Testimony (August Alsina album)

Testimony is the debut studio album by American R&B singer August Alsina. It was released on April 15, 2014, by Def Jam Recordings. The album was supported by six singles: "I Luv This Shit", "Ghetto", "Numb", "Make It Home", "Kissin' on My Tattoos" and "No Love"; along with the release of his promotional single, "Benediction".

Testimony
Studio album by
August Alsina
ReleasedApril 15, 2014
Recorded2012–14
Genre
Length59:21
LabelDef Jam
Producer
August Alsina chronology
Downtown: Life Under the Gun
(2013)		 Testimony
(2014)		 This Thing Called Life
(2015)
Singles from Testimony
  1. "I Luv This Shit"
    Released: February 19, 2013
  2. "Ghetto"
    Released: December 9, 2013
  3. "Numb"
    Released: December 10, 2013
  4. "Make It Home"
    Released: January 15, 2014
  5. "Kissin' on My Tattoos"
    Released: April 1, 2014
  6. "No Love (Remix)"
    Released: July 29, 2014

Upon its release, Testimony was met with generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised the whole creativity of the album. The album debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 67,000 copies in the United States. The album features guest appearances from Nicki Minaj, Chris Brown, Yo Gotti, B.o.B, Rich Homie Quan, Trey Songz and Def Jam label-mates Pusha T, Rick Ross, Fabolous, Jeezy and Trinidad James.

Singles

On February 14, 2013, the music video was released for the lead single, "I Luv This Shit" featuring Trinidad James.[1] The song was produced by Knucklehead. It was officially released for digital download on February 19, 2013.[2] The song peaked at number 48 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and number 13 on the Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts.[3][4]

On December 9, 2013, the album's second single, "Ghetto" featuring Rich Homie Quan, was serviced to urban contemporary radio in the United States.[5][6] Knucklehead also produced this track. It was officially released for digital download on February 11, 2014.[7]

On December 2, 2013, the music video was released for "Numb" featuring B.o.B. and Yo Gotti.[8] On December 10, 2013, "Numb" was released as the album's third single.[9] The song was produced by DJ Mustard.

On January 15, 2014, the album's fourth single, "Make It Home" featuring Jeezy, was released for digital download.[10] It was sent to US urban contemporary radio on March 3, 2014.[11] On February 13, 2014, the music video was released for "Make It Home" featuring Jeezy.[12]

On April 1, 2014, the album's fifth single, "Kissin' on My Tattoos" was released.[13] The song was produced by Jasper Cameron.

The album's sixth single was the remix to "No Love" featuring Nicki Minaj, which was serviced to urban adult contemporary radio in the United States on July 29, 2014.[14]

Other songs

On April 15, 2014, the music video was released for "Get Ya Money" featuring Fabolous.[15] On June 26, 2014, the music video was released for "FML" featuring Pusha T.[16] On July 1, 2014, the music video was released for "Benediction" featuring Rick Ross; the video also features a cameo appearances from DJ Khaled.[17]

Promotion

To promote the album, Alsina began the Testimony Live tour in the United States on August 14, 2014.[18]

Critical response
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic79/100[19]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[20]
The New York Times(positive)[21]
Now[22]
Spin7/10[23]
XXL3/5 (L)[24]

Upon its release, Testimony was met with generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 79, which indicates "generally positive reviews", based on 5 reviews.[19] Andy Kellman of AllMusic said, "This is a gratifying second step from one of the most exciting contemporary R&B artists to appear during the 2010s."[20]

Erin Lowers of XXL gave the album an L rating, saying "Finding the balance between sex, love, and ratchet, Testimony is truly a testament to a new era in R&B that shifts safe lyrics to smooth street tales."[24] Brandon Soderberg of Spin said, "Usually, in-the-pocket R&B does fine with middling MCs, but Testimony, powered by Alsina's insider-outsider personality – sensitive romantic with a crime-haunted past – doesn't need these big dumb lugs for cred, or even menace. Testimony brings rap's raw nerve detail to the sturdy slow jam, nullifying the need for nods to R&B of the "rap and bullshit" variety."[23]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 67,000 copies in the United States.[25] In its second week, the album sold 20,000 more copies in the United States.[26] In its third week, the album sold 12,000 more copies in the United States.[27] In its fourth week, the album sold 8,800 more copies in the United States.[28] As of November 2015, the album has sold 287,000 copies in the United States.[29] The album was eventually certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and album-equivalent units over 500,000 units in the United States.

