The Elephant in the Room (album)

The Elephant in the Room
Studio album by Fat Joe
Released March 11, 2008
Recorded 2007
Genre Hip hop
Length 42:47
Label Terror Squad, Virgin, Imperial
Producer Fat Joe (Executive Producer), Scott Storch, Cool and Dre, Danja, DJ Khaled, DJ Premier, Swizz Beatz, The Alchemist, The Individualz, StreetRunner, The Hitmen (Including LV, Sean C, & Mario Winans)
Fat Joe chronology
Me, Myself & I
(2006)		 The Elephant in the Room
(2008)		 Jealous Ones Still Envy 2
(2009)
Singles from The Elephant in the Room
  1. "I Won't Tell"
    Released: December 18, 2007
  2. "Ain't Sayin' Nothin'"
    Released: May 5, 2008

The Elephant in the Room is the eighth studio album by American rapper Fat Joe. The album was released on March 11, 2008, by Terror Squad, Virgin Records and Imperial Records. Production for the album was done by Scott Storch, Cool and Dre, Danja, DJ Khaled, DJ Premier, Swizz Beatz, The Alchemist, StreetRunner and The Hitmen, and guest contributions came from artists like Beatz, Plies, Lil Wayne, J. Holiday and KRS-One.

The album received a generally positive reception but critics felt it was inconsistent in its mixture of production and lyricism. The Elephant in the Room debuted at number 6 on the Billboard 200 and spawned two singles: "I Won't Tell" and "Ain't Sayin' Nothin'".

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllHipHop[1]
AllMusic[2]
Billboard(favorable)[3]
DJBooth[4]
HipHopDX[5]
The Phoenix[6]
RapReviews(5.5/10)[7]
Vibe(favorable)[8]

The Elephant in the Room garnered positive reviews but music critics were divided by the production and lyrical content. Nathan Slavik of DJBooth praised the album's varied production for allowing Joe to deliver different topics through various regional flows, saying that, "While Joe has never produced a truly classic album, Elephant In The Room proves that his contributions to the game have been significant and long-lasting."[4] David Jeffries of AllMusic also praised Joe for changing his flow when switching from street tracks and radio singles, despite finding the drug talk monotonous and a lack of cohesion between him and the producers, concluding with, "Still, Joe warns the listener right at the beginning that he's more Eazy-E than Ice Cube -- and for three-fourths of the album, he's spot on."[2] Latifah Muhammad of AllHipHop found a lack of cohesion between Joe and the producers on the album but felt that he managed to deliver tracks both commercially and artistically, saying that the album "manages to show off Joes'’ clever mixture of street anthems and radio shiny tunes."[1]

HipHopDX staff writer Mcooper found a lack of consistency throughout the album, praising some tracks for its mixture of new-school production and lyrics reminiscent of old-school hip-hop but found the rest of it weak and hollow, saying that "Joe has the talent to put out a classic caliber album, but as long as he wants to stay current with the downloads and ringtones, that vision may not come to pass."[5] Ben Westhoff of The Phoenix was mixed about the album, finding the lyrical content generic but felt that Joe added some needed empathy in his material, saying that "What makes it work is his vulnerability, a rare commodity in hip-hop. Unlike associate Rick Ross, who keeps letting you know that he’s the “boss,” Joe just wants to entertain you."[6] Jesal Padania of RapReviews felt that Joe copied the formula from Me, Myself & I for the album, criticizing the production for being mediocre at best and not allowing him to make good use of them, saying that "In other words, can I really recommend you purchasing this album? Not really - and I would class myself as a Fat Joe fan. I will recommend that you purchase a few of the songs from iTunes, but that is the best I can do."[7]

Commercial performance

The Elephant in the Room debuted at number 6 on the Billboard 200 and sold 46,000 copies for its first week.[9] Two weeks later, it dropped below the top 50 at numbers 56 and 74 respectively before leaving the chart.[10]

Track listing

No. TitleProducer(s) Length
1. "The Fugitive"  StreetRunner 3:58
2. "Ain't Sayin' Nothin'" (featuring Dre & Plies)Cool & Dre 3:38
3. "The Crackhouse" (featuring Lil Wayne)Steve Morales 3:33
4. "Cocababy" (featuring Jackie Rubio)Danja 3:26
5. "Get It for Life" (featuring Poo Bear)DJ Khaled 3:28
6. "Drop" (featuring Jackie Rubio & Swizz Beatz)Swizz Beatz 3:00
7. "I Won't Tell" (featuring J. Holiday)LV, Sean C, Mario Winans 3:47
8. "K.A.R. (Kill All Rats)"  StreetRunner 4:00
9. "300 Brolic" (featuring Opera Steve)LV, Sean C 3:11
10. "Preacher on a Sunday Morning" (featuring Poo Bear)Scott Storch 3:28
11. "My Conscience" (featuring KRS-One)The Alchemist 4:11
12. "That White"  DJ Premier 3:12

Personnel

Credits for The Elephant in the Room adapted from AllMusic.[11]

  • Angelo Aponte – engineer, vocal engineer
  • Marcella Araica – vocal engineer, vocal producer
  • Jesus Bobe – programming
  • Flex Cabrera – management
  • Brian "Big Bass" Gardner – mastering
  • Ed "Wolverine" Goldstein – bass
  • Jayne Grodd – administration
  • Infamous – keyboards
  • Derrick Jenner – assistant engineer
  • Chad Jolley – mixing assistant
  • Jeff "Gemcrates" Ladd – engineer
  • Ed Lidow – assistant engineer, mixing assistant
  • Jonathan Mannion – photography
  • Fabian Marasciullo – mixing
  • Raul Pena – engineer
  • Kiethen Pittman – keyboards
  • Adrian "Drop" Sanpalla – vocal engineer, vocal producer
  • Brian Springer – vocal engineer
  • Javier Valverde – engineer, vocal engineer, vocal producer
  • Danny Zook – sample clearance

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2008) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[12] 6
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[13] 3

Year-end charts

Chart (2008) Position
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[14] 79

References

  1. 1 2 Muhammad, Latifah (March 12, 2008). "Fat Joe: The Elephant In The Room". AllHipHop. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  2. 1 2 Jeffries, David. "The Elephant in the Room - Fat Joe". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  3. ↑ Concepcion, Mariel (March 10, 2008). "The Elephant in the Room". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on March 10, 2008. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
  4. 1 2 Slavik, Nathan (March 14, 2008). "Fat Joe - The Elephant In The Room". DJBooth. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  5. 1 2 Mcooper (March 10, 2008). "Fat Joe - Elephant In The Room". HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  6. 1 2 Westhoff, Ben (April 2, 2008). "Fat Joe - CD Reviews". The Phoenix. Phoenix Media/Communications Group. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  7. 1 2 Padania, Jesal (March 18, 2008). "Feature for March 18, 2008 - Fat Joe's "The Elephant in the Room"". RapReviews. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  8. ↑ Detrick, Ben (April 15, 2008). "Fat Joe, "The Elephant in the Room" : VIBE.com". Web.archive.org. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  9. ↑ Cohen, Jonathan (March 19, 2008). "Ross Zooms By 'NOW,' Snoop To Debut At No. 1". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  10. ↑ "The Elephant In The Room by Fat Joe". aCharts.co. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  11. ↑ "The Elephant in the Room - Fat Joe | Credits". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Fat Joe – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Fat Joe. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Fat Joe – Chart history" Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums for Fat Joe. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
  14. ↑ "2008 Year-End: R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
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