Culture-Humble African Full Album Zipl |TOP|

Returning from yet another hiatus, Norwood's fourth album Afrodisiac was released in June 2004, amid the well-publicized termination of her short-lived business relationship with entertainment manager Benny Medina.[50] Norwood ended her contract with his Los Angeles-based Handprint Entertainment after less than a year of representation following controversies surrounding Medina's handling of the lead single "Talk About Our Love", and failed negotiations of a purported co-headlining tour with R&B singer Usher.[50] Despite the negative publicity, Afrodisiac became Norwood's most critically acclaimed album,[51] with some highlighting the "more consistently mature and challenging" effect of Timbaland on Norwood's music,[52] and others calling it "listenable and emotionally resonant", comparing it to "Janet Jackson at her best."[53] A moderate seller, the album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, and received certifications in the United States, Europe and Japan.[54] "Talk About Our Love" reached number six in the United Kingdom, but subsequent singles failed to score successfully on the popular music charts.[55] Later that year, she guest-starred as Gladys Knight in the third-season premiere of American Dreams, in which she performed "I Heard It Through the Grapevine".[56]

Jenny: I feel like I hear indie rock where women are super emo, talking about feelings, singing sad songs...and honestly, I sometimes like that stuff. But it felt special to hear this album, R&B, with like 808s and boom-bap drums and hip-hop beats, where a black woman was being intensely vulnerable, showing insecurity, not asking or expecting herself to have anything fully processed...and it sounded, idk, like super BLACK. It feels like important representation. A reminder that we contain multitudes. 2b1af7f3a8