Make It Hot
Make It Hot is the debut studio album by American singer Nicole Wray. The album was released in August 1998 through Missy Elliott's Elektra-distributed vanity label, The Goldmind. The album was produced by Missy Elliott and Timbaland. Some editions of the release credit Nicole as Nicole Ray, a name she only used here and on her single "I Can't See".
Critical reception
Michael Gallucci from AllMusic wrote that Make It Hot "is virtually a textbook primer on Elliott's stylistic touch and influence on end-of-the-millennium hip-hop. Along with pal Timbaland, Elliott transforms young Nicole's somewhat standard bow into a stuttering slab of post-rap R&B that's as sleekly modern as it is customarily cold." Entertainment Weekly journalist Rob Brunner gave the album a B rating and concluded: "Even if the distinctive Missy-Timbaland sound is getting a little old, Hot proves the formula hasn’t gone cold just yet."Chart performance
Make It Hot reached number forty-two on the US Billboard 200 and number nineteen on the R&B album chart. The first single, "Make It Hot", reached number five on the Hot 100 chart, number two on the R&B singles chart, and was certified gold. The second single, "I Can't See", reached number thirty-six on the Rhythmic Top 40 chart. In 1999, the third and final single from the album, "Eyes Better Not Wander", reached number seventy-one on the R&B singles chart.Track listing
Limited Edition bonus disc
- Clipse - "We Get Money "
- Flipmode Squad - "Everything"
- Yo Yo - "Do You Wanna Ride?"
- Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott - "Get Contact" 1
- Coko - "He Be Back" 1
- En Vogue - "No Fool No More"
Personnel
Credits are taken from the album's liner notes.;Instruments and performances
- Davis Barnett – viola
- Larry Gold – cello
- Donald "Lenny" Holmes – bass, guitar
- Emma Kummrow – violin
- Brian Morgan – keyboard
- Nat The Great – beatbox
- Igor Sewic – violin
- Executive producers: Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, Merlin Bobb, Sylvia Rhone
- Producers: Big Baby, Merlin Bobb, Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, Kevin Hicks, Donald Holmes, Brian Alexander Morgan, Tim Mosley, Sylvia Rhone, Smokey, Suga Mike, Timbaland
- Vocal producer: Nicole Wray
- Vocal assistance: Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott
- Engineers: Claude "Swifty" Achille, Jimmy Douglas, Paul Falcone, Nat Foster, Eddie Hudson, Ted Reiger, Jon Smeltz, Stevie Sola
- Assistant engineers: Chuck Bailey, Steve Macauley, Rob Murphy, Jason Rea
- Mixing: Claude "Swifty" Achille, Kevin Davis, Jimmy Douglas, Paul Falcone, Nat Foster, Senator Jimmy D
- Programming: Timbaland
- Mastering: Herb Powers
- Arranger: Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, Nat Foster, Larry Gold, Brian Morgan,
Charts