After getting an interview with him, she was signed to A&M Records by its president, Ron Fair and he later began mentoring her in 2004. Once she caught her then boyfriend cheating on her with another woman, she got in her car and drove for nine hours to Los Angeles, California to further pursue her music career according to her biography page on her website. She appeared on recordings by rapper Messy Marv ("Nubian Queen") and Tony! Toni! Toné! member D'wayne Wiggins (the soundtrack for the film Me and Mrs. Eventually, she gained recognition into the Bay Area's hip hop and R&B scenes. The Way It Is also garnered Cole two Soul Train Music Award nominations for Best Female R&B/Soul Album and one for the album's fourth single, "Love" for Best Female R&B/Soul Single at the 20th Soul Train Music Awards in 2006.Īround the age of 12-13, Cole managed to convince American rapper MC Hammer into giving her a backup vocal slot and a chance to record with him. The Way It Is was Cole's longest-charting album on the Billboard 200, remaining on the chart for sixty-four weeks in total and staying on the chart for over a year, eventually selling over 1.6 million copies. In the United States, it stayed on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart for eighty-four weeks, and was certified gold by the RIAA within seventeen weeks, and then platinum only eight weeks later.
The album enjoyed commercial success and launched Cole's career in R&B music, selling 89,000 units in its first week, while becoming one of the ten biggest-selling R&B/Hip-Hop albums of the year. The Way It Is received generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised Cole's vocals and musical themes and compared them to the likes of fellow female R&B singer Mary J. Cole promoted the album by performing as the supporting act, for the tours by artists such as Nelly and Kanye West. The fourth single " Love" was the album's best-performing song on the Hot 100, spending nineteen weeks on the chart and becoming Cole's first top 20 hit in the US. The third single " I Should Have Cheated" became Cole's first single to reach the top-five on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs as well as her first single to reach the top forty of the Hot 100. " (I Just Want It) To Be Over" was released as the album's second single and peaked at number thirty on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
The album's lead single " I Changed My Mind" peaked at number seventy-one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number twenty-three on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
Lyrically, the album speaks of romantic relationships.įour official singles were released from The Way It Is all reached the top 40 of the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. The Way It Is is a R&B album, with some tracks having hip hop and hip hop soul sensibilities. Cole co-wrote every song on the album, and also worked with a number of producers and writers, including Ron Fair, Sean Garrett, Kerry "Krucial" Brothers, Polow da Don, John Legend, Alicia Keys and Kanye West. The album features guest appearances from Jadakiss, Chink Santana, Metro City and Eve. The Way It Is is the debut studio album by American singer Keyshia Cole, released on June 21, 2005, through A&M Records and Interscope Records.