Brand New (Salt-n-Pepa album)

Brand New is the fifth and final studio album by American hip hop girl group Salt-N-Pepa. It was released on October 21, 1997, by London Records. The group's international label at the time, Red Ant Entertainment, filed for bankruptcy before the album was officially released. Salt-n-Pepa toured in support of the album, although the album had no other promotion whatsoever. Brand New spawned two singles: "R U Ready" and "Gitty Up". The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on November 25, 1997.

Brand New
Studio album by Salt-N-Pepa
Released	October 21, 1997 (1997-10-21)
Studio	Various Axis, New York City[lower-alpha 1] Quad, New York City[lower-alpha 2] Soundtrack, New York City[lower-alpha 3] The Music Palace, West Hempstead, New York[lower-alpha 4] The Basement, Inc., Dix Hills, New York[lower-alpha 5] Tone X Recording, Washington, D.C.[lower-alpha 6] Record Plant, Los Angeles[lower-alpha 7] The Hit Factory, New York City[lower-alpha 8] Chung King, New York City[lower-alpha 9] AMG, New York City[lower-alpha 10] Horizon, Capitol Heights, Maryland[lower-alpha 11] Flyte Tyme, Edina, Minnesota[lower-alpha 12]
Length	57:27
Label	London
Producer	Sandra "Pepa" Denton Chad "Dr. Ceuss" Elliott Esmail Cheryl "Salt" James Sean "The Mystro" Mather Josef Powell Al West David "D.J." Wynn
Salt-N-Pepa chronology
Very Necessary (1993) Brand New (1997) The Best of Salt-N-Pepa (1999)
Singles from Brand New
"R U Ready" Released: August 29, 1997 "Gitty Up" Released: December 7, 1997

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"R U Ready"	Cheryl James Sandra Denton Chad Elliott Rufus Moore Al West Randy Muller	Cheryl "Salt" James Chad "Dr. Ceuss" Elliott West	3:58
2.	"Good Life"	C. James Maurice Scott Richard Evans Bernard Grobman Gavin Wray	C. James Elliott^[a]	3:54
3.	"Do Me Right"	C. James David Blake Robert Bacon George Archie Wilbert Milow D.J. Walker	C. James Josef Powell	4:36
4.	"Friends" (featuring Queen Latifah and Mad Lion)	Denton Powell Vanesa Powers Anthony Criss Dana Owens	Powell Sandra "Pepa" Denton	4:42
5.	"Say Ooh"	C. James C. James C. James C. James Larry Young Linda Logan Fernando Saunders	Elliott C. James^[b]	4:09
6.	"Imagine" (featuring Sheryl Crow)	C. James Powell	C. James Powell^[a]	5:26
7.	"Knock Knock"	Denton Powell Earnest Hairston Jr. David Wynn	Powell Denton David "D.J." Wynn	4:32
8.	"Gitty Up"	C. James Moore Rick James	Elliott West	4:00
9.	"Boy Toy"	Denton Elliott Norman Whitfield Otwane Roberts	Elliott West Denton^[b]	4:24
10.	"Brand New"	C. James Denton Gary Wright	C. James Sean "The Mystro" Mather Esmail Powell^[a]	4:05
11.	"Silly of You"	C. James Keef James	C. James	3:52
12.	"The Clock Is Tickin'"	C. James	C. James	4:51
13.	"Hold On" (featuring Kirk Franklin and Sounds of Blackness)	C. James Powell	C. James Powell^[a]	5:06

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies an additional producer
• ^{^[b]} signifies a co-producer

Samples credits

• "R U Ready" contains excerpts from "Watch Out" by Brass Construction.
• "Say Ooh" contains a sample from "Turn Off the Lights" by Larry Young.
• "Brand New" contains an interpolation of "Love Is Alive" by Gary Wright.

Personnel

• Prince Charles Alexander – Mixing
• Eddie Anzueto, Jr. – Percussion
• Steven Augustine – Bass
• Kent Belden – Creative Director
• Blue Denim – Background vocals
• Mike Campbell – Guitar
• Melvin Chandler – Keyboards
• Lewis Christian – Percussion
• Day Ta Day – Background vocals
• Andre Debourg – Engineer, Mixing
• James Denton – Photography
• Sandy "Pepa" Denton – Producer
• DJ Flexx – Background vocals
• Chad "Dr. Seuss" Elliott – Programming, Producer, Engineer, Mixing
• Glenn Ellis – Bass
• Esmail – Producer
• Alan Forney – Photo Imaging
• Kirk Franklin – Performer
• Wayne Garrick – Keyboards
• Khari Green – Guitar
• Bernard Grobman – Guitar
• Andrew Hellier – Guitar, Background vocals
• Cheryl "Salt" James – Producer
• Jon Jones – Guitar
• Gerhard Joost – Mixing
• Carol Kirkendall – Executive Producer
• LaTrece – Background vocals
• Michael Lockwood – Guitar
• Al (Taz) Machera – Mixing
• Sean "Mystro" Mather – Producer
• Gary Montoute – Synthesizer
• Michael Moore – Photography
• Rufus Moore – Background vocals, Performer
• Joseph Powell – Programming, Background vocals, Producer, Engineer, Mixing
• Wayne Rickard – Guitar
• Alicia Rushing – Background vocals
• Ken Schubert – Engineer, Mixing
• Dawne Shivers – Background vocals
• Peggy Sirota – Photography
• Sounds of Blackness – Performer
• Spinderella – Performer
• Kevin Thomas – Engineer
• Al West – Producer
• Jimmy White – Bass
• David Wynn – Producer
• George Belton - Bass

Charts

Chart (1997)	Peak position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[2]	64
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[3]	23
US Billboard 200[4]	37
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[5]	16

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[6]	Gold	500,000^^
^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Notes

1. Tracks 1, 4, 10 and 11
2. Track 1
3. Tracks 1, 5 and 8
4. Tracks 2, 11 and 13
5. Tracks 2, 3, 5–7 and 10–13
6. Tracks 3, 4, 6 and 7
7. Track 4
8. Track 6
9. Tracks 6 and 12
10. Track 9
11. Tracks 10 and 12
12. Track 13

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Brand New – Salt-N-Pepa". AllMusic. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
2. "Offiziellecharts.de – Salt 'N' Pepa – Brand New" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
3. "Swisscharts.com – Salt 'N' Pepa – Brand New". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
4. "Salt-N-Pepa Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
5. "Salt-N-Pepa Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
6. "American album certifications – Salt 'N Pepa – Brand New". Recording Industry Association of America. November 25, 1997. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.