Flockaveli

Flockaveli
Studio album by Waka Flocka Flame
Released	October 5, 2010
Recorded	Next Level Studios, Houston; Nightbird Studios, Los Angeles; S-Line Ent., Atlanta
Genre	Crunk,[1] gangsta rap[2]
Length	72:00
Label	1017 Brick Squad, Asylum, Warner Bros.
Producer	Waka Flocka Flame (exec.), Tay Beatz (also exec.), Cedric "Yayo" Herbert, Drumma Boy, Joey French, Lex Luger, Lil Jon, L-Don Beats, NIKO, Prince, Purps, Southside
Waka Flocka Flame chronology
Flockaveli (2010) Ferrari Boyz (2011)
Singles from Flockaveli
"O Let's Do It" Released: December 25, 2009 "Hard in da Paint" Released: June 15, 2010 "No Hands" Released: August 17, 2010 "Grove St. Party" Released: February 15, 2011

Flockaveli is the debut studio album by American rapper Waka Flocka Flame; it was released on October 5, 2010, by 1017 Brick Squad Records, Warner Bros. Records, and Asylum Records.^[3] The album is titled after the Italian political theorist Machiavelli,^[4] and was inspired by American rapper Tupac Shakur, whose final stage name and pseudonym before his death was Makaveli.^[5] It was recorded at Next Level Studios in Houston, Nightbird Studios in Los Angeles, and S-Line Ent. in Atlanta.^[6]

Upon its release, Flockaveli received generally positive reviews from music critics, who complimented its musical intensity, brazen lyrics, and gangsta rap ethos. It debuted at number six on the Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 37,000 copies, and, as of August 15, 2011, has sold 285,000 copies in the United States.

Music and lyrics

Flockaveli is a crunk album.^[1] It was primarily produced by Lex Luger, whose bombastic, grimly-programmed production incorporates drill 'n' bass 808 trills, bass kicks, hand claps,^[1] confrontational beats,^[2] dense synthesizers, and shifting sub-bass layers.^[7] Waka Flocka Flame's unrefined street raps feature constant ad libs.^[2] According to Pitchfork Media's David Drake, the songs reduce gangsta rap to its archetypical themes: "hypermasculine children of the drug trade, reckless fatalism, intensity, and physicality ... Waka's aggression is the survivalist reaction of the powerless, directed toward the threats of the immediate environment."^[2]

Promotion

The album's lead single "O Let's Do It" was released on December 25, 2009. The song features guest appearances from Cap, who was uncredited for his verse on this single, but was credited to be featured on the album. The song has peaked at number 62 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The remix to "O Let's Do It" was released, featuring Diddy, Rick Ross and Gucci Mane. The second single "Hard in da Paint" was released on May 13, 2010. In July, a music video was released. The remix to "Hard in da Paint" featuring American R&B singer Ciara and rapper Gucci Mane was released.^[8]

The album's third single "No Hands" featuring Roscoe Dash and Wale, was released on August 17, 2010.^[9][10] It has peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it his highest charting single in the United States. The album's fourth and final single "Grove St. Party" featuring Kebo Gotti, was released on February 15, 2011.^[11] It has charted at number 74 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States.^[12]

There are also music videos for the songs, such as "Snake in the Grass" featuring Cartier Kitten,^[13] "Bustin' at Em",^[14] "For My Dawgs",^[15] and "Live By the Gun" featuring RA Diggs and Uncle Murda.^[16] On October 18, 2010, Waka Flocka Flame performed "Smoke, Drank" live on high-definition TV at the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood.^[17]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 6 on the US Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 37,000 copies in the United States.^[18] As of August 15, 2011, the album has sold 285,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.^[19]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[20]
Cokemachineglow	82%[21]
NME	9/10[22]
Pitchfork Media	8.0/10[2]
PopMatters	6/10[1]
RapReviews	7.5/10[23]
Rolling Stone	[24]
Spin	7/10[25]

Flockaveli 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 75, based on 9 reviews.^[26] Jaimie Hodgson of NME commented that the album's songs "showcase a masterclass in reductionism; juggernauts of hulking, bruising, brick-to-skull intensity".^[22] BBC Music's Louis Pattison praised Waka Flocka Flame's "cold charisma", writing that "it’s channelled successfully here, a presence that permeates Flockaveli utterly".^[27] Ben Detrick of Spin complimented its "unforgiving crush of unveiled threats over ricocheting drums and choleric synths", and called Waka "more agitator than rapper—imagine DJ Kool as an unhinged goon with a fetish for brawling and gunfire".^[25] Sean Fennessey of The Village Voice called producer Lex Luger "a force whose tinnitus-inducing tracks demand replay" and wrote in conclusion, "Ultimately, the inflammatory Waka is an avatar for a new rap economy: few words delivered with force, with an eye to the stage and the check that arrives with it".^[28] Pitchfork Media's David Drake described it as "a furious torrent of gangsta rap id" and praised Waka for giving the album its "frenetic intensity".^[2]

Allmusic editor David Jeffries noted his style as "love-him-or-hate-him", but wrote that "Flockaveli has enough hooks and attitude to keep those bottles poppin' all night long".^[20] Rolling Stone writer Jody Rosen found his skills "negligible", but the album "hypnotic, focusing attention on the details beneath the bombast".^[24] Patrick Taylor of RapReviews called Waka "a blunt instrument that beats you into submission", and stated, "On an intellectual level, I don't like 'Flockaveli.' The lyrics are simplistic and goonish. The music is effective but all sounds the same. If I was looking for an example of what hip-hop should be, it's not Waka Flocka Flame. On a gut level, though, 'Flockaveli' works. It's morally questionable, but it hits hard".^[23] David Amidon of PopMatters described it as "a producer classic littered with verses so whack they become endearing in their special way", adding that Luger "pulls that special kind of synergy unique to hip-hop out of [Waka] again and again".^[1] Amidon wrote of its cultural significance, "This is a very specific album intended for a specific audience: downtrodden, powerless, forever seeking payment, pussy and freedom from the powers that be but in the process of accepting they may never find that experience. This is strictly hood music [...] it’s been a very long time since a hip-hop release felt like it truly didn’t give a fuck about anything but its local community while pushing its genre forward as much as possible".^[1]

In 2012, Complex named the album one of the classic albums of the last decade.^[29] In 2014, Billboard called the single "No Hands" the ninth most successful song in the 25-year history of their Hot Rap Songs chart.^[30]

Track listing

Personnel

Credits for Flockaveli adapted from Allmusic.^[31]

Charts

References

External links

• Official website
• Flockaveli at Discogs (list of releases)