Ready for the World (INOJ album)
Ready for the World is the debut album by American R&B singer INOJ, released on October 14, 1997, by So So Def Recordings. The album is best known for its lead single, a cover of Ready for the World's 1985 hit "Love You Down," which reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The album features a mix of contemporary R&B, soul, and pop sounds. INOJ's vocal performance is characterized by its smooth and soulful delivery. Production was handled primarily by So So Def founder Jermaine Dupri, along with contributions from Carl So-Lowe and Manuel Seal.
Track listing:
- Love You Down
- Time After Time
- Ring My Phone
- Come and Get Your Love
- All I Do
- If I Give You My Heart
- It's Over
- You Are My Everything
- So Wrong
- Ready for the World
- Love You Down (Remix)
While "Love You Down" was the album's biggest success, other tracks such as "Time After Time" and "Ring My Phone" also received some airplay. However, none matched the commercial impact of the debut single.
The album received mixed to positive reviews, with some critics praising INOJ's vocal abilities and the production quality, while others found the album somewhat derivative and lacking in originality.
Ready for the World was commercially successful, reaching Gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It helped establish INOJ as a new artist in the late 1990s R&B scene, although she did not achieve the same level of mainstream success with subsequent releases.