It's a Beautiful Thing (album)

It's a Beautiful Thing is the third solo studio album by American rapper Keith Murray. It was released on January 12, 1999, via Jive Records, making it his final record for the label. Recording sessions took place at Mirror Image Recording Studios in Dix Hills, New York. Production was handled entirely by Erick Sermon, who also served as executive producer. It features guest appearances from Déjà Vu, Canibus, Erick Sermon, LL Cool J, Redman and Too $hort. The album peaked at number thirty-nine on the Billboard 200 and number nine on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart in the US. Its single "Incredible" reached number 70 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and number 36 on the Hot Rap Songs.

The recording of the album began during the difficult times of Murray's legal and financial troubles, along with his desire to leave the label. However, the album was unfinished when Murray went into incarceration, with the label deciding to complete and release the album despite Murray's disapproval. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine considered the album to be a rather indistinctive one in Murray's discography, but did state that "there's enough to make It's a Beautiful Thing a reasonably entertaining listen, even if they aren't enough to make it memorable".

Personnel

 * Keith Omar Murray – vocals
 * James Todd "LL Cool J" Smith – vocals (track 3)
 * D. "Déjà Vu" Everett – vocals (tracks 4, 19)
 * Germaine "Canibus" Williams – vocals (track 4)
 * Erick Sermon – vocals (track 14), producer, executive producer
 * Reginald "Redman" Noble – vocals (track 14)
 * Todd "Too $hort" Shaw – vocals (track 14)
 * Chaz Harper – digital editing
 * Mark Berto – recording, mixing
 * Troy Hightower – recording, mixing
 * Ivan 'Doc' Rodriguez – mixing
 * Camillo Rodriguez – assistant engineering
 * Dave O'Donnell – assistant engineering
 * Tony Dawsey – mastering
 * Chris Tricarico – project coordination
 * Damon "Smooth" Hart – management
 * Rashad El-Amin – management