Simply Deep is the debut solo studio album by the American singer-songwriter Kelly Rowland. It was first released on October 22, 2002, by Columbia Records and Music World Entertainment. Initially expected to be released during the hiatus of her group Destiny's Child in 2003, recording of the album was accelerated after the success of the single "Dilemma", a collaboration with rapper Nelly. Predominantly a alternative pop, folk and R&B album, Simply Deep also incorporated elements of rock and dance music in its production and was largely produced within three weeks only, guest appearances on Simply Deep include Nelly, Solange Knowles and Joe Budden.

The album received generally mixed to lukewarm reviews from most music critics who called it a pleasant listen but found that it lacked ambition. While Simply Deep peaked at number 12 on the Billboard 200 and sold over 600,000 copies in the United States, it was regarded as a bigger commercial success abroad, where it topped the UK Albums Chart, reached the top five in Australia, Denmark, and Ireland, and singles such as "Stole" and "Can't Nobody" were released to stronger commercial success.

In late 2003, nearly a year after the album's initial release, Rowland embarked on her debut solo Simply Deeper Tour to promote the album in Europe. While Simply Deep established Rowland as a viable solo artist and, with worldwide sales of more than 2 million units, remains the biggest-selling album within her solo catalogue, the singer has expressed her dissatisfaction with the rushed and less thought out character of the album, though still being fond of the material that she had recorded for it.

Rowland launched her singing career with all-female R&B group Destiny's Child in the late 1990s. While recording their third studio album, Survivor, in late 2000, the band announced that members of the group would disband for a short period to produce solo albums in the coming years, which they hoped would boost interest in Destiny's Child. The idea of individual releases emanated from the group's manager, Mathew Knowles. With different types of music for each member to produce, the albums were not intended to compete on the charts as Destiny's Child's management strategically planned to stagger the release of each group member's album to maximize sales.

Michelle Williams became the first to release a debut solo album, Heart to Yours, in April 2002. Beyoncé Knowles debuted on the big screen, starring in the spy comedy film Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002), and started recording her solo debut Dangerously in Love (2003). Meanwhile, Rowland collaborated with American rapper Nelly on the song "Dilemma" as a solo artist. The song originally appeared on his album Nellyville (2002), and while it was initially not expected to be released as a single, it received a positive response from DJs and listeners and was eventually promoted to single status. Issued to major success, "Dilemma" became a worldwide number-one hit that year, allowing Rowland's label Columbia Records to advance the release date of Simply Deep from 2003 to late 2002.

In order to capitalize on the success of "Dilemma," the ordering of Knowles and Rowland's albums was switched, leading to the postponement of Knowles's solo album Dangerously in Love to mid-2003 and the recording of Simply Deep being accelerated to summer 2002. Rowland who had previously signed on to star in Ronny Yu's slasher film Freddy vs. Jason and was expected to start filming in Vancouver in September 2002, was forced to complete the album within a month. The singer felt pressured by high expectations due to Destiny's Child and their huge success. She later revealed: "It was a challenge and I did that creatively and vocally. I was very nervous, but I came through with flying colors because of my family and, of course, Destiny's Child. There were days in the studio where I would run out, like, 'I'm frustrated! I don't wanna do this!' And they would calm me and tell me that everything was gonna be okay. I got through it because of them." Rowland eventually overcame her fears during the process as her newfound independence offered her an opportunity to branch out and try new things. In fact, she co-wrote three songs on the album and came up with the vocal arrangements for several tracks.

Columbia Records arranged for Rowland to record with a large group of previous collaborators, several of which had worked with Destiny's Child on their 2001 studio album Survivor, including producers Anthony Dent, Rob Fusari, Falonte Moore, Mark J. Feist, Jovonn Alexander, and Damon Elliott. In addition, she would work with Troy Johnson, Alonzo Jackson, Damon Sharpe, Billy Mann, Anders Barrén, and Jany Schella, and trio Steve Kipner, Dane Deviller, and Sean Hosein. Songwriter-producer Rich Harrison contributed "Can't Nobody," the first of many songs which he would produce for either Destiny's Child or the band's solo projects. Robert "Big Bert" Smith oversaw the production of "Love/Hate," a song co-written by his then-girlfriend, fellow singer Brandy. Solange Knowles, Beyoncé's younger sister, wrote and co-produced three songs on Simply Deep. Recording sessions for the album took place at several recording studios, including Studio 353, The Hit Factory and Sound-on-Sound Studio in New York City, Stankonia Recording Studio in Atlanta, Audio Vision Recording Studios in Miami Beach, and The Enterprise in Burbank, Henson Recording Studios and The Record Plant in Los Angeles, Heeba Jeeba Studios in Sherman Oaks and the Real FM Sound and Nature's Finest Studios in Hollywood.

Musically, Simply Deep marked a departure from Rowland's work with Destiny’s Child, venturing into alternative sounds. Rowland herself described the album as a "weird fusion [of] a little bit of Sade and a little bit of rock," although she admitted that she felt the 'rock' label her record company used to promote it was somewhat inappropriate and misleading. According to her, the idea for her to "craft her own brand of Rock & R&B" came from her then-manager, Mathew Knowles, who recognized her interest in rock and alternative music. Rowland stated that she was enthusiastic about the idea, as she had not previously considered exploring such a combination of styles. In an Interview with Billboard, she commented: "He brought the idea to me and I was so excited because I never thought that I could do something like that."