In Effect Mode

Sure! got his initial start when he performed at the 1987 Sony Innovators Award, an annual talent showcase that awarded people who showed promising talent. Music producer Quincy Jones handpicked Sure! as the first winner of the contest. Warner Bros. Vice President of black music Benny Medina offered Sure! a recording contract to record his debut. Sure! got his start in the music industry singing background vocals on Heavy D. & The Boyz' 1987 debut Living Large. He appeared on the song "Dedication" as well as the singles "Don't You Know" and "Moneyearnin' Mount Vernon" due to being childhood friends with group member Edward "Eddie F" Ferrell. That friendship lead to him meeting Andre Harrell, who brought Sure! into the fold at his newly established imprint Uptown Records. As a result, he enlisted West as the co-producer for his debut album. Sure! and West wrote virtually all the songs together, save for their cover of Lori Lieberman's "Killing Me Softly" - which was popularized by singer Roberta Flack - and "If I'm Not Your Lover". West recalls recording In Effect Mode as lacking direction because neither he nor Sure! had any idea what they were doing. Three singles were released from In Effect Mode: "Nite and Day", "Off On Your Own (Girl)" and "Rescue Me". Each single had music videos, all of which were directed by Peter Nydrle. ==Reception==

Released on May 3, 1988, as a joint venture between Uptown Records and Warner Bros. Records, it was a huge success, having made it to No. 20 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart (where it remained for seven weeks). Produced with his cousin Kyle West, five singles were released from the album, all of which made it to the Billboard singles charts: "Nite and Day," "Off on Your Own (Girl)," "Rescue Me," "If I'm Not Your Lover" and "Killing Me Softly." A French-language version of "Night and Day" ("Nuit et Jour") was also recorded, but it only appeared on the 12-inch maxi-single of the original. ==Track listing==

• All songs are written and composed by Al B. Sure! and Kyle West, except where noted • "Nite and Day" – 3:59 • "Oooh, This Love is So" – 4:39 • "Killing Me Softly" (Norman Gimbel, Charles Fox) – 4:51 • "Naturally Mine" – 4:14 • "Rescue Me" – 3:57 • "Off on Your Own (Girl)" – 4:09 • "If I'm Not Your Lover" (Al B. Sure!, Timmy Gatling) – 4:07 • "Just a Taste of Lovin'" – 4:22 • "Noche y Dia" – 4:03 ==Personnel==

• Les Davis, Teddy Riley – guitars • Kyle West – keyboards, keyboard programming • Al B. Sure! – lead and backing vocals, horn arrangements, drum programming, recording engineer, mixing • Rodney Grant – keyboards, keyboard programming • Michelle Amar – speech and spoken word • Tabitha Brace, Sharon Harris, Terri Robinson, Todd Auston – backing vocals • Michelle Boissierre – translation (English to Spanish) ;Technical • Ken Collins, Roey Shamir – recording engineers, mixing • Benny Medina, Andre Harrell – executive producers • Carlton Batts – mastering • Kav Deluxe – design • Calvin Lowery – art direction • Deano Mueller – photography ==Charts==