Monica will release her third album, simply titled Monica, on August 20th. Monica will be the R&B singer's first record in four years and the follow-up to The Boy Is Mine, which featured a duet with Brandy on the title track and earned the pair a Grammy.

For her J Records debut, Monica worked as a co-writer along with producers Rodney Jerkins, Jermaine Dupri, Dallas Austin and the team of Soulshock and Karlin. "This is truly the first time in my career that the songs reflect both my direct and indirect personal experiences," she says. "It's like my 'coming of age' record, and with this album I want to establish the kind of fans who will be with me for the next ten years and more."

The first single from the album is "All Eyez on Me" (not to be confused with 2Pac's song of the same name), which Monica describes as a "party" song. "The world has had plenty of tragedy to deal with recently," she says, "so I wanted to do something that had a 'feel good' flavor to it."

CHRISTINA SARACENO
(June 28, 2002)