Track listing
Standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Testify"
4:02
2."Make It Home" (featuring Jeezy)
The Featherstones4:31
3."Right There"
  • Alsina
  • Irving III
  • McMillion
  • Jeanty
  • Knucklehead
  • Cassius Jay
  • Alsina
  • The Exclusives[a]
3:37
4."You Deserve"
  • The BeatFreqz
  • The Exclusives[a]
4:02
5."No Love"
4:03
6."Porn Star"
  • Alsina
  • Gary "DJ Spinz" Hill
  • John "$K" McGee
  • McMillion
  • Jeanty
  • DJ Spinz
  • McGee
  • The Exclusives[a]
4:37
7."FML" (featuring Pusha T)
  • Drumma Boy
  • The Exclusives[a]
3:37
8."Grind & Pray / Get Ya Money" (featuring Fabolous)
"Grind & Pray" produced by Cameron
"Get Ya Money" produced by DJ Spinz and Dun Deal		5:32
9."Ghetto" (featuring Yo Gotti)
  • Knucklehead
  • The Exclusives[a]
3:59
10."Kissin' on My Tattoos"
  • Alsina
  • Cameron
  • Cameron
  • The Exclusives[a]
4:11
11."Ah Yeah"
  • Alsina
  • David "D. Clax" Claxton
Claxton2:35
12."Mama"
  • Alsina
  • McMillion
  • Jeanty
  • The Exclusives
  • Alsina
3:30
13."Benediction" (featuring Rick Ross)
  • Hudson
  • The Exclusives[a]
4:55
14."I Luv This Shit" (featuring Trinidad James)
  • Knucklehead
  • The Exclusives[a]
4:27
15."Numb" (featuring B.o.B and Yo Gotti)
4:14
Deluxe edition (bonus tracks)
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
16."Grind & Pray (Extended version)"
  • Alsina
  • Cameron
Cameron3:32
17."I Luv This Shit (Remix)" (featuring Trey Songz and Chris Brown)
  • Knucklehead
  • The Exclusives[a]
4:26
Best Buy deluxe edition (bonus track)[30]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
18."Backseat"
  • Alsina
  • Kevin "Go Grizzly" Price
Go Grizzly3:00
Notes
Sample credits

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[39] Gold 500,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Region Date Label(s)
Australia[40] April 10, 2014 Universal Music
Austria[41]
Belgium[42]
Germany[43]
France[44]
Ireland[45] April 14, 2014 Island
United Kingdom[46] Virgin EMI
United States[47] April 15, 2014 Def Jam
Japan[48] April 29, 2014 Universal Music Japan
New Zealand[49] May 6, 2014 Universal Music
Finland[50]
Hungary[51]
Poland[52] May 11, 2014 Def Jam
Italy[53] May 27, 2014

See also

References
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  2. "iTunes - Music - I Luv This Sh*t (feat. Trinidad James) - Single by August Alsina". Itunes.apple.com. 2013-02-19. Retrieved 2014-04-19.
  3. "August Alsina - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 2014-04-19.
  4. "August Alsina - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 2014-04-19.
  5. "freq-flip-dec-2013". Frequencynews.com. Retrieved 2014-04-19.
  6. "August Alsina f/ Yo Gotti "Ghetto"". Complex. 2013-12-18. Retrieved 2014-04-19.
  7. "August Alsina: Ghetto - Muziek op Google Play". Retrieved 2014-04-19.
  8. "New Video: August Alsina Feat. Yo Gotti & B.o.B. 'Numb'". Vibe. 2013-12-02. Retrieved 2014-04-19.
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  11. "Urban/UAC Future Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on 2014-02-27.
  12. Miranda J. (2014-02-13). "Music Saves August Alsina's Life In "Make It Home" Video - XXL". Xxlmag.com. Retrieved 2014-04-19.
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  14. "Future Releases". Archived from the original on 2014-07-28.
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