Fear of God II: Let Us Pray

Fear of God II: Let Us Pray
EP by Pusha T
Released	November 8, 2011
Recorded	2010–11
Genre	Hip hop
Length	45:04
Label	GOOD Decon Re-Up
Producer	Pusha T (exec.) Rennard East (co-exec.) Rico Beats The VIPs Shawty Redd The Neptunes Left Brain A-Traxx Bangladesh Hit-Boy Tha Bizness Deezy Lee Major Nottz
Pusha T chronology
Fear of God II: Let Us Pray (2011) My Name Is My Name (2013)
Singles from Fear of God II: Let Us Pray
"Trouble on My Mind" Released: July 12, 2011[1] "Amen" Released: September 13, 2011[2] "My God" Released: March 29, 2012

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[3]
Robert Christgau	(A–)[4]
HipHopDX	[5]
Pitchfork Media	(7.1/10)[6]
Rolling Stone	[7]
XXL	(XL)[8]

Fear of God II: Let Us Pray is the major record label debut and extended play by American hip hop recording artist Pusha T, released on November 8, 2011, under G.O.O.D. Music. The EP serves as his first project with Kanye West's GOOD Music label, since the announcement of his signing back in September 2010. Pusha T claims his inspiration for Fear of God is that a vast majority of the people who he came in the music business with are in prison: "I Came in the game with super producers. We made hit records. I never thought that it gets deeper. But not for nothing, 2009 I lost eight of my friends to incarceration. Everybody that I came in to the rap game with, and when I realized that those components weren't there anymore, the 'Fear of God' really came over me. It's full of the dichotomy of 'right and wrong' and 'good and evil'. A lot of it deals with greed. A lot of it deals with instant gratification. Personally... life without instant gratification... I don't know what it is."^[9]

Background and release

Pusha T established his solo career in mid-2010, while still in the Clipse with Malice, appearing on songs "Runaway"^[10] and "So Appalled" by Kanye West, propagating his features.^[11] On March 21, 2011, Pusha T released his first solo work, a mixtape titled Fear of God. Released independently, it included features from Kanye West, 50 Cent, Rick Ross, Pharrell Williams and Kevin Cossom.^[12] The EP is a re-release of the mixtape,^[13][14] which has different structure, production and additional tracks. The EP was originally set to released on June 21, 2011,^[15] it was than pushed back to August 23, and for a while September 27, 2011, was believed to be the date, however on October 6, 2011, Thornton announced the EP is set to drop November 8, 2011. In addition it was revealed he added four more songs to the EP making it 12 tracks rather than just the nine tracks that were previously announced.^[16] To begin promoting the album, he released a track produced by The Neptunes, titled "Trouble on My Mind", which features the frontman of rap collective Odd Future, Tyler, the Creator. The track "Everything That Glitters" featuring French Montana is also included on DJ Drama's third album Third Power (2011). The song "Amen" was originally meant for Young Jeezy and "Raid" was originally meant for 50 Cent for his third album Curtis (2007). "What Dreams Are Made of" samples a Ric Flair promo.

Singles

The album plays lead and Pusha T's debut single is "Trouble on My Mind", featuring Tyler, the Creator. Released on July 12, 2011,^[17] the song was structured in two verses by both rappers.^[18] The second single "Amen" featuring Kanye West and Young Jeezy was released August 11, 2011.

Reception

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 66 on the Billboard 200 with 8,900 copies sold in its first week released.^[19] It also entered at number ten on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, at number eight on Billboard's Top Rap Albums, and at number 25 on its Digital Albums chart.^[20][21] On the second week of its release the album sold 4,300 copies, bringing the total to 13,000 copies.^[22]

Critical response

Fear of God II: Let Us Pray received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 69, based on 17 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".^[23] In his consumer guide for MSN Music, critic Robert Christgau gave it an A– rating,^[4] indicating "the kind of garden-variety good record that is the great luxury of musical micromarketing and overproduction."^[24] Christgau quipped in his review, "The grand beats are safer than the clenched, confining, arrogantly hookless minimalism of Hell Hath No Fury. But every mean word delivers, and with cameos from Tyler the Creator to 50 Cent it's as if he never went solo."^[4]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Changing of the Guards" (featuring Diddy)	Terrence Thornton, Ricardo Lamarre, Sean Combs	Rico Beats	2:29
2.	"Amen" (featuring Kanye West & Young Jeezy)	Terrence Thornton, Demetrius Stewart, Kanye West, Jay Wayne Jenkins	Shawty Redd	4:36
3.	"Trouble on My Mind" (featuring Tyler, the Creator)	Terrence Thornton, Tyler Okonma, Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo, Vyron Turner	The Neptunes, Left Brain	3:32
4.	"What Dreams Are Made Of"	Terrence Thornton	The VIPs	3:35
5.	"Body Work" (featuring Juicy J, Meek Mill & French Montana)	Terrence Thornton, Ricardo Lamarre, Jordan Michael Houston, Robert Williams, Karim Kharbouch	Rico Beats	4:29
6.	"Everything That Glitters" (featuring French Montana)	Terrence Thornton, Karim Kharbouch	A-Traxx	3:29
7.	"So Obvious"	Terrence Thornton, Shondrae Crawford	Bangladesh	3:15
8.	"Feeling Myself" (featuring Kevin Cossom)	Terrence Thornton, Kevin Cossom	Tha Bizness	3:34
9.	"Raid" (featuring 50 Cent & Pharrell)	Terrence Thornton, Curtis Jackson, Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo	The Neptunes	3:45
10.	"My God"	Terrence Thornton, Chauncey Hollis	Hit-Boy, Deezy (co.)	3:33
11.	"I Still Wanna" (featuring Rick Ross & Ab-Liva)	Terrence Thornton, William Leonard Roberts II, Rennard East, Leigh Elliott	Lee Major	4:16
12.	"Alone in Vegas"	Terrence Thornton, Dominick Lamb	Nottz	4:31
Total length:				45:04

