Fantasia’s “Free Yourself” was the fourth single from her first 2004 debut album of the same name. Missy Elliott, Craig Brockman, and Nissan Stewart co-wrote the song that embodied the essence of R&B in its soulful simplicity. Elliott and Brockman also produced “Free Yourself,” and Jazmine Sullivan sang background. Barrino’s rasp expressed heartbreak with volumes of feelings that owned the song and sounded like her personal romantic journal. The rawness of “Free Yourself” solidified Barrino’s status as a new torchbearer of the genre’s greatest strides. Industry-wise, “Free Yourself” went to number one on the US Adult R&B Adult Airplay chart, number three on the Hot R&B /Hip-Hop Songs chart, received two Grammy nominations, and won an ASCAP Rhythm and Soul Award for Most Performed Song in 2006. The album achieved platinum status by 2005 and is now a classic because of the way the songs are still respected and loved in 2024.
Barrino released her seventh studio album, Sketchbook, in 2017. In 2023, she won an NAACP Image Award for her performance in The Color Purple. The singer performed a tribute to Bob Seger with Jellyroll and Melissa Etheridge at the Michigan Central Station Concert in Detroit, Michigan, in June 2024. Her performance had overtones of Tina Turner and was a good case for her to explore her potential as a rock and roll singer.
