The album mainly focuses on material from the contemporary R&B, soul and funk genres and was Khan's debut as executive producer in charge of production.

[3] Follow-up "You Can Make the Story Right," penned by Gabrielle Goodman and Wayne Bathwaite, reached number eight on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

"[4] Connie Johnson from Los Angeles Times rated the album three out of four stars and wrote: "Nobody has influenced more post-’70s female R&B; singers than Khan and Aretha Franklin.

"[5] Entertainment Weekly's David Browne noted: "Khan has been the great untapped voice of modern R&B — a singer with a lusty, brassy delivery that’s usually placed in the most inappropriate and generic surroundings.

Sadly, that’s the case once again with The Woman I Am, on which 10 producers strive hard to make Khan appeal to the young, black new-jack audience that favors singers like Lisa Fischer and Keith Washington [...] But it’s all for naught.

"[1] Rolling Stone magazine called the album a "cause for celebration because it features her singing catchy, rhythmically compelling material in a crystal-clear voice for the first time in ten years [...] Believe the hype: Chaka is back on the block – and bravas are in order.