After the Storm (Monica album)

After the Storm is the fourth album by the American singer Monica. It was first released on June 17, 2003, through J Records. Developed over three years amid personal struggles, the project faced multiple delays following the moderate success and bootlegging of the album's previous incarnation All Eyez on Me (2002), leading Monica to scrap much of the original material and start anew with collaborators, including Jazze Pha, BAM & Ryan, and Missy Elliott, the latter of whom served as executive producer and re-shaped much of After the Storm with her sample-heavy signature production and creative vision.

The album earned mixed to positive reviews, with critics praising Monica's vocal growth and Elliott's standout contributions while criticizing the album's uneven pacing. It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, becoming Monica's first album to top the chart, with first-week sales of 185,500 copies. The album was later certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and had sold 1,023,000 copies in the United States as of November 2014. Despite its domestic success, it was less successful internationally than her previous album, The Boy Is Mine (1998).

After the Storm spawned four singles that achieved notable success on the Billboard charts. Lead single "So Gone" became Monica’s biggest hit in years, reaching number 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 20 in Canada, while also topping Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and Hot Dance Club Play charts. The album's fourth and final single, "U Should've Known Better," peaked at number 19 in the United States and became a top ten hit on the R&B chart. Monica would later reteam with many of the album's collaborators on her subsequent project The Makings of Me (2006).