Unleash the Dragon

Unleash the Dragon is the debut solo studio album by American R&B singer Sisqó of Dru Hill, released on November 30, 1999 on Def Soul. Sisqó recorded the album during Dru Hill's hiatus. It includes the hit songs "Got to Get It", "Incomplete", and "Thong Song". Previously, Sisqo had been a lead singer of the group Dru Hill. Recorded under Island Records, the group released two multi-platinum albums to date: Dru Hill (1996) and Enter the Dru (1998). In 2003, the album was certified sextuple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipping six million copies in North America.[1]

Unleash the Dragon
Studio album by Sisqó
Released	November 30, 1999
Recorded	March–October 1999
Studio	Metalworks Studios (Mississauga, Ontario)
Genre	R&B, hip hop
Length	51:03
Label	Def Soul
Producer	Tim & Bob, Warryn Campbell, Al West, Baby Dave, Nokio the N-Tity, One Up Entertainment, The Co-Stars, Shep Crawford, Dru Hill, Dutch, N8 & Kiehl
Sisqó chronology
Unleash the Dragon (1999) Return of Dragon (2001)
Singles from Unleash the Dragon
"Got to Get It" Released: November 2, 1999 "Thong Song" Released: February 15, 2000 "Incomplete" Released: July 25, 2000 "Unleash the Dragon" Released: September 18, 2000

The album also garnered Sisqó two American Music Award nominations for Favorite Soul/R&B Album and Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist. In addition he received three nominations including Best New Artist and Best R&B Album at the 43rd Grammy Awards in 2001.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Muzik	[3]
Q	[4]
Robert Christgau	[5]
Rolling Stone	(mixed)[6]
The Source	(favorable)[7]

Allmusic editor Michael Gallucci wrote that "loaded with whispered bedroom moans, which have become late-'90s R&B clichés, Unleash the Dragon is short on any real songs to justify the pointless replay of these familiar grooves [...] Once the beats – which borrow heavily from the contemporary R&B playbook – are programmed, there's little for Sisqó to do but coast along the grooves, with all the conviction and commitment of a soul robot."[2]

Track listing

Credits taken from the album's liner notes.[8]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Unleash the Dragon" (featuring Beanie Sigel)	Mark "Sisqó" Andrews Dwight Grant Rich Shelton Loren Hill Kevin Veney	Shelton Hill Veney	3:53
2.	"Got to Get It" (featuring Make It Hot)	Mark Andrews Al West Marquis Collins James Travis	Sisqó Al West	2:54
3.	"Is Love Enough" (featuring LovHer)	Andrews Warryn Campbell Donald DeGrate Raymond E. Jones Robert Jones	Campbell	4:33
4.	"2nite" (Interlude)	Tamir Ruffin	Nokio The N-Tity	1:21
5.	"How Can I Love U 2nite"	Ruffin Phil Weatherspoon Case Woodard	Nokio The N-Tity Weatherspoon^[a]	5:08
6.	"Your Love Is Incredible"	Andrews Vito Colapietro Neely Dinkins Noah Porter	The Co-Stars	4:10
7.	"So Sexual"	Andrews Nathan "N8" Walton Kiehl Owens Tavia Ivey Kenneth Edmonds	N8 Kiehl	3:58
8.	"Thong Song"	Andrews Tim Kelley Bob Robinson Robi "Draco" Rosa Desmond Child	Tim & Bob Sisqó	4:16
9.	"Incomplete"	Montell Jordan Shep Crawford	Crawford	4:34
10.	"Addicted"	Andrews West	Sisqó West	4:48
11.	"Dru World Order (Interlude)"	Andrews Ruffin James "Woody" Green Larry "Jazz" Anthony	Sisqó West	1:20
12.	"Enchantment Passing Through" (performed by Dru Hill)	Elton John Tim Rice	Dru Hill	5:43
13.	"You Are Everything (Remix)" (Dru Hill featuring Ja Rule)	Andrews Rick Cousin	v Sisqó Dutch	4:16

Notes

• ^{^a} denotes co-producer

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1999–2000) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[9] 28 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[10] 26 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[11] 41 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[12] 9 French Albums (SNEP)[13] 27 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[14] 54 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[15] 23 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[16] 19 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[17] 45 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[18] 36 UK Albums (OCC)[19] 15 US Billboard 200[20] 2 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[21] 2

Year-end charts Chart (2000) Position Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[22] 85 French Albums (SNEP)[23] 84 UK Albums (OCC)[24] 71 US Billboard 200[25] 12 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[26] 4

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[27]	Gold	35,000^^
Canada (Music Canada)[28]	2× Platinum	200,000^^
France (SNEP)[29]	Gold	119,900[30]
Germany (BVMI)[31]	Gold	150,000^^
Netherlands (NVPI)[32]	Gold	50,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[33]	Gold	100,000^^
United States (RIAA)[34]	5× Platinum	5,000,000^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

2. "Allmusic review".
3. "Muzik review".
4. "Q Magazine review".
5. "Robert Christgau review".
7. "The Source review".
8. Sisqó. "Unleash The Dragon (CD, Album)". Def Soul/Dragon Records. 1999. https://www.discogs.com/Sisqo-Unleash-The-Dragon/release/619979
9. "Australiancharts.com – Sisqó – Unleash the Dragon". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
10. "Ultratop.be – Sisqó – Unleash the Dragon" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
11. "Ultratop.be – Sisqó – Unleash the Dragon" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
12. "Dutchcharts.nl – Sisqó – Unleash the Dragon" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
13. "Lescharts.com – Sisqó – Unleash the Dragon". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
14. "Offiziellecharts.de – Sisqó – Unleash the Dragon" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
15. "Charts.nz – Sisqó – Unleash the Dragon". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
16. "Norwegiancharts.com – Sisqó – Unleash the Dragon". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
17. "Swedishcharts.com – Sisqó – Unleash the Dragon". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
18. "Swisscharts.com – Sisqó – Unleash the Dragon". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
19. "Sisqo | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
20. "Sisqó Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
21. "Sisqó Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
22. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2000" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
23. "Les Albums (CD) de 2000 par InfoDisc". Infodisc (in French). Retrieved January 31, 2021.
24. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2000". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
25. "Billboard 200 – Year-End 2000". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
26. "Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2000". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
27. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2000 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020.
28. "Canadian album certifications – Sisqo – Unleash the Dragon". Music Canada.
29. "French album certifications – Sisqo – Unleash the Dragon" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
30. "Les Albums Or". infodisc.fr. SNEP. Archived from the original on 2011-10-18. Retrieved 2011-08-31.
31. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Sisqo; 'Unleash the Dragon')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
32. "Dutch album certifications – Sisqo – Unleash the Dragon" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Enter Unleash the Dragon in the "Artiest of titel" box.
33. "British album certifications – Sisqo – Unleash the Dragon". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Unleash the Dragon in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
34. "American album certifications – Sisqo – Unleash the Dragon". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.