Drew Sheard, Warryn Campbell and duo PAJAM to work on her sophomore album but also consulted new collaborators to write and produce on This Is Me, including PJ Morton, Antonio Neal, and Tommy Sims as well as Fred Jerkins III and his son Lil Freddie.

[3] Upon announcing the then future release, Sheard commented that she "called the album This Is Me because its more of the music me and my friends listen to, says Kiki.

As with most young performers, the disc is still handled by a bevy of producers and collaborators, but at least the songs never make Sheard sound out of character [...] Good for her: while This Is Me isn't always a smooth ride, it outdoes the debut in that it presents a more accurate picture of where she, not her family or her label, wants to head artistically.

Where traditional gospel enthusiasts had a few tracks of that style to appease them on Kiki's debut project, her second album adopted an even more slick, contemporary sound.

Nonetheless, scores of younger fans have been introduced to both traditional and contemporary gospel influences through Kiki Sheard's work.