1 on Billboard‘s Hot R&B Singles chart and peaked at No.
Showcasing her flexible alto range and an adept ability to handle a run, the song shot to No. Sitting atop an inescapable combo of hip hop samples ( LL Cool J‘s “Back Seat (of My Jeep)” and Public Enemy‘s “Bring the Noise”), Monica took a mature approach to explaining her fluctuating behavior in a relationship. Two years later, the aforementioned “Don’t Take it Personal (Just One of Dem Days)” debuted in the spring of ’95 and dominated the airwaves. Miss Thang certainly lived up to her name.After signing a record deal with Rowdy Records (distributed by Arista at the time) at the age of 12, label co-founder Dallas Austin served as the album’s main producer and a surrogate father of sorts for the young singer, taking time to develop the right material, refine her persona and solidify her sound. Monica’s debut hits continue to endure to this day as R&B classics, and opened the door for many more hits to come. Those hits weren’t flash in the pans, either. All four singles it yielded landed in the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, and two grabbed the pole position of the Billboard R&B chart. In the end, Miss Thang was a huge success. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the album, Monica teased the release of a documentary commemorating her entrance into the industry, entitled “The Story of Miss Thang.” Whitney Houston’s influence is very audible in her singing, the powerful belting and the inflections. “Why I Love You So Much” features the signture Babyface sound, but with a more prominent drumbeat and a passionate and emotive vocal from Monica, who sings it with such passion and confidence to make you forget her age. The final single was another ballad, written and produced by Babyface collaborator Daryl Simmons, who had worked on Toni Braxton’s debut album. It was released as a double A-side with “Before You Walk out of My Life” but received its own music video for promotion. The third single “Like This and Like That” follows the same template as the lead, with Austin using a sample of The Sugarhill Gang’s “Spoonin’ Rap” to create the backbone of the track. The R&B ballad was written by Andrea Martin and originally intended for Toni Braxton’s Secrets album, but it was given to Monica instead. “Before You Walk out of My Life” followed the success of the first single by also topping the R&B chart and giving Monica the distinction of being the youngest act to ever have consecutive #1 hits, at age fourteen. The song is, in fact, built on samples of “Bring the Noise” by Public Enemy and “Backseat of My Jeep” by LL Cool J, both of which are Hip-Hop classics. The two samples used for the track are part of its great appeal. The first single released was the peppy and sparse “Don’t Take It Personal (Just One of Dem Days),” which became acclaimed and quickly topped the R&B chart.
Unlike Brandy and Aaliyah’s albums, Miss Thang has a more accentuated Hip-Hop flavour that has always set her apart from her peers. Miss Thang was designed to showcase Monica’s personality and voice, which was very mature for her age, but also to give her street cred and a youthful, energetic vibe. Austin became her mentor and the executive producer of Miss Thang. She was so talented that Dallas Austin offered her a record deal on his own label Rowdy Records (an imprint on Arista Records, her idol Whitney’s home). Producer Dallas Austin was captivated by the vocal ability and stage presence of a 12 year old Monica Denise Arnold, after seeing her perform a rendition of Whitney Houston’s “Greatest Love of All” at a singing contest. Monica was introduced to the public in 1995, the youngest of the three, with her debut album Miss Thang. Both Aaliyah and Brandy had come out with their albums, Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number and Brandy respectively, in 1994. When Monica released her debut album in 1995, she was the last of the Teen R&B star trinity to release music.
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