Gina Thompson - If You Only Knew (1999)

Gina Thompson was born Lugenia Thompson in Vineland, New Jersey, on 10 November 1976, and began singing at an early age, signing her first recording contract with Mercury Records shortly after graduating high school. Her first album was 'Nobody Does It Better', which was released in 1996 and was produced by Missy Elliott and P Diddy, and featured appearances by Elliott, Diddy, and Craig Mack, among others. The first single from the album, 'The Things That You Do', peaked at number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, and number 12 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, although the follow-up 'You Bring The Sunshine' stalled at number 53 on the Hot 100. In 1996 she added background vocals for the song 'Cold Rock A Party' by MC Lyte featuring Missy Elliott and Puff Daddy, and also appeared on Lyte's 1998 album 'Seven & Seven'. Later work included 'Why Do Fools Fall in Love', a re-imagining of the 1955 Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers hit of the same name, and she also appeared on Missy Elliott's second album 'Da Real World'. By the latter part of 1998, her debut was certified Platinum by the RIAA after an estimate of one million copies were sold. Thompson's second album 'If You Only Knew' was all set to be released on 21 September  1999, on Elektra Records through Missy Elliott's The Goldmind Inc. imprint, and two singles were released in advance of the album's anticipated release date: 'Ya Di Ya', featuring Elliott, peaked at number 38 on the R&B chart, while 'Caught Up', featuring rapper Beanie Sigel, failed to chart, and so Elektra added the album to its growing list of cancellations, mainly in the urban department of the roster. After the album was shelved, Thompson asked to be released from her contract, and she left the label in 2001, continuing to perform as an independent artist, and beginning work on a third album in 2008. In July 2008 she released the song 'We Don't Talk No More (Dancehall Remix)' as the lead single for her official third studio album, 'Missing You', which appeared in February 2009. You wonder what the label were thinking after that first album went Platinum, but it's all about the money with these corporations, and one flop single can ruin a singer's career. Give this shelved album a listen and see if you think it deserved its fate. 

Track listing

01 If You Only Knew
02 Caught Up (feat Beanie Segal) 
03 Ladies' Anthem 
04 Ya Di Ya (feat Missy Elliott) 
05 It Hurts 
06 Don't Take Your Love Away 
07 Take My Number Down
08 Calling You
09 He'll Do It Again (Interlude) 
10 Up All Night (feat Jon B)
11 Turn Around 
12 Coolin' Out W/U 
13 As Long As God Allows