Take This Ring

Last updated

"Take This Ring"
TakeThisRing.jpg
Single by Toni Braxton
from the album Libra
ReleasedDecember 2005
Studio Encore (Burbank, California)
Genre
Length4:35
Label Blackground
Songwriter(s) Rich Harrison
Producer(s) Rich Harrison
Toni Braxton singles chronology
"Trippin' (That's the Way Love Works)"
(2005)
"Take This Ring"
(2005)
"Suddenly"
(2006)

"Take This Ring" is a song by American singer Toni Braxton. It was written and produced by Rich Harrison for Braxton's sixth studio album, Libra (2005). A subdued go go track, it features an uncredited sample from the song "Here Comes the Meter Man" (1969) by The Meters. [1] Lyrically, it has Braxton singing about her plans to be free from a night of matrimonial responsibilities. [2] "Take This Ring was released as the album's third and final stateside single but failed to enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, though it peaked at number 12 on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. No music video was made for the song.

Contents

Critical reception

Critics compared "Take This Ring" to singer Amerie's "1 Thing" (2005). [3] Miami New Times critic Rich Juzwiak found that "Harrison gives Toni Braxton exactly what she needs to get her groove back on "Take This Ring," which counts as her best track since 2000's "He Wasn't Man Enough." Against subdued go-go that would befuddle Amerie, Brax takes off her wedding ring and approaches her inner hoochie with finesse." [2] Doug Rule from Metro Weekly called the song "a party band jam, featuring festive live percussion. But it earns distinction as the album’s wildest track even more because of its lyrics." [4]

Chart performance

Similarly to Braxton's two previous singles from Libra, "Take This Ring" was shadowed by lack of promotion from her record company, Blackground Records, causing the single to miss the US Billboard Hot 100. It debuted at number 23 on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart in November 2005 based on radio airplay only, peaking at number 12 three months later. [5]

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes of Libra. [6]

Charts

Chart performance for "Take This Ring"
Chart (2006)Peak
position
US Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Songs ( Billboard ) [5] 12

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rich Harrison</span> American record producer

Richard Christopher Harrison is an American record producer and songwriter specializing in R&B and hip hop music. The winner of a Grammy Award, Harrison is well known for producing songs such as "Get Right", "1 Thing" and "Crazy in Love". Harrison is the founder of Richcraft Entertainment, a label that housed artists such as singer Amerie, R&B girl group RichGirl, and rapper Young Steff.

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"1 Thing" is a song by American singer Amerie from her second studio album, Touch (2005). Written by Amerie and Rich Harrison and produced by the latter, the song is influenced by go-go rhythms and prominently samples the Meters' 1970 funk recording of "Oh, Calcutta!", written by Stanley Walden. Its lyrics focus on an unidentified "thing" that fuels a romantic attraction.

<i>Libra</i> (Toni Braxton album) 2005 studio album by Toni Braxton

Libra is the sixth studio album by American singer Toni Braxton, released on September 27, 2005, by Blackground Records. It marked Braxton's debut on the label, following her split with longtime record company Arista Records in 2003 after the release of her album More Than a Woman (2002), which was commercially less successful than its predecessors. The album's title is a reference to Braxton's astrological sign, Libra.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long as I Live (Toni Braxton song)</span> 2018 single by Toni Braxton

"Long as I Live" is a song by American singer Toni Braxton from her eighth studio album Sex & Cigarettes (2018). Written by Braxton, Paul Boutin, and Antonio Dixon, whom also produced the track, it is a "soulful '90s-style" R&B and soul track that finds the singer struggling with breaking up and moving on from her past lover. The song was released on February 9, 2018 by Def Jam Recordings as the second single from the album, with an accompanying music video premiered on March 23, 2018 to coincide with the parent album's release.

References

  1. Rys, Dan (October 11, 2015). "10 Key Allen Toussaint Songs Sampled in Hip-Hop". Billboard . Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  2. 1 2 Juzwiak, Rich (October 13, 2005). "Reviews, Toni Braxton". Miami New Times . Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  3. "Reviews: Albums (Libra)". Billboard . October 1, 2005. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  4. Rule, Doug (September 28, 2005). "Toni's Lib". Metro Weekly . Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  5. 1 2 "Toni Braxton Chart History (Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard . Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
  6. Braxton, Toni (2006). Libra (liner notes). Toni Braxton. Blackground Records