How I Do

How I Do is the debut studio album by American singer Res. It was co-written by Santi White (as the lyricist), produced by Martin "Doc" McKinney, and released by MCA Records on June 26, 2001.[1] The album charted for nine weeks on the Billboard 200, with the singles "Golden Boys" and "They-Say Vision" also charting.[2]

How I Do
Studio album by
Res
ReleasedJune 26, 2001
Genre
Length47:49
LabelMCA
Producer
Res chronology
How I Do
(2001)		 Black.Girls.Rock!
(2009)
Singles from How I Do
  1. "Golden Boys"
    Released: June 11, 2002
  2. "They-Say Vision"
    Released: July 15, 2002

Music and lyrics

The album combines elements of a number of musical styles, including hip-hop, pop, rock, and R&B.[3] The title track is pop-oriented, while "Sittin' Back" was called "hip-hop-hued" by one critic.[3] While The Philadelphia Inquirer's Dan DeLuca calls it a "rock-soul album",[4] The New York Times writer Touré says its "collection of seductive post-punk" evokes "the Pretenders, with lyrics about self-empowerment that harked back to the roaring female singer-songwriters of the 70's".[5] In "Ice King", Res details the story of a relationship with a drug dealer. "Golden Boys" comments that many popular and lauded people "aren't always what they seem".[3]

Marketing and sales

How I Do was promoted with the release of two singles, "Golden Boys" and "They-Say Vision". "Golden Boys" reached number 30 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart, spending nine weeks total on the tally.[6] The album itself sold 172,000 units in the US by June 2002.[7]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Robert Christgau[9]

How I Do was met with positive reviews. Billboard named it "Critic's Choice" and noted how Res "effortlessly blends elements of rock, hip-hop, and R&B into a smoothed-out, soul-satisfying set".[3] In a review-feature on contemporary neo soul albums, the Chicago Tribune's Greg Kot said How I Do "simmers with trip-hop atmospherics and embraces rock guitars and reggae bass lines", as "cautionary tales about fame, the media and unpaid debts give Res' streetsmart grooves a deep-soul resonance that eludes many of her contemporaries."[10] Mark Anthony Neal, writing for PopMatters, applauded Santi White's lyrics concerning image and identity in the entertainment industry, particularly from the perspective of a black woman.[11] Rolling Stone magazine's Tracy E. Hopkins ranked it fourth on her year-end list of top albums from 2001, making note of its mix of "new wave, alt rock, and a splash of reggae and hip-hop".[12]

Some reviewers were less enthusiastic. The Village Voice critic Robert Christgau relegated the release to the "honorable mentions" section of his "Consumer Guide" column. He singled out "Golden Boys" and "Ice King" as highlights while recommending the album merely as "something to suck on while you dream of Lauryn [Hill]".[13] AllMusic's Richie Unterberger deemed it "a competent and accomplished, and not great, crossover of soul, pop, rock, and some hip-hop-type beats", with production largely pop-based and lyrics somewhat different from typical R&B relationship songs.[8]

In 2016, the webzine Treble included How I Do in a list of "10 Essential Neo-Soul Albums".[14]

Track listing
  1. "Golden Boys" – 4:40
  2. "They-Say Vision" – 3:36
  3. "700 Mile Situation" – 4:10
  4. "Ice King" – 4:48
  5. "Sittin' Back" – 4:05
  6. "How I Do" – 4:00
  7. "If There Ain't Nothing" – 3:25
  8. "The Hustler" – 3:48
  9. "I've Known the Garden" – 3:39
  10. "Let Love" – 3:54
  11. "Tsunami"/"Say It Anyway" – 7:48

Special edition
  1. "Tsunami" – 4:28
  2. "Toxic You"/"Say It Anyway" – 7:16
  • Note: On the standard edition of the album the final track "Tsunami" has the hidden track "Say It Anyway" on the end, whereas the iTunes and special edition CD versions of the album come with "Tsunami" as an individual track and a bonus track called "Toxic You" accompanied with "Say It Anyway".

Charts
Chart (2002) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[15] 115
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[16] 43

References
  1. Neal, Mark Anthony (June 25, 2001). "Res: How I Do". PopMatters. Retrieved January 5, 2014.
  2. "RES Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved January 5, 2014.
  3. Hall, Rashaun (July 7, 2001). "Reviews & Previews". Billboard. Vol. 113 no. 27. p. 23. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
  4. DeLuca, Dan (January 20, 2008). "Pop music: Things are warming up". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  5. Touré (August 11, 2002). "The Hip-Hop Generation Grabs a Guitar". The New York Times. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  6. "Chart Search: "Res – Golden Boys"". Billboard.
  7. Whitmire, Margo (June 1, 2002). "Urban Acts". Billboard. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
  8. Unterberger, Richie. "How I Do – RES". Allmusic. Retrieved January 5, 2014.
  9. Christgau, Robert (n.d.). "CG: RES". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  10. Kot, Greg (September 28, 2001). "Neo-soul grows and grooves". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 5, 2014.
  11. Neal, Mark Anthony. "Review: Res: How I Do". PopMatters. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
  12. "Our Critics' Top Albums of 2001". Rolling Stone. December 26, 2001. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  13. Christgau, Robert (September 18, 2001). "Consumer Guide: Minstrels All". The Village Voice. Retrieved September 11, 2020 – via robertchristgau.
  14. "10 Essential Neo-Soul Albums". Treble. May 12, 2016. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  15. "RES Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  16. "RES Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard.
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