Thomas worked with Bad Boy's in-house producers Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs, Harve Pierre, Mario Winans, Chucky Thompson, Deric Angelettie, and Ron "Amen-Ra" Lawrence.

Additional musicians include Mike City, K-Gee, Gordon Chambers, Anthony Dent, Damien DeSandies, and Heavy D, among others.

Emotional produced three singles, including the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs number-one hit "I Wish," and won Thomas the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding New Artist.

"[5] Gonzalez's colleague Imir Leveque, also from Vibe, found that with Emotional "Thomas walks the fine line of being a Brian McKnight clone, but thanks to the sleek production and the genuine empathy his voice exhumes, he establishes himself as a formidable talent.

"[6] AllMusic editor Heather Phares felt that "though the set features competent singing, songwriting, and production, outside of the singles, it's not a particularly distinctive collection.