With only one year to finish at Bowie State University, where she was studying to become a music teacher, she relocated to Atlanta to pursue a singing career.

Ron Wynn from AllMusic said that the album showcased Braxton as "an elegant and earthy songstress, nicely balancing those seemingly divergent sentiments [...] Braxton's husky, enticing voice sounds hypnotic, dismayed, and disillusioned [...] but she's never out of control, indignant, or so anguished and hurt that she fails to retain her dignity.

"[5] Los Angeles Times critic Connie Johnson wrote: "Sounding like an unlikely hybrid of Phyllis Hyman, Anita Baker and Tracy Chapman, Braxton's sultry, earthy delivery makes her a standout in today's R&B arena.

"[8] Similarly, People found that "when Braxton slides into her lower register she echoes Anita Baker, and when she skips around the higher notes there's also a hint of Whitney Houston.

"[15] Mitchell May, writing for the Chicago Tribune, noted that "Braxton wisely lets the mood of a tune dictate her approach, allowing her to supply an emotional depth that perhaps even the songwriters didn't know was there."

"[6] In a mixed review, Rolling Stone journalist John McAlley felt that "Braxton has got chops and spunk... And, yes, there are a handful of songs in which she gets to do the do.

"[11] Marisa Fox of Entertainment Weekly found much of the album "generic" and concluded that Braxton "can sing, but there's nothing in her songs or delivery to set her apart from any number of wine-cooler R&B divas.