I Gotta Make It

I Gotta Make It
I Gotta Make It
Studio album by Trey Songz
Released	July 26, 2005
Genre	R&B; hip hop soul;
Length	57:58
Label	Atlantic
Producer	The BeatBanggahz; Warryn Campbell; Ron G.; Kim "Kookie" Hoglund; Bei Maejor; Organized Noize; J.R. Rotem; Trey Songz; Scott Storch; Troy Taylor;
Trey Songz chronology
Singles from I Gotta Make It
	"Gotta Make It"; Released: March 2, 2005; "Gotta Go"; Released: July 23, 2005;

I Gotta Make It is the debut studio album by American R&B recording artist Trey Songz. It was released on July 26, 2005, by Atlantic Records. Recording sessions for the album took place from 2004 to 2005, with Songz' then mentor Troy Taylor overseeing most of the production. Additional producers include Warryn Campbell, Scott Storch, J.R. Rotem, Bei Maejor, and Organized Noize. Guest vocalists include American rappers Twista, Juvenile and T.I. as well as R&B singer Aretha Franklin.

The album earned generally positive reviews from music critics who praised its production and Songz' vocal performance. I Gotta Make It debuted and peaked at number 20 on US Billboard 200, with first week sales of 40,000 copies, and eventually sold 400,000 units in the United States. The album was preceded by the release of its lead single "Gotta Make It" which reached the top 30 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Follow-up "Gotta Go," released in July 2005, peaked at number 11 on the same chart.

Background

Record producer Troy Taylor was introduced to Songz through Songz's stepfather with whom Taylor attended high school, ultimately leading to Songz signing a recording contract with Atlantic Records in 2003.^[4] After graduating from Petersburg High School in 2002, Songz moved to New Jersey to begin recording his debut album, though recording did not actually begin until 2003.^[5] While recording his debut album in 2004, Songz released multiple mixtapes under the alias Prince of Virginia.^[5] One of the mixtapes featured an "answer track" to R. Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet", entitled "Open the Closet". The song gave Songz some notoriety.^[6] When asked about the direction of his debut album, Songz said in 2005: "I had hip-hop instilled in me before R&B and then R. Kelly. I mixed rap into my singing so it flows R&B with hip-hop urgency. Its R&B but it feels like hip-hop. It's good R&B."^[7]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[3]
Entertainment Weekly	A−^[2]
Gigwise	^[8]
HipHopDX	^[1]
Vibe	^[9]

Margeaux Watson from Entertainment Weekly described the album as "a sexy collection of eleven slow jams and thumping grooves that pay homage to Motown's golden era. The disc not only bridges the stylistic gap between Marvin Gaye and R. Kelly, it warmly introduces hip-hop soul's finest new voice."^[2] HipHopDX called the album "a unique blend of R&B soul and funk with a mix of Trey Songz' spicy creativity and originality; A combination of hot production, smooth flowing vocals, and strong lyrics makes this a tight album [...] I Gotta Make It is a CD that eschews a breath of fresh air."^[1]

Andy Kellman of AllMusic said found that "while Songz is hopefully shaking off his obvious indebtedness to [R.] Kelly here, I Gotta Make It is both very enjoyable and full of promise, carrying a fine balance between throwback and modern hip-hop soul. You can always sense that Songz is excited to be making an album; he doesn't even bother to affect a distant sense of cool, unlike so many of his youthful contemporaries, which is a definite asset."^[3] Vibe editor Letisha Marrero Songz's wrote that Songz' "11-track offering is cohesive but missing that mind-blowing club joint. Perhaps the understatement is by design, as it allows for particular attention to the singer's versatile writing."^[9] Will Lavin, writing for Gigwise, felt that Songz' vocal performance on I Gotta Make It "showcases the rise of an artist destined for big things."^[8]

Chart performance

I Gotta Make It debuted and peaked at number 20 on US Billboard 200 chart in the week August 13, 2005, selling 40,000 copies.^[10] In September 2010, Billboard reported that the album had sold 396,000 units in the United States by then.^[11]

Track listing

*I Gotta Make It* track listing
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"A Message from Aretha"	Troy Taylor	Taylor Trey Songz^[a]	0:31
2.	"Gotta Make It" (featuring Twista)	Tremaine Neverson Carl Mitchell Harold Lilly Taylor Kim Hoglund Leon Huff	Kookie Taylor Songz^[a]	4:03
3.	"Cheat on You"	Neverson Taylor Delante "Butta" Murphy Felton Pilate	Taylor Songz^[a]	3:46
4.	"Gotta Go"	Neverson Taylor Marvin Smith	Taylor Songz^[a]	4:07
5.	"Ooo"	Neverson Taylor Dana Hammond Balewa Muhammad Mischke Butler Robert Waller Sly Jordan Warryn Campbell Christopher "Deep" Henderson	Campbell Hammond^[b] Songz^[a] Taylor^[a]	3:38
6.	"All the Ifs"	Neverson Taylor Waller Jordan Lewis	Scott Storch Songz^[a] Taylor^[a]	5:05
7.	"Ur Behind"	Neverson Rion Jones Murphy Brandon Green	Bei Maejor Songz Taylor^[a]	3:19
8.	"From a Woman's Hand"	Neverson Taylor Lewis Michael Ameen	Taylor Michael Me^[b] Songz^[a]	3:44
9.	"Kinda Lovin'"	Neverson Taylor Rick "Star" Williams	Taylor Songz^[a]	3:39
10.	"Comin' for You"	Neverson Taylor Delante Murphy Patrick Brown Ray Murray Rico Wade	Organized Noize Songz^[a] Taylor^[a]	3:55
11.	"Just Wanna Cut (Prelude)"	Taylor	Taylor Songz^[a]	0:46
12.	"Just Wanna Cut"	Neverson Taylor Jasper Murray Murphy J.R. Rotem	J.R. Rotem Songz^[a] Taylor^[a]	3:57
13.	"In the Middle"	Neverson Taylor Greg "Buggyeye" Desilus Steffon "SteffNasty" Reed Shawn "St. Ranger" Harris Lewis	The BeatBanggahz Taylor Songz^[a]	4:00
14.	"Make Love Tonight"	Neverson Taylor	Taylor Songz^[a]	4:16
15.	"Hatin' Love"	Neverson Taylor Lewis Ameen	Taylor Michael Me^[b] Songz^[a]	3:3
16.	"Gotta Go (Reprise)"	Neverson Taylor Smith	Taylor Songz^[a]	2:29
17.	"Gotta Make It (Remix)" (featuring Aretha Franklin and Juvenile)	Neverson Taylor Lilly Hoglund Huff Terius Gray	Ron G Songz^[a]	4:13

Bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
18.	"Set of Wings"			3:23
19.	"Open the Closet"	Neverson Taylor Robert Kelly	Taylor Songz^[a]	3:20

iTunes bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
18.	"You Can Get It" (featuring T.I.)	Neverson Clifford Harris Joe Kent Mark Williams Ezekiel Lewis	Trackboyz Songz^[a]	4:05

Notes

^{^[a]} signifies vocal producer(s)
^{^[b]} signifies co-producer(s)

Sample credits

"Gotta Make It" contains elements from "It's Forever" performed by The Ebonys.
"Cheat on You" contains elements from "(Let Me Put) Love on Your Mind" performed by Con Funk Shun.
"Gotta Go" and "Gotta Go (Reprise)" contains elements from "Child" performed by 21st Century.