involved romantically with producer Robert "Big Bert" Smith. The couple began a relationship during the summer of 2001, but their relationship did not become known until February 2002, the same month Norwood revealed that she was expecting her first child. However, a year after the birth of their daughter Sy'rai Iman Smith on June 16, 2002, Norwood and Smith officially announced their separation. It was not until 2004 that Smith revealed that the pair had never been legally wed, but that they had only portrayed the notion of nuptials to preserve Norwood's public image. By the following year, Norwood had begun a relationship with NBA guard Quentin Richardson. The couple soon became engaged in July 2004 but Norwood eventually ended their 15-month engagement in October 2005. Recording and production Following the birth of her daughter Sy'rai in June 2002, Norwood soon entered recording studios to begin work on her then-untitled fourth album with producer Mike City and companion Robert "Big Bert" Smith. As the singer envisioned the longplayer to sound "much rawer" and more "street" than its 2002 predecessor Full Moon, Smith quickly emerged as the album's executive producer and A&R, replacing longtime contributor and mentor Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, who Norwood felt was not going in the same direction creatively after all. About parting ways with Jerkins whose Darkchild team took production credits on her last two albums, Norwood commented that "Darkchild created a sound with me and gave it to everybody. I didn't like that [...] I needed to change my sound and I wanted to explore my versatility, my creativity and my art." The couple eventually finished a number of demo recordings and at least four full songs until late November 2002, including "Ryde or Die" and Sy'rai-inspired "Sunshine". Although Smith expected the album to be released by spring 2003 at one time or another, him and Norwood ended their relationship in mid-2003, resulting in the album's delay and several personnel changes. Norwood eventually decided to scrap most of the project, and instead enlisted Timbaland, with whom the couple had previously worked on Kiley Dean's unreleased album Simple Girl, as the album's main contributors. Impressed by Timbaland's input, Norwood rediscovered the musical affection, she had missed on Full Moon and its technical priority. "I made the change because I needed to evolve. I needed to explore my talent and versatility and see if I had another side to