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
Jealous Ones Still Envy 2 (J.O.S.E. 2)
(2009)		 The Darkside Vol. 1
(2010)		 The Darkside Vol. 2
(2011)
Singles from The Darkside Vol. 1
  1. "(Ha Ha) Slow Down"
    Released: April 13, 2010
  2. "If It Ain't About Money"
    Released: May 24, 2010

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
SourceRating
Metacritic(70/100)[10]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllHipHop(8/10)[11]
Allmusic[12]
DJBooth[13]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[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. TitleProducer(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

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

  1. ↑ Paine, Jake (June 16, 2010). "Fat Joe's "Darkside Volume 1" Tracklisting Revealed". HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group.
  2. 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.
  3. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ Paine, Jake (March 29, 2010). "Fat Joe Heads To E1, Readies "The Dark Side"". HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group.
  5. ↑ "iTunes - Music - (Ha Ha) Slow Down [feat. Young Jeezy] - Single by Fat Joe". Itunes.apple.com. 2010-04-13. Retrieved 2012-02-12.
  6. ↑ 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.
  7. ↑ "Fat Joe Album & Song Chart History: R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Fat Joe Album & Song Chart History: Rap Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
  9. ↑ Jacobs, Allen (August 4, 2010). "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 8/1/2010". HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
  10. 1 2 "Critic Reviews for The Darkside Vol. 1". Metacritic. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
  11. ↑ Rem, Charlie (July 28, 2010). "Review: Fat Joe: The Darkside Vol. 1". AllHipHop. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
  12. 1 2 Jeffries, David. "The Darkside Vol. 1 - Fat Joe". Allmusic. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
  13. ↑ Nathan S. "Fat Joe - The Darkside Vol. 1". DJBooth. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
  14. ↑ Vozick-Levinson, Simon (July 30, 2010). "The Darkside Volume 1 Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
  15. ↑ Richards, Jason (August 5–12, 2010). "Fat Joe: The Darkside Vol. 1 (Terror Squad/E1)". Now. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
  16. ↑ Faraone, Chris (August 4, 2010). "Fat Joe: The Dark Side - CD Reviews". The Phoenix. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
  17. 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.
  18. ↑ Detrick, Ben (July 13, 2010). "Fat Joe, 'The Darkside Vol. 1' (Terror Squad/E1)". Spin. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
  19. ↑ Jones, Steve (July 27, 2010). "Throwback Gangster". USA Today. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
  20. ↑ Blanco, Alvin. X-Rated: The Darkside Vol. 1 (September 2010 ed.). XXL. p. 146.
  21. ↑ Kuperstein, Slava (July 27, 2010). "Fat Joe - The Darkside Vol. 1". HipHopDX. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
  22. ↑ 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.
  23. ↑ "Darkside Vol. Tracklist". Amazon. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
  24. ↑
  25. 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.

External links

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