It was released on June 18, 1996, via Michael Jackson's record label, MJJ Music, after a demo tape was played to him by producer Teddy Riley.

The album has been described as a "sumptuous blend" of vocal R&B and "90s production techniques", that alternates between smooth ballads and new jack swing.

Composed of George Spencer III, Corley Randolph, Desmond T. Greggs, Brian L. DeRamus and Prathan "Spanky" Williams, Men of Vizion were formed in the early 1990s in Brooklyn, New York.

Their vocal R&B harmonies impressed American entertainer Michael Jackson, who signed the group to his record label, MJJ Music, after a demo tape was played to him by producer Teddy Riley in 1993.

[2] Personal is a "sumptuous blend" of vocal R&B and "90s production techniques", that alternates between smooth ballads and new jack swing.

[18] To promote the single, tying in with the song's lyric play on reversed gender roles, the group performed track dates at "ladies only" functions.

[22] Darryl Scipio of Vibe stated unlike "today's masculine R&B" that is "laden with jokers who sing of little but freekin' girls—and then of keeping it on the down-low", Personal doesn't use "wordy descriptions of sex to get you in the mood to dance".

[23] Scipio stated that all 12 songs on the album feature "tight, bouncy production" and that all the members of the group sing confidently; "there are no weak vocals here".

[23] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic compared the group and the musical style of Personal to that of Boyz II Men.

Williams complimented the group's cover of "Show You the Way to Go" as a "nice effort" but called "House Keeper" derivative.

[24] Ray Marcano of the Dayton Daily News wrote that the album's ballads - especially "That's Alright" and "When You Need Someone" - have "terrific melodies and wonderful hooks that will easily keep listeners' attention".