20/20 is the fourth studio album by American hip hop trio Dilated Peoples. It was released on February 21, 2006, through ABB/Capitol Records. Recording sessions took place at Soundproof East in Los Angeles, at Al Gibbs Mobile Studio, Capelton's Room, at Ameraycan Studios in Burbank and at Daddy's Room in Corona. Production was handled by members Evidence and DJ Babu, as well as Alchemist, Sid Roams and Porse. It features guest appearances from Capleton, Defari, Krondon and Talib Kweli. The album debuted at number 97 on the Billboard 200 and number 35 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums in the United States. It also made it to number 56 on the Swiss Hitparade.
| 20/20 | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 21, 2006 | |||
| Recorded | 2005 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 55:19 | |||
| Label |
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| Producer | ||||
| Dilated Peoples chronology | ||||
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| Singles from 20/20 | ||||
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The album was preceded by two singles: "Back Again" and "You Can't Hide, You Can't Run". Its lead single, "Back Again", peaked at No. 98 on the UK Singles Chart, and appeared in the EA Sports videogame Fight Night Round 3 and Sony Computer Entertainment videogame MLB 06: The Show.
Critical reception
edit| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 63/100[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| HipHopDX | 3.5/5[3] |
| Now |   [4] |
| PopMatters | 7/10[5] |
| RapReviews | 8/10[6] |
| Rolling Stone | [7] |
| Spin | B[8] |
| The A.V. Club | C+[9] |
| The Guardian | [10] |
| The Skinny | [11] |
20/20 was met with generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 63, based on fourteen reviews.[1]
NOW magazine reviewer praised the album calling it "rife with brow-raising darts and the mindblowing beats to match, outstripping the last two Dilated records and threatening the alignment of your neck vertebrae in the process".[4] Steve 'Flash' Juon of RapReviews stated that "that will serve their core audience well".[6] Spin critic marked "DJ Babu's soulful, pyrotechnic turntablism straddles the indie-mainstream divide".[8] Michael Frauenhofer of PopMatters found the album "essentially front-loaded, packing its most powerful punch in the first few tracks and then simmering to a lower level of heat".[5]
In mixed reviews, AllMusic's David Jeffries wrote: "while 20/20 might be a shade too unambitious for casual listeners expecting another Expansion Team, DP heads looking to kick back and listen get plenty of pure underground to devour".[2] Peter Relic of Rolling Stone found it "less a great album than a group of scattershot bangers".[7] Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club wrote: "Dilated Peoples' orthodox appeal has always been its aversion to gimmicks and flash, but on this underwhelming album the venerable trio offer little in the way of humor or excitement, either".[9]
In a negative review, David Peschek of The Guardian wrote: "what 20/20 does best is portentousness and the empty brag - essentially male traits that make listening rather like being hectored by the pub bore".[10]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Green Trees" (featuring Dr. Greenthumb) | Evidence | 0:40 | |
| 2. | "Back Again" | Alchemist | 4:00 | |
| 3. | "You Can't Hide, You Can't Run" |
| Evidence | 4:17 |
| 4. | "Alarm Clock Music" |
| DJ Babu | 5:20 |
| 5. | "Olde English" (featuring Defari) |
| Sid Roams | 4:13 |
| 6. | "Kindness for Weakness" (featuring Talib Kweli) |
| Evidence | 4:07 |
| 7. | "Another Sound Mission" |
| Sid Roams | 3:16 |
| 8. | "Rapid Transit" (featuring Krondon) |
| Evidence | 6:19 |
| 9. | "The Eyes Have It" |
| DJ Babu | 4:18 |
| 10. | "Satellite Radio" |
| Evidence | 4:15 |
| 11. | "Firepower (The Tables Have to Turn)" (featuring Capleton) |
|
| 5:09 |
| 12. | "The One and Only" |
| DJ Babu | 4:43 |
| 13. | "20/20" |
| Alchemist | 4:42 |
| Total length: | 55:19 | |||
| No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14. | "Alarm Clock Music" (Remix) | DJ Babu | 3:57 |
- Sample credits
- Track 3 contains a sample from "Send Me" written by Charles McCloud and performed by Roslyn and Charles.
- Track 4 contains a sample from "Goodbye Surprise" written and performed by Brian Protheroe.
