The Darkside Vol. 1
The Darkside Vol. 1 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by Fat Joe | ||||
Released | July 27, 2010[1] | |||
Recorded | 2009–2010 | |||
Genre | Hip hop, hardcore hip hop[2] | |||
Length | 49:11 | |||
Label | Terror Squad, E1 | |||
Producer | Cool & Dre (also exec.), Macho TS exec., Zeferiah (also exec.), DJ Premier, I.F.O., Infamous, Just Blaze, Raw Uncut, Rico Love, Scram Jones, Scoop DeVille, Streetrunner | |||
Fat Joe chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from The Darkside Vol. 1 | ||||
|
The Darkside Vol. 1 is the tenth solo studio album by American rapper Fat Joe. The album was released July 27, 2010 by Terror Squad Entertainment and E1 Music. Production was provided by Cool & Dre, Streetrunner, DJ Infamous, Just Blaze, Scram Jones, DJ Premier, Raw Uncut, and Scoop DeVille, among others. Guest appearances came from Trey Songz, Too Short, R. Kelly, Cam'ron, Clipse, Lil Wayne and Young Jeezy.[3]
Background
The album was announced in January 2010 by Fat Joe saying that "he was working on a new album, The Darkside: Volume 1". MTV News reported that Fat Joe intended "all the material...to be much harsher" than his previous album. On March 28, 2010, Fat Joe signed a record deal with E1 Music and announced that he would release The Darkside Vol. 1 through the label in July.[4] Fat Joe stated The Darkside Vol. 1 is all about: showin' the world that I'm a legend, and just furtherin' the legacy."[2] Fat Joe stated that he returned to his hardcore hip hop roots and considers this album to be a classic.[2]
Singles
The first single from The Darkside is "(Ha Ha) Slow Down", which features rapper Young Jeezy. The song peaked at number 54 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and number 23 on their Rap Songs chart.[5] The second single from The Darkside is "If It Ain't About Money" featuring Trey Songz.[6] The song charted on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, peaking at 57,[7] and also charted at 25 on the Rap Songs chart.[8]
Reception
Commercial performance
The Darkside Vol. 1 appeared on several U.S. charts, debuting at number 27 on the Billboard 200, with approximately 12,300 units sold in the first week.[9] It also reached number nine on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, number seven on Top Rap Albums, and made it to number two among the Independent Albums.
Critical reception
Professional ratings | |
---|---|
Aggregate scores | |
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 70/100[10] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllHipHop | 8/10[11] |
Allmusic | [12] |
DJBooth | [13] |
Entertainment Weekly | B+[14] |
Now | [15] |
The Phoenix | [16] |
RapReviews | 7/10[17] |
Spin | 7/10[18] |
USA Today | [19] |
XXL | (XL)[20] |
The Darkside Vol. 1 received positive reviews from music critics. On Metacritic, the album has a score of 70 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[10] Allmusic gave it 3½ out of 5 stars, stating "instead of sounding uninspired on topics he's visited, revisited, and then some, he sounds on fire, as if this were his grand debut."[12] HipHopDX gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, praising its "Hardcore lyricism backed by the conviction that has been lacking since the '90s," also calling it his "best-produced album in over a decade."[21] RapReviews gave it a 7/10 rating, writing "Reputation now restored, Joe finds himself comfortably back in the role of narrator to the streets."[17] ThaCorner gave it 3½ out of 5 stars, noting "at the end of the thirteen track album you'll find that Joe impresses more with his skill to put together a hot album than his actual skills as a rapper."[22]
Track listing
This complete track list was published by Amazon.[23]
No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Intro" | Scram Jones | 2:24 |
2. | "Valley of Death" | Cool & Dre, Zeferiah | 3:39 |
3. | "I Am Crack" | Just Blaze | 3:43 |
4. | "Kilo" (featuring Clipse & Cam'ron) | Infamous, Laurent "Slick" Cohen (co.) | 4:01 |
5. | "Rappers Are in Danger" | Infamous | 3:16 |
6. | "(Ha Ha) Slow Down" (featuring Young Jeezy) | Scoop DeVille | 3:25 |
7. | "If It Ain't About Money" (featuring Trey Songz) | Cool & Dre, Zeferiah | 3:53 |
8. | "No Problems" (featuring Rico Love) | Scoop DeVille | 2:57 |
9. | "How Did We Get Here" (featuring R. Kelly) | Raw Uncut | 4:20 |
10. | "Money Over Bitches" (featuring Too Short & TA) | Raw Uncut | 3:59 |
11. | "Heavenly Father" (featuring Lil Wayne) | Streetrunner, I.L.O. (add.) | 4:05 |
12. | "I'm Gone" | DJ Premier | 6:21 |
13. | "At Last Supremacy" (featuring Busta Rhymes) (Bonus Track) | Cool & Dre, Zeferiah | 3:54 |
- Sample credits
- "Intro" – Contains a sample of "Just a Memory" by The Notorious B.I.G. featuring Clipse
- "Valley of Death" – Contains a sample of "Do I Stand a Chance" by The Montclairs
- "Kilo" – Contains a sample of "I Weigh With Kilos" by Jimmy Van & Richard Hieronymus
- "Rappers Are in Danger" – Contains a sample of "Time's Up" by O.C.
