also asked to contribute to Faithfully but declined after hearing previously produced material which they found too good to come up with better material. While it took almost two years to finish Faithfully, Evans noted in a 2001 interview with MTV News that it reflected her music studies of the past five years, saying: "It took months and months of studying the songs, going back, putting in the elements. The feel is 'Faith has grown.' That's what I hope people get from it. I just been trying to get my history together." The album title borrows from the same-titled album track. Critical reception Allmusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine called the album "her grittiest, funkiest, best record to date." While he found that it runs too long, Erlewine also noted that "Faithfully gels better than any previous Faith Evans record, in large part because so much of it is devoted to hard-edged, funky dance numbers [...] It is rich with vibrant songs, lively production, and Evans' best singing to date on what ultimately is not just her best album." The Independent declared "Faithfully, by some distance Evans's most impressive album." The newspaper found that "the album has a far broader range than her previous releases," with "Evans's voice [dominating] proceedings." Entertainment Weekly critic Craig Seymour wrote that "on her third and most accomplished album, Evans uses lush ’70s soul orchestrations for her ballads about love’s joys and hardships. Her vocals range from earthy gospel-schooled cries to breathy ethereal coos." Billboard found that Faithfully was "a much stronger project than her previous outing," calling it "flavorful." Tracey E. Hopkins from Rolling Stone noted "the disc's minimalist, old-school soul production style [that] helps pushing [Evans'] pulpit-honed, honey-glazed vocals to the fore." She felt that "with her third disc, the gospel, jazz and hip-hop sprinkled Faithfully, Evans continues to challenge Blige's now drama-free reign." People remarked that "keeping one foot in both the hip-hop and R&B worlds, Evans uses her gritty, gospel-informed alto to deftly mix components from the street and the church, bringing in guest rappers Loon and P. Diddy for two songs. But when she goes soulfully solo on the jazzy numbers “Do Your Time” and “Love Can’t Hide,” it's clear that this is Evans's party." Christian Ward from NME wrote that Faithfully is "better than we might’ve expected" and called it "half a good album," feeling that the "final stretch is