2000 Watts

2000 Watts is the second studio album by American recording artist Tyrese. It was released by RCA Records on May 22, 2001 in the United States. Titled in homage to the Watts neighborhood in Los Angeles, his home town, Tyrese worked with a variety of musicians on the album, including Babyface, Battlecat, Jermaine Dupri, Tim & Bob, Jake and Trev, Tricky Stewart, Rodney Jerkins, and The Underdogs.

The album received generally positive reviews. It debuted at number ten on the US Billboard 200, making it Tyrese's first top 10 album, and also debuted at number four on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. 2000 Watts was later certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and produced three singles, including lead single "I Like Them Girls" as well as follow-ups "What Am I Gonna Do" and "Just a Baby Boy." 2000 Watts's front cover features the Watts Towers.

Promotion

The album was preceded by its first single, "I Like Them Girls", released on March 20, 2001 in the United States. The song peaked at number 48 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on the chart dated June 9, 2001, becoming the album's most successful single. 2000 Watts's second single, "What Am I Gonna Do" was released on March 22, 2001. It peaked at number 71 on the chart dated October 6, 2001. The album's third and final single, "Just a Baby Boy," performed along with Snoop Dogg and Mr. Tan, was released on June 19, 2001 and peaked at number 90 on the chart dated July 21, 2001.

Critical reception

2000 Watts was met with generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, the album received an average score of 70, based on five reviews. AllMusic editor Jon Azpiri found that "listening to 2000 Watts, even the most cynical of R&B fans would have to admit that Tyrese has real talent. Flanked by a series of heavyweight producers [...] Tyrese delivers a series of ballads and uptempo numbers that are bound to appeal to fans of BET and TRL, respectively [...] After a relative successful debut album, 2000 Watts demonstrates that Tyrese is a legitimate R&B talent with a lot more skills than a lot of people expected." Natasha Washington, writing for The Oklahoman felt that with the album "Tyrese again offers a rare, intimate glimpse inside his heart with fun rhythm and blues jams, midtempo grooves and soaring ballads. 2000 Watts presents a successful oldies mind-set." Gail Mitchell from Billboard wrote that 2000 Watts "shines as bright as its title." She concluded that apart from "the formulaic "I Ain't the One"," Tyrese "proves he's definitely in this game (of music) for the long haul – and that should please fans of quality R&B.

Cheo Tyehimba of Entertainment Weekly praised 2000 Watts. He stated that "if most artists experience a sophomore slump, someone forgot to tell Tyrese [because] what distinguishes 2000 Watts is its pure pop appeal." Tyehimba gave the album a B+ rating. Less impressed, E! Online noted that most "of the disc glides along on that same smooth, if lightweight style, with Tyrese serving as little more than a hot conduit for top-notch producers and writers like Babyface, Jermaine Dupree and Diane Warren. Luckily, Tyrese can sing." Vibe declared the album a "dim sophomore effort [that] suggests that he needs to spend a lot more time on his tunes," while Q found that "sadly, there's also a depressing quantity of mush and devotion, totally at odds with his grinding best."

Commercial performance

2000 Watts debuted at number ten on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 91,000 copies in its first week. This became Tyrese's first US top-ten debut on the chart. The album also debuted at number four on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. 2000 Watt also spent a total of 24 weeks on the chart. On August 14, 2001, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over 500,000 copies in the United States. In October 2003, Billboard reported that the album had sold 617,000 units, domestically.

Track listing

Notes

• ^[a] denotes co-producer(s)

Charts

Certifications

External links

• at Metacritic