Lyricist Lounge, Volume One

Lyricist Lounge, Volume One is the second hip hop compilation album by American record label Rawkus Records. The double-disc was released on May 5, 1998, as the first installment of the Lyricist Lounge album series, based on New York's Lyricist Lounge showcases.

Lyricist Lounge, Volume One
Compilation album by
various artists
ReleasedMay 5, 1998 (1998-05-05)
Recorded1997−1998
Studio
Various
    • Temple of Soul (New York City)
    • Firehouse (New York City)
    • The Chop Shop (New Jersey)
    • Animation Sound (New York City)
    • Ozone (New York City)
    • Soundtrack (New York City)
    • Poke's Crib (Staten Island)
    • Animal Tracks (Brooklyn)
    • D's House (Brooklyn)
    • Platinum Island (New York City)
    • Unique (New York City)
    • Mark Dann (New York City)
    • Rawkus (New York City)
    • The Red October Chemical Storage Facility (Los Angeles)
    • Circus (Brooklyn)
    • Westlake Audio (Los Angeles)
GenreHip hop
Length2:13:47
LabelRawkus Records
Producer
Various artists chronology
Soundbombing
(1997)
Lyricist Lounge, Volume One
(1998)
Soundbombing 2
(1999)
Singles from Lyricist Lounge, Volume One
  1. "Body Rock"
    Released: March 3, 1998
  2. "C.I.A. (Criminals In Action)"
    Released: November 10, 1998
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Robert Christgau(1-star Honorable Mention)[2]
The Source[3]

Recording sessions took place at Temple of Soul, Firehouse Studios, at Animation Sound, at Ozone Studios, at Soundtrack Studios, at Poke's Crib, at Animal Tracks Studios, at D's House, at Platinum Island Studios, at Unique Studios, at Mark Dann Recording Studios, at Rawkus Studios and at Circus Studios in New York City, at The Chop Shop in New Jersey, at the Red October Chemical Storage Facility in Los Angeles with additional recording at Westlake Audio.

Production was handled by Shawn J Period, 88-Keys, Kenny Diaz, Will Tell, Charlemagne, Curt Cowdy, Cut Chemist, Derrick Trotman, DJ Nu-Mark, DJ Scratch, El-P, Ge-Ology, G.M., Hi-Tek, Keith Horne, Megahertz, Native Sun, Nottz, Saul Williams, Stix Bones and V.I.C., with Danny Castro, Ant Marshall and Perry Landsberg serving as executive producers.

It features contributions from Bahamadia, Black Thought, Common, Company Flow, De La Soul, Jurassic 5, Kool Keith, KRS-One, Mos Def, Natural Elements, O.C., Pharoahe Monch, Punchline, Q-Tip, Rah Digga, Ras Kass, Saul Williams, Shabaam Sahdeeq, Talib Kweli, Tash, The Last Emperor, Thirstin Howl III, Wordsworth and Zack de la Rocha among others.

The album peaked at number 167 on the Billboard 200 and 52 on the Top R&B Albums chart in the United States. It was preceded by two singles: "Body Rock" and "C.I.A. (Criminals In Action)". "Body Rock" peaked at #15 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart, #65 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, #29 on the Hot Rap Songs chart, and #11 on the Dance Singles Sales chart. "C.I.A. (Criminals In Action)" peaked at #33 on the Hot Rap Songs chart.

