It's About Time (SWV album)

It's About Time is the debut studio album by American female R&B trio SWV. It was released by RCA Records on October 27, 1992 in the United States. It earned 11 Billboard Music Award nominations and became the 16th best-selling album of 1993 in the United States, with 2,100,000 copies sold according to Nielsen SoundScan. It also earned SWV a nomination for Best New Artist at the 36th Grammy Awards.[3] In 1996, It's About Time was certified 3x platinum, for shipping over 3,000,000 albums in the US alone.[4]

It's About Time
Studio album by SWV
Released	October 27, 1992
Studio	Various Bam Jam Studios Greensweep Recording Studios(Sacramento, California) Hillside Recording Studios (Englewood, New Jersey) Reel Tyme Recording Unique Recording Studios (New York City) Hit City Studio Home Boy Recording Studio Quad Recording Studios Quadrasonic Sound Studios (New York City) Reel Platinum Studios (Lodi, New Jersey) Studio B (Sacramento, California)
Genre	New jack swing[1][2]
Length	60:09
Label	RCA
Producer	Donald "Dee" Bowden Michael Brown Saphreem King Brian Alexander Morgan Genard Parker
SWV chronology
It's About Time (1992) The Remixes (1994)
Singles from It's About Time
"Right Here" Released: August 20, 1992 "I'm So into You" Released: January 8, 1993 "Weak" Released: April 10, 1993 "Downtown" Released: May 24, 1993 "Right Here/Human Nature" Released: July 10, 1993 "You're Always On My Mind" Released: September 13, 1993 "Anything" Released: 1994

The album spawned five hit singles with "I'm So into You", "Downtown", "Weak", a remixed version of "Right Here/Human Nature" (the latter two reached #1 on the R&B singles chart, with "Weak" being their biggest pop hit at #1), and "You're Always On My Mind" (shortened to "Always On My Mind" for single release). A remixed version of "Anything" appeared on the soundtrack of the film Above the Rim in 1994 and was released as the final single from It's About Time.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	C-[5]
Robert Christgau	[6]
Rolling Stone	[7]

In his retrospective review for Allmusic, editor Ron Wynn wrote that SWV's "deep, sensual harmonies, sometimes naughty lyrics and aggressive style immediately struck a responsive chord, particularly among male fans. Their CD shows their versatility, as they handled New Jack tunes, romantic ballads [...] and sassy, innuendo-laden fare [...] Their hits "Weak" and "Right Here" had the same blend of heat and vulnerability that underscore the best En Vogue material, and even though this CD was padded by remixes and repeats, it was still among the finest debuts issued in 1992."[1] Less enthusiastic, Amy Linden from Entertainment Weekly found that "in a perfect world, folks would demand more than the ability to program a slammin’ beat and hit the note. Until that day, these chirpy homegirls of SWV create and fill their own void in It’s About Time."[5]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Anything"	Brian Alexander Morgan	Morgan	2:50
2.	"I'm So into You"	Morgan	Morgan	4:38
3.	"Right Here"	Morgan Tamara Johnson	Morgan	4:38
4.	"Weak"	Morgan	Morgan	4:51
5.	"You're Always On My Mind"	Morgan	Morgan	5:17
6.	"Downtown"	Genard Parker Gina "Go-Go" Gomez Kenny Ortiz	Parker	5:12
7.	"Coming Home"	Michael Brown Hassan Eatman Geno Morris	Brown	4:21
8.	"Give It To Me"	Parker Jeff Redd	Parker	4:05
9.	"Blak Pudd'n"	Sahpreem King	King	3:45
10.	"It's About Time"	Gene McFadden	Donald "Dee" Bowden	4:37
11.	"Think You're Gonna Like It"	Morgan Cheryl Gamble Johnson	Morgan	3:19
12.	"That's What I Need"	Morgan Wayman Tisdale	Morgan	4:27
13.	"SWV (In The House)"	Morgan Gamble	Morgan DJG	3:00
14.	"Weak (A Cappella)"	Morgan	Morgan	1:20

1993 re-issue bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
15.	"Right Here/Human Nature*" (Teddy Riley Remix)	Morgan John Bettis Steve Porcaro	Morgan	3:47
Total length:				1:00:09

*Initially issued without track 15, but was added to all subsequent CDs in April 1993
*Copies of the album with the catalog number BMG 66074 contain "Right Here (Vibe Mix)" (4:18), as the final track

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1993) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[8] 74 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[9] 84 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[10] 7 UK Albums (OCC)[11] 17 US Billboard 200[12] 8 US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[13] 9 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[14] 2

Year-end charts Chart (1993) Position US Billboard 200[15] 16 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[16] 7 Chart (1994) Position US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[17] 85

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[18]	Gold	50,000^^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[19]	Gold	7,500^^
United States (RIAA)[20]	3× Platinum	3,000,000^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

List of release dates, showing region, edition(s), format(s), and record label(s)

Region	Date	Edition(s)	Format(s)	Label(s)
Various	October 27, 1992	Standard	CD, cassette	RCA
Various	April 8, 1993	Reissue	CD, cassette	RCA

References

1. Wynn, Ron. It's About Time review at AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-06-09.
2. Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "SWV - New Beginning". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 December 2019. backing away from the New Jack grooves that dominated their debut
3. "Best-Selling Records of 1993". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 106 (3): 73. January 15, 1994. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
4. "Recording Industry Association of America". RIAA. Archived from the original on 2013-02-25. Retrieved 2012-02-25.
5. Linden, Amy (December 18, 1992). "It's About Time Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2013-06-09.
6. Christgau, Robert. "It's About Time review". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2013-06-09.
7. Decurtis, Anthony; Henke, James; Miller, Jim; George-Warren, Holly (1992). The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll: The Definitive History of the Most Important Artists and Their Music. ISBN 9780679737285.
8. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
9. "Offiziellecharts.de – SWV – It's About Time" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
10. "Charts.nz – SWV – It's About Time". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
11. "SWV | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
12. "SWV Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
13. "SWV – Chart history". Billboard Heatseekers Albums for SWV. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
14. "SWV Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
15. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1993". Billboard. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
16. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1993". Billboard. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
17. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1994". Billboard. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
18. "Canadian album certifications – SMV – It's About Time". Music Canada. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
19. "New Zealand album certifications – SWV – It's About Time". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
20. "American album certifications – S.W.V. – It's About Time". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 7, 2017. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.