Perhaps the thing about Toya (full name Latoya Lacole Rodriguez) that fans of this blog will find most interesting is that she was named after La Toya Jackson! LOL Otherwise, Toya's story is one we've heard here many times before. A young singer impresses label heads with her songwriting and voice and gets a deal with a major label. She was hooked up with the hottest pop and hip hop producers of the time, and got popular hip hop artists like Loon, Murphy Lee and T.I. to make cameos. Also, she was from St. Louis, as was Nelly who was huge at the time, so she coasted on that vibe. At the time tons of R&B divas were releasing albums and it was understandable that some would get lost in the fray (see also Kandi and Olivia). Toya did almost have a top ten hit with her first single "I Do!!", but the following single "No Matta What (Party All Night)" made little impact, and the album didn't even make the Billboard Top 100. Like so many others, she disappeared, with people like J Lo and Christina Milian eclipsing her. Once again, that is a pity, as this album is far better than anything by those two or many of the others who hit bigger. It is much poppier, and even includes a couple hot dance tracks. Given that she was quite young at the time, I wouldn't count Toya out just yet, as she is still young enough to reappear and hit properly this time.For the maxi-single of I Do!!, go to my sister blog HERE
Video for I Do!!
Download Toya
| 1 | No Matta What (Party All Night) | |
| 2 | How Can I Be Down | |
| 3 | I Do!! | |
| 4 | The Truth | |
| 5 | Think | |
| 6 | Don't Make Me | |
| 7 | Moving On | |
| 8 | What Else Can I Do | |
| 9 | Untouchables | |
| 10 | Book Of Love | |
| 11 | What's A Girl To Do | |
| 12 | I Messed Up | |
| 13 | Bounce | |
| 14 | Fiasco | |
| 15 | I Do Pt. 2 |
I have this album. I wanted more for her. She's married to a football player now and they have a kid(saw her on myspace). There was a video on youtube of her singing the national anthem at some game in Atlanta, but I don't know if she's still trying to have a career.
ReplyDeleteGod I loved "I Do!!" and "No Matta What" back then! I especially loved "No Matta What" and those chord progressions on the chorus! I have to check if I still have this album lol..
ReplyDeleteI loved Toya - she had hot lips.
ReplyDeleteI remember being at Walmart and buying this album. I was choosing between this one and Aaliyah's iconic (Self Titled). Shortly there after Aaliyah passed, and I regretted not buying that album. Toya's album was solid at the time but did not age well. "I Do" was a great single though.
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