Knowing she wanted to write the album alone, Stone decamped to Barbados in April to come up with lyrics. She stayed for several months before flying to the Bahamas to hook up with her main musical collaborator and producer Raphael Saadiq (known for his work with D'Angelo, The Roots, and Macy Gray). "Raphael [who plays bass on the album] is the most incredible musician I've ever met in my whole life," Stone says. "Musically, I feel like he reads my mind. I'll give him a look and he'll know exactly what I want." Stone and Saadiq spent two months recording in the Bahamas, and then mixed it at the legendary Electric Lady Studios in New York City.
Other musical collaborators include rapper/singer/songwriter and producer Novel, who is the grandson of soul legend Solomon Burke and has written songs for Kelis and India.Arie, as well as Beau Dozier, son of Motown legend Lamont Dozier, whom she wrote with on her last album, 2004's gold-certified Mind, Body & Soul. The album also features guest vocal appearances by the rapper Common on "Tell Me What We're Going to Do," and reclusive Fugees singer Lauryn Hill, who lends a rap to the languid Fugees-inspired track "Music."
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