More Than a Woman is the fifth studio album by American singer Toni Braxton, released on November 18, 2002, by Arista Records. The album contained both hip hop and urban adult contemporary sounds, as well as some softer and more contemporary melodies. Throughout the project, Braxton worked with her sister Tamar and husband Keri Lewis on most of the songs, who had written and produced material for her previous album. She also worked with hip hop producers and rappers such as Irv Gotti, The Neptunes, Mannie Fresh and Loon, as well as Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, protégé Big Bert and his domestic partner, singer Brandy. With More Than a Woman, Braxton continued the transition that began with previous album, The Heat (2000), which pushed her further into the progressive R&B and hip hop market and away from the adult contemporary and pop-soul background of her previous work with Babyface and L.A. Reid. During the production of her first two albums with Arista's subsidiary LaFace Records, Braxton had little control over the creative and artistic steps she took on her albums; however, after signing a new recording contract following a three-year-long dispute with LaFace, she was able to reflect her creative maturity and evolution in the album's writing and recording. Upon release, the album was generally well received by critics, who felt it was similar to The Heat but lacked its commercial crossover appeal. More Than a Woman debuted at number thirteen on the US Billboard 200 with first week sales of 98,000 copies, becoming Braxton's lowest-charting album by then. While lead single "Hit the Freeway" reached the top 10 in Belgium and Denmark, the single and its parent album failed to impact elsewhere, resulting into lackluster sales in general. Disappointed by its performance, which Braxton attributed to the little promotion activities that the Arista management had arranged for her due to her second pregnancy, she parted with her record label due to the album's commercial failure in April 2003. Background In 1992, Braxton signed a solo recording contract with LaFace Records, a joint venture between the producing duo Antonio "L.A." Reid and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds from former recording group the Deele, and distributor Arista Records. Her first two studio albums, Toni Braxton (1993) and Secrets (1996), became critical and commercial successes and sold a combined 21 million copies, earning $170 million in worldwide sales. By late 1996, Braxton was still waiting