- Track 6 contains a sample from "Don't Take My Kindness For Weakness" written by James Banks, Eddie Marion, Henderson Thigpen and William Toles and performed by The Soul Children.
Personnel
edit- Michael "Evidence" Peretta – vocals, producer (tracks: 1, 3, 6, 8, 10, 11), recording (tracks: 1-6, 8-11, 13), mixing (track 1), executive producer
- Rakaa "Iriscience" Taylor – vocals, recording (tracks: 1-6, 8-11, 13), mixing (track 1), executive producer
- Chris "DJ Babu" Oroc – scratches, producer (tracks: 4, 9, 11, 12), recording (tracks: 1-6, 8-13), mixing (track 1), executive producer
- Dodee Westbeach – vocals (track 1)
- Kenny Morrison – vocals (track 1)
- Simon "Dirt Nasty" Rex – additional vocals (track 1)
- Duane A. "Defari" Johnson Jr. – vocals (track 5)
- Talib Kweli – vocals (track 6)
- Marvin "Krondon" Jones – vocals (track 8)
- Jason "Phil Da Agony" Smith – additional vocals (track 8)
- Noelle Scaggs – additional vocals (track 8)
- Clifton "Capleton" Bailey – vocals (track 11)
- Jeff Babko – keyboards (tracks: 3, 8, 12), bass (track 8)
- Alan "The Alchemist" Maman – producer (tracks: 2, 13)
- Joey Chavez – producer (tracks: 5, 7)
- Tavish "Bravo" Graham – producer (tracks: 5, 7)
- David "Porse" Straume – producer (track 11)
- Richard "Segal" Huredia – mixing (track: 2, 3, 5-7, 9, 13)
- Troy Staton – mixing (tracks: 4, 10-12), recording (track 11)
- Manny Marroquin – mixing (track 8)
- Michael "Mixing Finga" Stewart – recording (track 11)
- Scott Elgin – engineering assistant (tracks: 5-7, 9)
- Jared Robbins – engineering assistant (track 8)
- Ian Suddarth – engineering assistant (track 10)
- Rob Montes – engineering assistant (track 11)
- Brian "Big Bass" Gardner – mastering
- Ben "Beni B" Nickleberry Jr. – executive producer
- Brent Rollins – art direction
- Nabil Elderkin – photography
- Brigitte Wright – management
- Steve Davis – management
Charts
edit| Chart (2006) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[12] | 56 |
| UK R&B Albums (OCC)[13] | 10 |
| US Billboard 200[14] | 97 |
| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[15] | 35 |
References
edit- ^ a b "Critic Reviews for 20/20 - Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
- ^ a b Jeffries, David. "Dilated Peoples - 20/20 Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
- ^ Ryce, Jeff (February 27, 2006). "Dilated Peoples - 20/20". HipHopDX. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
- ^ a b "DILATED PEoPLES - NOW Magazine". NOW Toronto. February 16, 2006. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
- ^ a b Frauenhofer, Michael (March 14, 2006). "Dilated Peoples: 20/20, PopMatters". PopMatters. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
- ^ a b Juon, Steve 'Flash' (February 28, 2006). "Dilated Peoples :: 20/20 – RapReviews". www.rapreviews.com. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
- ^ a b Relic, Peter (March 6, 2006). "20/20 : Dilated Peoples : Review : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 4, 2007. Retrieved September 3, 2023 – via Wayback Machine.
- ^ a b "Reviews". SPIN. Vol. 22, no. 4. SPIN Media LLC. April 2006. p. 91. ISSN 0886-3032. Retrieved September 3, 2023 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b Rabin, Nathan (February 28, 2006). "Dilated Peoples: 20/20". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
- ^ a b Peschek, David (February 17, 2006). "Dilated Peoples, 20/20". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
- ^ Lindstrom, Marie (March 17, 2006). "Dilated Peoples - '20/20' | The Skinny". The Skinny. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Dilated Peoples – 20/20". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
- ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
- ^ "The Billboard 200". Billboard. Vol. 118, no. 10. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. March 11, 2006. p. 52. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
- ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Vol. 118, no. 10. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. March 11, 2006. p. 57. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
External links
edit- Dilated Peoples – 20/20 at Discogs (list of releases)