Tamar - Ridiculous (1999)

Tamar Estine Braxton was born on 17 March 1977, and was the youngest of six children. She began singing as a toddler, eventually joining their church choir, where their father was a pastor, and she and her four sisters (Toni, Traci, Towanda, and Trina) formed a group and signed their first record deal with Arista Records in 1989. In 1990, they released their first single, 'Good Life', which peaked at No. 79 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart, but marketing was a problem for Arista because of the ten year age difference between the eldest and youngest sisters, and subsequently The Braxtons were dropped by the label. In 1991, during a showcase with L.A. Reid and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Toni Braxton was chosen and signed as the label's first female solo artist, after being told that their label was not looking for another girl group since it had just signed TLC. After Toni's departure from the group, the four remaining members became backup singers for Toni's first tour, music videos, and promotional appearances. In 1993, LaFace Records signed The Braxtons, although the group never released an album or single for the label, and when L. A, Reid moved on to work for Atlantic Records, he convinced executives at LaFace to allow him to take the group with him. In 1996, Tamar, Trina, and Towanda returned with a new album entitled 'So Many Ways', which peaked at No. 26 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and the title track was released as a single, which made it to No. 83 on the Billboard Hot 100, but it did much better in the UK, where it reached number 32 on the UK Singles Chart.
In 1999, Tamar met Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, and with him producing she recorded her solo debut album, 'Ridiculous', so-named for the many different musical styles featured on it. It spawned two buzz singles in the form of 'Let Him Go' and 'Just Cuz', in the hope of garnering attention from the public, but when the songs failed to gain any impact on urban radio outlets, the album was pushed back, and eventually cancelled. Instead of shelving the album, Dreamworks Records kept two old tracks, added some new ones, and renamed it 'Tamar', and when the Jermaine Dupri-produced lead single 'Get None' was released and began to pick up airplay, Braxton announced the album would be released in early 2000. It featured production from Missy Elliott, Tim & Bob, and Tricky Stewart, and peaked at number 127 on the Billboard 200, but when the album's second single 'If You Don't Wanna Love Me', failed to gain significant radio airplay, the label dropped her from their roster. In 2001, she began to work alongside her sister Toni on a number of songs and music video cameos, and also performed, co-wrote and sang background vocals on songs for all of Toni's albums from 2000's  'The Heat' to 2010's 'Pulse'. In 2010 she signed to Universal Records, where she released a single. 'The Heart In Me' in July, and following a move to Epic Records in 2013 she finally released her second album, 'Love And War', which was a commercial success in the United States, only being kept off the number one slot on the Billboard 200 by Ariana Grande's 'Yours Truly'. It had taken a while, but she finally had the success that she'd worked for, and so we can now look back and listen to her abandoned debut album, 'Ridiculous', and see if we can work out just why the record company lost faith in it. 

Track listing

01 Reap What You Sow (Intro)
02 No Disrespect (feat. Missy Elliott & Lil' Mo) 
03 Respect Me 
04 Let Him Go (feat. Solé) 
05 Tonight (You and Me) 
06 Now I Only Dance for You 
07 Just Cuz 
08 It's Time (feat. Grand Puba & Antoinette Roberson) 
09 Call Me (feat. Sam Salter) 
10 Don't Cry 
11 Count The Ways