Playing with Fire (Kevin Federline album)

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Playing with Fire
Playing with Fire cover
Studio album by Kevin Federline
Released October 31, 2006 (U.S.) November 6, 2006 (U.K.)
Recorded 2005-2006
Genre Rap
Length 49:36
Label Federation Records
Producer Disco D, Notes, J. R. Rotem
Professional reviews
Kevin Federline chronology
Playing with Fire
(2006)
For the Spacemen 3 album, see Playing with Fire (Spacemen 3 album).

Playing with Fire is the debut studio album from American personality and rapper Kevin Federline, released on October 31, 2006 in North America, and on November 6th in the UK. The lyrics were all co-written by Federline according to AMG.

Federline's album debuted in the Billboard 200 at #151, with first-week sales reported at about 6,500. According to SoundScan numbers, Playing with Fire was the 16th highest debut out of 19 albums released that week that made the Billboard 200.[1] In its second week, it dropped out of the chart, selling a mere 1,200 copies.[2] The review tallying website Metacritic.com summarized the reviews they tallied as possessing "extreme dislike or disgust"; as of 2008 it is the lowest-rated album in their database.[3]

According to Ask Billboard, "Playing With Fire" has sold 16,000 copies as of 22 January 2007.[4] Stores have stopped receiving shipments of the album as no more copies are being made.

Contents

[edit] Reception

Critical reviews of Federline’s debut album have been near-unanimously negative. Between Metacritic's founding in 1999 and the album's release, no album has scored below 20, partially because many critics have a minimum 1 of 5 score, which is translated to 20 out of 100 in Metacritic.

One notable exception to this almost universal derision was Ron Harris of the Associated Press, who enthused: “All jokes aside about his climb to fame, Kevin Federline’s album Playing With Fire (Federline Records) is a credible, entertaining debut. I kid you not.... The streets of Fresno County are no joke, and good for Fed-Rock if wants to boast about surviving that life.”[5]

However, Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Senior Editor of All Music Guide (AMG) was less charitable: “Federline's debut album, Playing with Fire, is indeed bad, but it's bad in an uninteresting way; it's as dull and predictable as its title... he's not nearly as shocking as he'd like to believe or as amusing as his haters would hope: he just comes across as a big boob... It's also a bore because he's a boor, writing endlessly about the same three topics: his alleged superstardom, his hatred of the media, his love of parties and dope... it often sounds like he can't quite understand them."[6]

Similarly, Preston Jones of Slant Magazine echoed, "Federline can only rap about weed, his bank account, his wife, fighting anyone who looks at him sideways, and partying 'til three days from now —- roughly in that order... An oh-so-tiny sliver of myself kind of wanted Playing With Fire to be less aggressively shitty than it is, if only so the restless, rapacious media would ease off this tattered target of its ire—unfortunately, this disc is just as disposable and dumb as you'd expect."[7] Rolling Stone's Kevin O'Donnell called it "reprehensible" and a "tragicomedy";[8] while Entertainment Weekly's Chris Willman proclaimed that it was "a concept album about squandering Britney Spears' fortune."[9]

The "Playing with Fire" concert tour was also a commercial disaster. In New York City, Federline performed before an estimated audience of 300, out of a total seating capacity of 1500 at Webster Hall, with only one-third of attendees remaining by the end of the concert. Although many of the tickets were given away for free, approximately three-quarters of the seats at his Chicago performance remained empty.[10] Four of the eight scheduled tour performances (Cleveland, Atlantic City, Anaheim, and San Diego) were ultimately cancelled.[11][12]

Coincidentally, while performing in WWE, Federline used the song "America's Most Hated" as his entrance music. Also while feuding with John Cena, he said that his new album will surpass Cena's record sales; Cena's album sold 43,000 copies in its first week in stores,[13] more than 2.5 times what Playing with Fire has sold since its release.

[edit] Track listing

  1. "Intro" - 0:57
  2. "The World Is Mine" (Ya Boy/K. Federline/C. Olsen) - 2:43
  3. "America's Most Hated" (Ya Boy/K. Federline/J. R. Rotem) - 3:42
  4. "Snap" (C. Brooks IV/Ya Boy/K. Federline) - 2:14
  5. "Lose Control" (K. Federline/J. R. Rotem) - 3:36
  6. "Dance with a Pimp" (featuring Ya Boy) (Ya Boy/K. Federline/J. R. Rotem) - 3:50
  7. "Privilege" (featuring Bosko) (B. Kante/K. Federline) - 3:59
  8. "Crazy" (featuring Britney Spears) (K. Federline/M. Greene/B. Kante/G. Louriano) - 3:23
  9. "A League of My Own" (K. Federline/Versatyle) - 3:25
  10. "Playing with Fire" (K. Federline/Fingers/Twirp) - 4:48
  11. "Caught Up (Intro)" - 0:56
  12. "Caught Up" (Ya Boy/K. Federline/C. Olsen) - 3:47
  13. "Kept on Talkin'"/"Middle Finger" [Hidden Track] (Ya Boy/K. Federline/C. Olsen) - 10:36

[edit] Samples/Interpolations

America's Most Hated

[edit] Cancelled tracks

  • "PopoZão"
  • "Y'all Ain't Ready"
  • "Sin'gle' City" (featuring Britney Spears)
  • "Keep Messing with My Family"
  • "U Should" (featuring Ya Boy and Phat Rat)
  • "Rockstar" (Ya Boy featuring K-Fed)
  • Untitled track with Petey Pablo
  • "Down South"

[edit] Technical Credits

  • Kevin "KD" Davis - Mixing
  • Rob Freeman - Engineer
  • Chris Gehringer - Mastering
  • Zack Horne - Engineer
  • Jared Kvitka - Engineer
  • Christine Leach - Design
  • Frank Micelotta - Photography
  • Britney Spears - Vocals, Vocals (background)

[edit] Chart performance

[edit] Charts

Chart (2006) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard 200 151
U.S. Top Heatseekers 1

[edit] References

  1. ^ 'Hannah Montana' Holds Billboard #1; K-Fed's Tough Week Continues | News | VH1.com
  2. ^ VH1.com : Fergie : Justin, Christina, Fergie Take Now 23 To The Top - Rhapsody Music Downloads
  3. ^ metacritic.com, Playing with Fire entry, accessed February 12, 2007
  4. ^ Caulfield, Kevin. Ask Billboard. January 22, 2007. Accessed 07 Feb 2007.
  5. ^ Surprise! K-Fed's debut CD not all that bad - RAP/HIP-HOP MUSIC - MSNBC.com
  6. ^ AllMusic.com review
  7. ^ Slant Magazine - Music Review: Kevin Federline: Playing With Fire
  8. ^ Playing With Fire : Kevin Federline : Review : Rolling Stone
  9. ^ Playing with Fire (Music - Kevin Federline) | Music Review | Entertainment Weekly
  10. ^ Desperate K-Fed Can't Give It Away - TMZ.com - Entertainment News, Celebrity Gossip and Hollywood Rumors
  11. ^ All Federline Shows Canceled Due to Poor Ticket Sales
  12. ^ Liner Notes: Get out, rock out
  13. ^ Whitmire, Margo. DMB Defeats NIN, Weezer As Album Chart Champ. Retrieved on 2007-09-01.