page_title: Dangerously in Love
section_title: Recording and production
hierarchical_section_title: Dangerously in Love / Recording and production
caption_attribution_description: Beyoncé Knowles singing "Dangerously in Love 2"
context_page_description: Dangerously in Love is the debut studio album by American singer Beyoncé. It was released on June 17, 2003, through Columbia Records and Music World Entertainment. During the recording of Destiny's Child's third studio album Survivor, the group announced that they would produce solo albums to be released. Recording sessions for the album took place from March 2002 to March 2003 at several studios, during the hiatus of her then-group Destiny's Child. As executive producer of the album, Beyoncé took a wider role in its production, co-writing a majority of the songs, choosing which ones to produce and sharing ideas on the mixing and mastering of tracks.
  The tracks in the album are a mixture of uptempo songs and ballads, which are basically R&B songs; it also features elements of soul, hip hop and Arabic music. Although Beyoncé remained discreet about her interpretation of the songs, its underlying meanings were attributed by music writers as an allusion to her intimate relationship with then-boyfriend and well-known rapper Jay-Z. Dangerously in Love received positive reviews from music critics upon its release, with critics praising Knowles' "artistic leap".
context_section_description: Before Beyoncé began recording for Dangerously in Love, she selected the producers with whom she would collaborate. For two days, she held meetings with prospective producers from the West Coast across the East Coast, and had interviews with them. Beyoncé went to Miami, Florida to begin sessions with Canadian record producer Scott Storch, her first collaborator, and lived in a Miami hotel in the following months. As she wanted to concentrate on the album, Beyoncé took her time to avoid pressure build-up, significantly different from the hasty productions of Destiny's Child.
  As she did on Survivor, Beyoncé took a wider role in the production of Dangerously in Love, co-writing a majority of the songs, choosing which ones to produce and sharing ideas on the mixing and mastering of tracks. Although Beyoncé did not create beats, she came up with melodies and ideas she shared with the producers. With 43 songs completed — 15 of which made it to the album— Beyoncé is credited as co-writer and co-producer, as well as the album's executive producer alongside Matthew Knowles.
  Beyoncé felt that recording an album without her group mates was "liberating and therapeutic", coming into the studio and freely expressing her ideas with her collaborators. The dependency she developed with Destiny's Child, however, meant it was harder "to be on [her] own creatively". As she wanted to grow as an artist Beyoncé contacted other artists with a view to forming a collaborative partnership. When the collective finished writing several songs, she printed copies of each and sent them to prospective guest artists. She talked to them by phone for possible collaboration, eventually gaining their approval. Besides Jay-Z, Beyoncé was able to work with Jamaican artist Sean Paul, American rapper Missy Elliott, among others. In contrast, some artists sent copies of songs to Beyoncé, which were eventually produced. Beyoncé also worked with Elliott and Timbaland on a track titled "Wrapped Around Me", but it ultimately failed to appear on the album.
  Dangerously in Love was originally a song of the same title which Beyoncé had written for Survivor. The song was deemed too sophisticated compared to other songs on Survivor, and the group decided not to release it as a single off the album. After recording several tracks for Dangerously in Love, Beyoncé decided to add "Dangerously in Love", after realizing that it fit the overriding theme of the album. Since the album's release date was postponed to capitalize on the success of "Dilemma", Beyoncé had been offered the chance to further enhance the album. Although she was disappointed with the move, Beyoncé realized that "everything happens for a reason", agreeing to return to the recording studio to work with other songwriters. This allowed her to record more songs, including the album's lead single, "Crazy in Love". In late 2002, Beyoncé paused working on Dangerously in Love for a holiday tour with Destiny's Child. With a few weeks left for recording in March 2003, Beyoncé was still collaborating with other guests on the album, including Sean Paul and P. Diddy.
  The creative output of the sessions for Dangerously in Love left several tracks ready for another album pressing. In late 2003, Beyoncé planned to release a follow-up album that would comprise left-over songs from Dangerously in Love. The move was prompted when a P. Diddy-collaboration called "Summertime", a left-over track from the album, was sent to radio stations and had received favorable response.
caption: Beyoncé singing the title track "Dangerously in Love 2", originally by Destiny's Child
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