Kimberly: The People I Used to Know

Last updated
Kimberly: The People I Used to Know
K.Michelle-The-People-I-Used-To-Know.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedDecember 8, 2017
Recorded2016–2017
Genre R&B [1]
Length62:59
Label Atlantic
K. Michelle chronology
More Issues Than Vogue
(2016)
Kimberly: The People I Used to Know
(2017)
All Monsters Are Human
(2020)
Singles from Kimberly: The People I Used to Know
  1. "Birthday"
    Released: September 8, 2017
  2. "Either Way"
    Released: September 15, 2017
  3. "Make This Song Cry"
    Released: October 6, 2017
  4. "Crazy Like You"
    Released: February 13, 2018

Kimberly: The People I Used to Know is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter K. Michelle, released on December 8, 2017, through Atlantic Records. [2] The album was preceded by the release of the singles "Birthday", "Either Way", "Make This Song Cry" and "Crazy Like You". Kimberly: The People I Used to Know debuted on the US Billboard 200 at number fifty-six with 8,804 copies sold, becoming the lowest selling debuting album of Michelle's career so far and continuing a downward trend in her commercial success.

Contents

Background and release

"It's a record that is very, very vibey. The direction of the album is actually, I actually am talking about a lot of people -- not bashing them, but speaking on some people who have been influential in my life, whether it was for the good or the bad."

— K. Michelle talking about her fourth studio album. [3]

On December 21, 2016, K. Michelle announced that her fourth album would be released in 2017 via Twitter with an acronym "TCE". [4] During the final season of her reality show "K. Michelle: My Life, the singer revealed a song titled "Heaven", [5] calling the song "one of my most personal records on my new album". [6] [7] On September 8, 2017, in an interview with Billboard, the album's title was revealed "Kimberly: The People I Used to Know". [3] On October 13, 2017, the album cover, track list and release date was revealed. [8]

Singles

"Birthday" was released as the album's lead single on September 8, 2017. [9] "Either Way" featuring American singer Chris Brown was released as the album's second single on September 15, 2017. [10] The song debuted at number 19 on the US Billboard R&B Digital Song Sales chart for the week beginning October 7, 2017. [11] "Make This Song Cry" was released as the album's third single on October 6, 2017. [12] "Crazy Like You" was released as the album's fourth single on August 12, 2018. [13]

Critical response

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [14]
Newsday Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [15]
Pitchfork 7.0/10 [1]
Renowned for Sound Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [16]

On AllMusic, Andy Kellman gave the album four stars out of five, stating that "she has too much on her mind - and has such an imaginative and proficient way of getting it all out - to truly bail." [14] Glenn Gamboa from Newsday wrote that "It’s a shoot-from-the-hip style given to hits and misses, but when K. Michelle connects, she hits hard." [15]

Pitchfork 's Alfred Soto graded it 7 points out of 10, commenting that "KIMBERLY: The People I Used to Know may lack a thumper like "V.S.O.P." or a slow jam as urgent as "Drake Would Love Me," still her greatest performance, but it continues a remarkable four-album streak." [1] Rachael Scarsbrook of Renowned for Sound gave the album 4 stars out of 5, wrote that "There is enough differentiation to maintain intrigue even if the album is some 20+ tracks long. K Michelle is never one to mince her words, and she’s certainly not going to be changing that any time soon. [16]

Track listing

Kimberly: The People I Used to Know track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Welcome to the People I Used to Know" Kimberly Pate  0:32
2."Alert"Camper2:18
3."God, Love, Sex, and Drugs"
Bongo 3:52
4."Make This Song Cry"
Lil' Ronnie 3:27
5."Crazy Like You"
  • Pate
  • Jackson
  • Bethea
  • Eric Crawford
  • Daniel Bryant
  • Deante Hitchcock
  • Ronnie
  • Bryant
  • Crawford [a]
3:44
6."Kim K"
  • Pate
  • Camper
  • Micah Powell
  • Jordan Etterlane
Camper2:33
7."Takes Two" (featuring Jeremih)
  • Bongo
  • Hitmaka
3:24
8."Rounds"
  • Katalyst
  • Bangallure [b]
3:25
9."Either Way" (featuring Chris Brown)
Ronnie4:14
10."Birthday"
  • Yung Ladd
  • Hitmaka
  • Critical [c]
4:01
11."Fuck Your Man" (Interlude)
  • Pate
  • Jackson
  • Bethea
  • Crawford
  • Bryant
Ronnie3:41
12."No Not You"
Ronnie3:50
13."Giving Up on Love"
  • Alex Vickery
  • Midian Mathers
Louis Biancaniello 3:20
14."Help Me Grow" (Interlude)Pate 0:28
15."Heaven"
  • Philip Constable
  • Lindsay Gilbert
  • Constable
  • Gilbert [a]
  • Crawford [a]
3:56
16."Run Don't Walk"
A Louis York3:48
17."Industry Suicide" (Interlude)Pate 0:32
18."Talk to God"
  • Pate
  • Jackson
  • Bethea
  • Crawford
  • Bryant
  • Hinshaw
  • Courtney Dwight
  • Ronnie
  • BLAQSMURPH
  • Crawford [a]
4:27
19."Brain on Love" Eric Hudson 3:27
20."Woman of My Word"
  • Jerkins
  • Nathan
  • King Midas
2:53
21."Outro" (performed by Princess Nokia)Pate 1:07
Total length:62:59

Notes

Sample credits

Charts

Chart performance for Kimberly: The People I Used to Know
Chart (2017)Peak
position
US Billboard 200 [17] 56
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [18] 23

Release history

Release history for Kimberly: The People I Used to Know
RegionDateFormatLabelRef
United StatesDecember 8, 2017 Digital download, CD Atlantic [2]
Canada [19]
United KingdomDecember 10, 2017 [20]
Spain [21]
France [22]
Germany [23]

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References

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  7. ""Heaven" is exactly where I am right now. So glad I could share a snippet with you all last night on #KMichelle: My Life! ❤️ Album #4 is coming VERY soon". Facebook. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
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