- "(Ha Ha) Slow Down" – Contains a sample of "Back to Life (A cappella)" by Soul II Soul
- "No Problems" – Contains samples of "Flash's Theme" by Queen[24] and "Terminator X to the Edge of Panic" by Public Enemy
- "Heavenly Father" – Contains a sample of "Pray to the Lord" by Lil Wayne
Chart positions
Chart (2010) | Peak position |
---|---|
U.S. Billboard 200[25] | 27 |
U.S. Top Independent Albums[25] | 2 |
U.S. Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[25] | 9 |
U.S. Top Rap Albums[25] | 7 |
References
- ↑ Paine, Jake (June 16, 2010). "Fat Joe's "Darkside Volume 1" Tracklisting Revealed". HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group.
- 1 2 3 Paine, Jake (June 25, 2010). "Fat Joe Talks "I Am Crack" With Just Blaze, Return To Hardcore Roots". HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
- ↑ Reid, Shaheem (January 8, 2010). "Fat Joe Is Ready To Head To The Darkside With Young Jeezy". Mixtape Daily. MTV News. Retrieved January 9, 2010.
- ↑ Paine, Jake (March 29, 2010). "Fat Joe Heads To E1, Readies "The Dark Side"". HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group.
- ↑ "iTunes - Music - (Ha Ha) Slow Down [feat. Young Jeezy] - Single by Fat Joe". Itunes.apple.com. 2010-04-13. Retrieved 2012-02-12.
- ↑ Cool and Dre. "Fat Joe Feat: Trey Songz New Single Teaser On Vimeo". Vimeo.com. Archived from the original on 2010-05-27. Retrieved 2012-02-12.
- ↑ "Fat Joe Album & Song Chart History: R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
- ↑ "Fat Joe Album & Song Chart History: Rap Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
- ↑ Jacobs, Allen (August 4, 2010). "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 8/1/2010". HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
- 1 2 "Critic Reviews for The Darkside Vol. 1". Metacritic. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
- ↑ Rem, Charlie (July 28, 2010). "Review: Fat Joe: The Darkside Vol. 1". AllHipHop. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
- 1 2 Jeffries, David. "The Darkside Vol. 1 - Fat Joe". Allmusic. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
- ↑ Nathan S. "Fat Joe - The Darkside Vol. 1". DJBooth. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
- ↑ Vozick-Levinson, Simon (July 30, 2010). "The Darkside Volume 1 Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
- ↑ Richards, Jason (August 5–12, 2010). "Fat Joe: The Darkside Vol. 1 (Terror Squad/E1)". Now. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
- ↑ Faraone, Chris (August 4, 2010). "Fat Joe: The Dark Side - CD Reviews". The Phoenix. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
- 1 2 Juon, Steve 'Flash' (July 27, 2010). "RapReviews.com Feature for July 27, 2010 - Fat Joe's 'The Darkside'". RapReviews. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
- ↑ Detrick, Ben (July 13, 2010). "Fat Joe, 'The Darkside Vol. 1' (Terror Squad/E1)". Spin. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
- ↑ Jones, Steve (July 27, 2010). "Throwback Gangster". USA Today. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
- ↑ Blanco, Alvin. X-Rated: The Darkside Vol. 1 (September 2010 ed.). XXL. p. 146.
- ↑ Kuperstein, Slava (July 27, 2010). "Fat Joe - The Darkside Vol. 1". HipHopDX. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
- ↑ Superfluous (July 27, 2010). "Dark Side Album Review - Is Fat Joe's Dark Side His Best Side?". ThaCorner. Archived from the original on July 31, 2010. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
- ↑ "Darkside Vol. Tracklist". Amazon. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20101216064032/http://www.whosampled.com/sample/view/49638/Fat%20Joe%20feat.%20Rico%20Love-No%20Problems_Queen-Flash's%20Theme/. Archived from the original on December 16, 2010. Retrieved September 5, 2010. Missing or empty
|title=
(help) - 1 2 3 4 "Fat Joe Album & Song Chart History: Billboard 200" (Click in white space around album name to see peaks on other charts). Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved October 30, 2011.