Personnel

Sean "Puffy" Combs – Composer P. Williams – Composer The Neptunes – Producer Kevin Cossom - Composer Kanye West – Composer Nottz – Producer Shawty Redd – Producer Fabian Marasciullo – Mixing Emeka Alams – Design Jason Goldwatch – Photography Tha Bizness – Producer Hit-Boy – Producer Dave Kutch – Mastering Lee Major – Producer Deezy – Producer

Shondrae "Mr. Bangladesh" Crawford – Producer Steven Victor – A&R Terrence Thornton – Composer Terrence Thornton – Executive Producer Terrence Thornton – A&R Rennard East – Executive Producer Rennard East – A&R Elizabeth Gallardo – Assistant Engineer Rico Beats – Producer Rashid Anthony – Composer Rashid Anthony – Producer Omar Dubois – Creative Director The VIP's – Producer

Charts

Chart (2011)	Peak position
US Billboard 200[19]	66
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[20]	10
US Top Rap Albums[21]	8

References

1. Trouble on My Mind Amazon.com
2. Amen (Explicit) Pusha T Amazon
3. Jeffries, David. link. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2011-11-12.
4. Christgau, Robert (November 29, 2011). "Tom Waits/Pusha T". MSN Music. Microsoft. Retrieved 2011-12-01.
5. Thornton, Alex. link. HipHopDX. Retrieved on 2011-11-12.
6. Sargent, Jordan. link. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2011-11-12.
7. Trammell, Matthew. link. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2011-11-12.
8. Bristout, Ralph. link. XXL. Retrieved on 2011-11-12.
9. "Pusha T's Fear of God II: Let Us Pray Trailer [Video]". XXLMAG.COM. 2011-11-08. Retrieved 2011-11-14.
10. "Kanye West f. Pusha T – Runaway". HipHopDX. 2010-09-14. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
11. Steven Horowitz (2011-10-06). "Pusha T Announces Release Date For "Fear Of God II: Let Us Pray"". HipHopDX. Retrieved 2015-09-16.
12. "Pusha T – Fear of God mixtape". HipHopDX. 2011-03-21. Retrieved 2011-05-29.
13. Kuperstein, Slava (2011-05-08). "Pusha T Talks Odd Future, "Fear Of God 2"". HipHopDX. Retrieved 2011-07-19.
14. Iandoli, Kathy (2011-07-19). "Tracklist Revealed For Pusha T's "Fear Of God: Let Us Pray" EP". HipHopDX. Retrieved 2011-07-20.
15. Blanco, Alvin (2011-04-19). "Pusha T Set To Drop Fear of God 2 In June - Music, Celebrity, Artist News". MTV.com. Retrieved 2012-11-12.
16. "Pusha T Announces November Release For Solo Debut, 'Fear of God II'". Ballerstatus. 2011-10-06. Retrieved 2011-10-07.
17. "Pusha T – Trouble on My Mind (feat. Tyler, The Creator) single at iTunes". iTunes. 2011-07-12. Retrieved 2011-07-21.
18. "Pusha T f. Tyler The Creator – "Trouble On My Mind" video". HipHopDX. 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2011-07-21.
19. "Pusha T Album & Song Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2012-02-21.
20. R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Week of November 26, 2011. Billboard. Retrieved on 2011-11-19.
21. Rap Albums – Week of November 26, 2011. Billboard. Retrieved on 2011-11-19.
22. Jacobs, Allen. "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 11/20/2011". Hip Hop DX. Retrieved November 23, 2011.
23. "Fear of God II: Let Us Pray [EP] Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2011-12-01.
24. Christgau, Robert (October 15, 2000). "CG 90s: Key to Icons". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2011-12-01.