Track listing

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Disc 1: De La Soul Hosts the Lyricist Lounge at Tramps
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Street Promoters (Skit)" (performed by WiseGuy)
  • G. Thomas
  • Anthony Marshall
  • Danny Castro
 0:44
2."Intro" (performed by De La Soul)88-Keys1:41
3."Bring Hip Hop Back" (performed by Cipher Complete)
Megahertz3:55
4."Keep Pouring" (performed by Diaz Brothers, Matrix and A-Butta)
  • Kenny Diaz
  • C. Marshall
  • Anthony Cruz
Kenny Diaz5:29
5."Blood" (performed by Sarah Jones)
  • Sarah Jones
  • Franklin Brown
  • M. Jengkens
  • Stix Bones
  • Native Sun
5:13
6."Body Rock" (performed by Mos Def, Q-Tip and Tash)Shawn J Period5:11
7."Bathroom Cipher" (performed by Hazadus, J-Treds, Thirstin Howl III, Kwest tha Madd Ladd and I.G. Off)
  • F. Swinton
  • Jason Hill
  • Victor DeJesus
  • Thomas St. John
  • Christopher McKenzie
  • Njapa
88-Keys4:24
8."Da Cipher" (performed by Punchline and Wordsworth)Curt Gowdy4:09
9."Famous Last Words" (performed by Word A' Mouth)
Will Tell5:05
10."No Matter" (performed by Prime)
  • E. Louis
  • Derrick Trotman
Derrick Trotman5:20
11."Action Guaranteed" (performed by O.C. and Ras Kass)Shawn J Period5:24
12."All in My Own" (performed by Mike Zoot)
  • Michael Whyte
  • S. Jones
Shawn J Period7:33
13."The Phone Call (Skit)" (performed by WiseGuy and Wordsmith)
  • G. Thomas
  • V. Johnson
 1:03
14."Live from the D.J. Stretch Armstrong Show with Your Host Bobbito 'The Barber'" (performed by Black Thought, Common, Pharoahe Monch and Absolute)
  • V.I.C.
  • Shawn J Period
10:09
Disc 2: Kool Keith and Sir Menelik Host the Lyricist Lounge "Live" at Shea Stadium
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
15."Ohm" (performed by Saul Williams)
3:28
16."Intro" (performed by Kool Keith, Sir Menelik and Survival Soundz)
  • Keith Thornton
  • Phillip Collington
  • James Knight
  • Mario Moorehead
  • Tesfa Zawdie
  • Andrew Joseph
 1:35
17."Mayday" (performed by Natural Elements)
  • Cruz
  • Agu Obiakor
  • Len Lesmond
  • Henri Charlemagne
Charlemagne5:38
18."The Manifesto" (performed by Reflection Eternal)Hi-Tek5:44
19."Be OK" (performed by Bahamadia and Rah Digga)DJ Scratch5:44
20."Lyrics" (performed by A.L.)
  • Alex Mosquera
  • K. Diaz
Kenny Diaz3:47
21."Outside the Lounge" (performed by Talib Kweli, Shabaam Sahdeeq, WiseGuy, Word A' Mouth and Lil' Sci)
Will Tell7:07
22."Holy Water" (performed by Lord Have Mercy and D.V. Alias Khrist)
Nottz6:23
23."Jayou" (performed by Jurassic 5)4:04
24."C.I.A. (Criminals in Action)" (performed by Zack de la Rocha, KRS-One and The Last Emperor)Keith Horne5:20
25."Society" (performed by Problemz)
G.M.5:16
26."Weight" (performed by Indelible MC's: Company Flow, The Juggaknots and J-Treds)
6:13
27."After the Show" (performed by Wordsmith, Rise, Punchline, Jedi and A.L.)
  • V. Johnson
  • Jean Myrthil
  • Truell
  • M. Duffoo
  • Mosquera
  • Gerard Young
Ge-Ology8:08
Total length:2:13:47
Notes
  • Track 11 features additional vocals by Kimberly Diamonds
  • Track 12 features additional vocals by Shawn J Period
  • Track 17 features additional vocals by Ka
  • Track 24 features scratches by DJ Spinbad and DJ Daze
  • Track 25 features additional vocals by Nicole Willis
Sample credits
  • Track 3 contains a sample of "One Day" written by Jeru the Damaja and DJ Premier
  • Track 24 contains excerpts from "La Murga Pana Mena" written by Perez and Willie Colón as performed by Cal Tjader
  • Track 25 contains an interpolation of "Our Ages Our Hearts"

Charts

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Chart (1998) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[4] 167
US Top R&B Albums (Billboard)[5] 52

Singles chart positions

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Year Song Chart positions
US Hot 100 US R&B US Rap US Dance
1998 "Body Rock" 115 65 29 11
"C.I.A. (Criminals In Action)" 33

References

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  1. ^ Stanley, Leo. "Lyricist Lounge, Vol. 1 - Various Artists | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  2. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: Album: Lyricist Lounge, Vol. 1". www.robertchristgau.com. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  3. ^ Callahan-Bever, Noah (June 1998). "Record Report: Various Artists – Lyricist Lounge Vol. 1". The Source. No. 105. New York. p. 165.
  4. ^ "Billboard 200 Chart: Week of May 23, 1998". Billboard. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  5. ^ "Top R&B Albums". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 24. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. June 13, 1998. p. 26. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
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