  • Varick Smith
 Hi-Tek 3:21
14. "Do Me"
  • Watson
  • Edwards
 Focus... 3:44

Notes

  • ^[A] denotes co-producer

Sample credits

  • "Push Play" contains a portion of "I'm Still #1" as performed by KRS-One.
  • "Addictive" contains a sample from "Do It (Til You're Satisfied)" as written by Billy Nichols.

Charts