Kimberly: The People I Used to Know is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter K. Michelle, released on December 8, 2017, through Atlantic Records.[2] The album was preceded by the release of the singles "Birthday", "Either Way", "Make This Song Cry" and "Crazy Like You". Kimberly: The People I Used to Know debuted on the US Billboard 200 at number fifty-six with 8,804 copies sold, becoming the lowest selling debuting album of Michelle's career so far and continuing a downward trend in her commercial success.
| Kimberly: The People I Used to Know | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | December 8, 2017 | |||
| Recorded | 2016–2017 | |||
| Genre | R&B[1] | |||
| Length | 62:59 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| K. Michelle chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Kimberly: The People I Used to Know | ||||
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Background and release
"It's a record that is very, very vibey. The direction of the album is actually, I actually am talking about a lot of people -- not bashing them, but speaking on some people who have been influential in my life, whether it was for the good or the bad."
— K. Michelle talking about her fourth studio album.[3]
On December 21, 2016, K. Michelle announced that her fourth album would be released in 2017 via Twitter with an acronym "TCE".[4] During the final season of her reality show "K. Michelle: My Life, the singer revealed a song titled "Heaven",[5] calling the song "one of my most personal records on my new album".[6][7] On September 8, 2017, in an interview with Billboard, the album's title was revealed "Kimberly: The People I Used to Know".[3] On October 13, 2017, the album cover, track list and release date was revealed.[8]
Singles
"Birthday" was released as the album's lead single on September 8, 2017.[9] "Either Way" featuring American singer Chris Brown was released as the album's second single on September 15, 2017.[10] The song debuted at number 19 on the US Billboard R&B Digital Song Sales chart for the week beginning October 7, 2017.[11] "Make This Song Cry" was released as the album's third single on October 6, 2017.[12] "Crazy Like You" was released as the album's fourth single on August 12, 2018.[13]
Critical response
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [14] |
| Newsday | [15] |
| Pitchfork | 7.0/10[1] |
| Renowned for Sound | [16] |
On AllMusic, Andy Kellman gave the album four stars out of five, stating that "she has too much on her mind - and has such an imaginative and proficient way of getting it all out - to truly bail."[14] Glenn Gamboa from Newsday wrote that "It’s a shoot-from-the-hip style given to hits and misses, but when K. Michelle connects, she hits hard."[15]
Pitchfork's Alfred Soto graded it 7 points out of 10, commenting that "KIMBERLY: The People I Used to Know may lack a thumper like "V.S.O.P." or a slow jam as urgent as "Drake Would Love Me," still her greatest performance, but it continues a remarkable four-album streak."[1] Rachael Scarsbrook of Renowned for Sound gave the album 4 stars out of 5, wrote that "There is enough differentiation to maintain intrigue even if the album is some 20+ tracks long. K Michelle is never one to mince her words, and she’s certainly not going to be changing that any time soon.[16]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Welcome to the People I Used to Know" | Kimberly Pate | 0:32 | |
| 2. | "Alert" | Camper | 2:18 | |
| 3. | "God, Love, Sex, and Drugs" |
| Bongo | 3:52 |
| 4. | "Make This Song Cry" |
| Lil' Ronnie | 3:27 |
| 5. | "Crazy Like You" |
|
| 3:44 |
| 6. | "Kim K" |
| Camper | 2:33 |
| 7. | "Takes Two" (featuring Jeremih) |
|
| 3:24 |
| 8. | "Rounds" |
|
| 3:25 |
| 9. | "Either Way" (featuring Chris Brown) |
| Ronnie | 4:14 |
| 10. | "Birthday" |
|
| 4:01 |
| 11. | "Fuck Your Man" (Interlude) |
| Ronnie | 3:41 |
| 12. | "No Not You" |
| Ronnie | 3:50 |
| 13. | "Giving Up on Love" |
| Louis Biancaniello | 3:20 |
| 14. | "Help Me Grow" (Interlude) | Pate | 0:28 | |
| 15. | "Heaven" |
| 3:56 | |
| 16. | "Run Don't Walk" |
| A Louis York | 3:48 |
| 17. | "Industry Suicide" (Interlude) | Pate | 0:32 | |
| 18. | "Talk to God" |
|
| 4:27 |
| 19. | "Brain on Love" |
| Eric Hudson | 3:27 |
| 20. | "Woman of My Word" |
|
| 2:53 |
| 21. | "Outro" (performed by Princess Nokia) | Pate | 1:07 | |
| Total length: | 62:59 | |||
Notes
Sample credits
- "Make This Song Cry" contains elements of "Song Cry", written by Shawn Carter, Douglas Gibbs, Randolph Johnson and Justin Smith.
Charts
| Chart (2017) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200[17] | 56 |
| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[18] | 23 |
Release history
| Region | Date | Format | Label | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | December 8, 2017 | Digital download, CD | Atlantic | [2] |
| Canada | [19] | |||
| United Kingdom | December 10, 2017 | [20] | ||
| Spain | [21] | |||
| France | [22] | |||
| Germany | [23] |