Tracklisting:
1) Girlfight (f/ Lil' Jon and Big Boi)
2) Taste of Dis
3) Long As You Come Home
4) Blah Blah Blah (f/ Dirt McGirt)
5) Cover Girl
6) Playa (f/ Jermaine Dupri)
7) Ghetto Superstars
8) Tell Me Why You Don't Love Me
9) Million Bucks (f/ Queen Deliz)
10) I Want You Dead
11) Dying From A Broken Heart
12) Pass Us By
13) Laugh Til I Cry
14) American Girl
15) Whatcha Lookin' At? (f/ Kilo)
16) Thrill Of The Chase *Japan Bonus Track*
"It's about to be a what?" A hit in the making! Move over Chi-Town and A-Town cause here comes Houston-native Brooke Valentine with her stunning debut
Chain Letter. As things always come bigger in Texas,
Chain Letter follows suit. With the vocal edge of Mya and the attitude and prowess of Lil' Kim, Brooke Valentine comes to claim her seat in the circle of R&B divas.
Lighting off her career with the cat-fight Crunk'N'B tune "Girlfight", she puts her foot down as a girl that refuses to let some words be undealt with. With Big Boi's instigatory 16 bars, this single leaves very little to the imagination for the battle field between girls with diarrhea at the mouth. "Girlfight" continues to climb slowly as it is number 26 on the Billboard top 100 singles (issued 5/20/2005).
As with many newcomers, Brooke Valentine's take on contemporary R&B leaves the listener astounded as sounds never put together before are melded into instant woos. An example of which is the project anthem "Ghetto Superstars". Blaring "they don't know who we are", Brooke crashes through the speakers with this catchy tune as her lead. Disturbly titled "I Want You Dead" leaves heads turned as the irony for the title is understood. The 'I don't play' vibe sweeps the listeners ears as Brooke runs down the list of 'Things to Sabotage (Ex-Boyfriend edition). Toning it down a bit, "Laugh Til I Cry" emits the pent-up frustration behind such an impressionable first half of the disc. Tearing down the emotional barriers, Brooke lets it all out for a much needed catharsis in this tell-all confessional ballad.
Uniquely and well titled
Chain Letter goes through the pages of Brooke's personal diary; her experience with life. With a raging start at "Girlfight" to a pinnacle at " Tell Me Why You Don't Love Me" into a 'get-back-or-go-to hell' message sent in "Whatcha Lookin' At?", the flow from banga' to ballad to mellow and banga' again serves as a perfect equation for such a unparalled LP with equally unparalled song titles and common themes. Valentine's nominclature proves ambiguous as a catchy stage name and a smooth transition into the musical tastes of the refined R&B fan.