Hi Jesus,

Thank you for contacting Mearto with your appraisal inquiry.

This reel is part of a much larger archive documenting Tank's pre-Force of Nature recording sessions. Several of the songs are not part of Tank's official discography, notably 'Put Your Hands Up', 'What, What, What', 'Designated Driver', 'Shake It', 'Let It Go,' 'Lady on My Block,' 'Clothes Off,' 'Treat Yourself,' 'Bank,' 'Slowly', 'Everyday' and 'We Got That.'

Essentially, it's a snapshot of the album before it was finalized, when Blackground Records was deciding which songs would make the cut.

Earlier, there wasn't much documentary evidence that "Treat Yourself" existed as a Tank recording.
Now there is.
This DAT master independently lists "Treat Yourself" among the finished songs prepared for Virgin/Blackground, so it's a completed master.

The timing is significant

The date—August 8, 2000—is about a year before Force of Nature was released in 2001. At that point Tank was still writing songs, singing background vocals, recording dozens of tracks, and refining his debut.

Music Grinder Studios was a respected Hollywood recording and mastering facility. Seeing "Various" listed under producer and engineer also suggests these songs came from multiple recording sessions and were assembled into one reference master for the label.

From an archival standpoint, this may document an unreleased version of Tank's debut project. Music historians are often interested in these "working albums" and it would also interest collectors of Blackground Records history, early-2000s R&B, Tank memorabilia, and recording studio artifacts.

Based on the photos and information provided, and subject to examination, this is:

Tank DAT Masters - Group of 12 reels
Produced variously for Virgin / Blackground, at Music Grinders Studios in Hollywood, dated August 8, 2000.
(12) QUANTEGY dat R-94
CONDITION: unknown
PROVENANCE: acquired in an online auction
$ 2,000-3,000*
*represents a fair-market value for auction purposes; retail or asking price may vary.

Please let us know if you have additional items to appraise, or questions/concerns, and thank you again for using Mearto.
~ Delia