Background
By 1997, Aretha Franklin hadn't recorded a studio album in six years following the release of 1991's ill-fated What You See Is What You Sweat. Franklin remained active providing songs on soundtracks of films such as Malcolm X, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit and Waiting to Exhale. Franklin also released her first greatest-hits album of her Arista tenure in 1994, which included two new singles produced by Babyface including the top 40 hit, "Willing to Forgive". In the meantime, word reached that Franklin was working with younger producers trying to reconnect with a new audience that had advanced to embrace neo soul and hip hop soul artists such as Mary J. Blige, Erykah Badu and The Fugees. When reports began emerging that Franklin's new album would include Sean "Puffy" Combs, Jermaine Dupri and The Fugees' Lauryn Hill, fans and critics each gave the moves mixed reviews not knowing what to expect from the collaborations since the last attempts to modernize Franklin's classic soul sound with the current scene met with mixed results – her last hit album was 1986's Aretha.
Read more about this topic: A Rose Is Still A Rose
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