in depth of the personal problems he experienced with Carey in 1997: I needed to maintain a very strong relationship with Tommy [Mottola]. During that period, the beginning of their end, I had to stay away more than normal from her because she was going through a rough time. She felt that shutting her relationship with Tommy was also a cleansing of who she was. She felt that part of what she was dropping was the shmaltzy pop singer ballad kind of stuff he was adamant about. I had to make my exit and say 'Mariah, you need to redefine yourself, that's fine. I'm here doing what I do and if and when you want to come back and do it again, I'm here. "My All" was written in Carey's home-studio in upstate New York, and was recorded in Afanasieff's recording studio in San Francisco. After she presented him with the melody she had developed in Puerto Rico, he began playing chords on the piano, while Carey sang the tune and directed him. After they produced the chorus, Carey wrote the lyrics, while he added a drum groove to the basic melody. According to Afanasieff, "My All" had tapped into both their Latin backgrounds. While she hadn't spent much time with her Venezuelan paternal grandfather, Carey said the music was "definitely subconsciously in me." On the other hand, Afanasieff was born in Brazil, and had heard Russian and Brazilian music his whole life. In an interview with Fred Bronson, Afanasieff described the steps they took to record the song: I remember being in the back part of the studio, and we were sitting there late at night and writing. I was strolling through some sounds and came upon a particular sound from a steel acoustic guitar. I played these really beautiful chord changes that eventually led to 'My All.' She started singing and I started playing, and we came up with the basis for the song. I put a little drum groove down and it was one of the easier songs to write with her. Composition "My All" is a slow-tempo ballad, that blends contemporary R&B beats and Latin guitar and chord melodies, making subtle use of Latin percussion in the first chorus. The song is described as having a "lush sound" and featured synthetic guitar arpeggios that were produced in the studio. "My All" was compared to Toni Braxton's