Ready Now

Conceived after Hurts' departure from Aftermath Entertainment, she elaborated on the production of the album in 2011: "Ready Now was a new era in my career as an independent artist. I had the pleasure of working with Raphael Saadiq and put a lot of energy into this album. I truly learned a lot from past experiences in the industry dealing with my last album. Therefore, it was a new start, with a new identity, and new attitude."{{Cite web|url=https://youknowigotsoul.com/exclusive-truth-hurts-picks-his-10-favorite-songs-hes-recorded-for-youknowigotsoul|title=Truth Hurts Picks Her 10 Favorite Songs She's Recorded (Exclusive)|date=February 8, 2011|access-date=February 21, 2023}}

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r686537|pure_url=yes|access-date=February 21, 2023}}

| rev2 = Slant Magazine

| rev2score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{Cite web | last = Cinquemani | first = Sal | title = Thuth Hurts: Ready Now | publisher = Slant Magazine | accessdate = February 21, 2023 | url = https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/truth-hurts-ready-now/ | date = May 14, 2004}}

| rev3 = Vibe

| rev3score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{cite web|first=Laura |last= Checkoway|title=Truth Hurts – Ready Now (Pookie Entertainment)|url=http://www.vibe.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Reviews&file=index&req=showcontent&id=169|work=Vibe|date=June 24, 2004|accessdate=September 24, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041122101155/http://www.vibe.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Reviews&file=index&req=showcontent&id=169|archive-date=November 22, 2004 }}

| noprose = yes

}}

AllMusic editor Todd Kristel called Ready Now a "sultry sophomore album [that] is more concise than her hour-long debut. None of the songs seem like unnecessary filler, and even the seven-minute "U" doesn't overstay its welcome. She still relies on backup singers to complement the vocals, but her voice has gotten stronger; she displays greater emotional nuance (e.g., "Ready Now") and vocal nimbleness (e.g., "Can't Be Mad"), and the production of her voice has gotten less overblown [...] It's still a satisfying set of sexy, silky smooth music."

Slant Magazine critic Sal Cinquemani described the album as "a decided departure from 2002's Truthfully Speaking and added: "Truth, Saadiq, and company have opted for neo-soul over high-tech hip-hop while retaining a forward-thinking sound." He felt that "Hurts oozes personality, and the racy, sexy, and mature Ready Now almost completely fills the promise of her debut." Stefan Braidwood from PopMatters found that "although the album is not lacking in cohesion, its many points of reference form a whole that is both evocative of the (superior) originals, and less than the sum of its parts."{{cite web|first=Stefan |last=Braidwood|url=https://www.popmatters.com/truthhurts-readynow-2496099291.html/|title=Truth Hurts: Ready Now|work=PopMatters|date=May 31, 2004 |accessdate=February 21, 2023}}

Ready Now debuted and peaked at number 173 on the US Billboard 200.

{{Track listing

| headline = Ready Now track listing

| extra_column = Producer(s)

| total_length =

| title1 = Knock Knock

| note1 = featuring Raphael Saadiq

| writer1 = {{hlist|Kelvin Wooten|Saadiq}}

| extra1 = {{hlist|Saadiq|Wooten{{ref|A|[A]}}}}

| length1 = 3:53

| title2 = Ready Now

| writer2 = {{hlist|Shari Watson|Wooten|Saadiq|Taura Jackson}}

| extra2 = {{hlist|Wooten|Saadiq{{ref|A|[A]}}}}

| length2 = 3:55

| title3 = Ride

| writer3 = {{hlist|Watson|Alonzo Jackson|T. Jackson|Joseph Herns}}

| extra3 = {{hlist|A. Jackson|Herns{{ref|A|[A]}}}}

| length3 = 3:04

| title4 = Love U Better

| writer4 = {{hlist|Watson|Kevin Gilliam}}

| extra4 = Battlecat

| length4 = 4:45

| title5 = Catch 22

| writer5 = {{hlist|Watson|A. Jackson|T. Jackson}}

| extra5 = A. Jackson

| length5 = 4:38

| title6 = Phone Sex

| writer6 = {{hlist|Watson|Saadiq|A. Jackson|T. Jackson}}

| extra6 = A. Jackson

| length6 = 3:17

| title7 = Whatchu Sayin{{'-}}

| note7 = featuring Loon

| writer7 = {{hlist|Watson|Andre Wilson|Brian Wilson|Casey Wilson|Chauncey Hawkins|Orville Allen}}

| extra7 = {{hlist|B. Wilson|Allen{{ref|A|[A]}}}}

| length7 = 3:50

| title8 = Lifetime (Interlude)

| writer8 = Watson

| extra8 = Truth Hurts

| length8 = 0:53

| title9 = Lifetime

| writer9 = {{hlist|Brian Randolph|Lionel Holoman|Saadiq}}

| extra9 = Saadiq

| length9 = 3:22

| title10 = Can't Be Mad

| writer10 = {{hlist|Watson|A. Jackson|T. Jackson}}

| extra10 = A. Jackson

| length10 = 3:54

| title11 = U

| writer11 = {{hlist|Watson|B. Wilson}}

| extra11 = {{hlist|B. Wilson|Saadiq{{ref|A|[A]}}||Hurts{{ref|A|[A]}}}}

| length11 = 7:22

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Japan bonus track

| extra_column = Producer(s)

| total_length =

| title12 = Ready Now

| note12 = Pt. 2

}}

Notes

• ^{{{note|A|[A]}}} denotes co-producer

Sample credits

• "Ride" contains excerpts from "Hail Mary” as performed by Tupac Shakur.

{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:2004 albums

Category:Truth Hurts albums

Category:Albums produced by Battlecat (producer)

Category:Albums produced by Raphael Saadiq