All or Nothing (Fat Joe album)

All or Nothing is the sixth solo studio album by American rapper Fat Joe. It was released on June 14, 2005, through Atlantic Records, making it his fourth and final studio album for the label. The album was originally slated to be titled Things of that Nature, but owing to his dispute with 50 Cent, changed the album to All or Nothing.[1]

All or Nothing
A black-and-white image of a serious-faced man, wearing a pinstripe dress shirt and white t-shirt. The artist's name is colored red.
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 14, 2005 (2005-06-14)
Studio
GenreHip hop
Length63:10
Label
Producer
Fat Joe chronology
True Story
(2004)
All or Nothing
(2005)
Me, Myself & I
(2006)
Singles from All or Nothing
  1. "So Much More"
    Released: March 1, 2005
  2. "Get It Poppin'"
    Released: May 29, 2005

Recording sessions took place at Jerusalem Studios, The Record Room and Lil Jon's Crib in Miami, at Baseline Recording Studios, Sound on Sound Studios and Battery Studios in New York City, and at Stankonia Recordings in Atlanta.

Production was handled by Cool & Dre, DJ Khaled, StreetRunner, Just Blaze, Lil' Jon, L.V., Nasty Beatmakers, Scott Storch, Swizz Beatz, The Runners and Timbaland. It features guest appearances from Eminem, Jennifer Lopez, Lil' Jon, Ma$e, Mashonda, Nelly, Remy Ma and R. Kelly.

The album received generally positive reviews from music critics. All or Nothing debuted at number six on the Billboard 200 and number two on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, selling 106,500 copies in the first week in the United States.[2] It was preceded with two charted singles: "So Much More" and "Get It Poppin'".

Critical reception

edit
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [3]
The Guardian     [4]
HipHopDX     [5]
IGN(6.7/10)[6]
musicOMH(favorable)[7]
RapReviews(8/10)[8]
Rolling Stone     [9]
SpinB+[10]
Stylus MagazineB−[11]
USA Today    [12]

Steve 'Flash' Juon of RapReviews found the record to be much more than its first two singles, praising the beats for emitting a fiery energy throughout the track listing and Joe's performance for being similar to The Notorious B.I.G. in terms of delivering both crossover radio singles and hardcore bangers, concluding that "Fat Joe is nobody's joke any more - he goes for "All or Nothing" on this album and in doing so even serves notice to competitors for that dapper throne that it's not 50's to own. I think it's safe to say he doubled up on the bet".[8] AllMusic's Andy Kellman said it was similar to previous projects that Joe had done in the early 2000s and gave note to Cool & Dre's work being up to par with their more well-known contemporaries, concluding that "While [Fat] Joe has yet to come up with a landmark album, he also hasn't released a dud since his 1993 debut".[3] Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone was concerned about the vast producers and guest artists throughout the album but said that Joe's macho persona and no-frills lyricism had enough variations to carry it.[9] Spin credited the record for Just Blaze's production on "Safe 2 Say" and the Nelly collaboration "Get It Poppin'", calling it "A best-yet mix of the New York hardcore hip-hop that keeps this 50 Cent rival vital and the radio-friendly floor fillers that pad his bank account".[10]

A writer for HipHopDX commended the album for having standout party bangers and street tracks courtesy of Cool & Dre but felt the overall package was below the standards Joe set for himself against 50 Cent and G-Unit, concluding that "With the diverse variety of production and A-List features on All or Nothing it's safe to say that it could have been so, so much more".[5] Jim During of IGN saw promise in the record because of Just Blaze and Cool & Dre's contributions in the first-half, and Mase and Eminem's guest verses on the "Lean Back" remix, but said it loses that energy when it moves towards the crossover singles.[6] Entertainment Weekly writer Nick Marino commented on the lack of cohesiveness in Joe's musicianship, saying "he can’t quite integrate his machismo and vulnerability into seamless artistry". He concluded that "the result is a choppy gangsta party record, laced with sweetness".[13] Dorian Lynskey of The Guardian felt the track listing was nothing more than a typical rapper's checklist, and found Joe's rhymes on "Lean Back (Remix)" to be "workmanlike plod" compared to Eminem's, calling All or Nothing a "makeweight mainstream hip hop album".[4]

Commercial performance

edit

All or Nothing debuted at number six on the US Billboard 200 chart, 106,000 copies in its first week.[2] This became Joe's second US top-ten debut.[2] The album also debuted at number two on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, becoming Joe's fourth top-ten album on this chart.[14] As of July 2006, the album has sold 293,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[15]

Track listing

edit
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Intro"
StreetRunner3:37
2."Does Anybody Know"4:41
3."Safe 2 Say (The Incredible)"Just Blaze4:01
4."So Much More"
Cool & Dre3:58
5."My Fofo"Cool & Dre3:55
6."Rock Ya Body"
Cool & Dre3:52
7."Listen Baby" (featuring Mashonda)Swizz Beatz3:35
8."Get It Poppin'" (featuring Nelly)
Scott Storch3:25
9."Temptation, Pt. 1"
DJ Khaled3:25
10."Temptation, Pt. 2"L.V.4:12
11."Everybody Get Up"Timbaland4:20
12."I Can Do U"
  • Cartagena
  • Lyon
  • Valenzano
Cool & Dre3:36
13."So Hot" (featuring R. Kelly)
  • Cartagena
  • Lyon
  • Valenzano
Cool & Dre3:27
14."Lean Back Remix" (featuring Mase, Eminem, Remy Ma and Lil' Jon)Lil' Jon4:50
15."Beat Novacane"
  • Cartagena
  • Khaled
DJ Khaled3:44
16."Hold You Down" (featuring Jennifer Lopez)
  • Cartagena
  • Warwar
StreetRunner7:04
Total length:1:03:12
Sample credits

Personnel

edit
  • Joseph "Fat Joe" Cartagena — vocals, executive producer
  • Mashonda Tifrere-Dean — vocals (track 7)
  • Cornell "Nelly" Haynes Jr. — vocals (track 8)
  • Robert Kelly — vocals (track 13)
  • Mason "Ma$e" Betha — vocals (track 14)
  • Marshall "Eminem" Mathers — vocals (track 14)
  • Reminisce "Remy Ma" Smith — vocals (track 14)
  • Jonathan "Lil' Jon" Smith — vocals & producer (track 14)
  • Jennifer Lopez — vocals (track 16)
  • Jackie Rubio — additional vocals (track 8)
  • Lenny "LVM" Mollings — guitar & producer (track 2)
  • Wilber "Mayne" Martin — keyboards (track 2)
  • Justin "Just Blaze" Smith — scratches & producer (track 3)
  • Donnie Lyle — guitar (track 13)
  • Craig Love — guitar (track 14)
  • LaMarquis Jefferson — bass (track 14)
  • Scott Storch — keyboards (track 14), producer (track 8)
  • Rob Mac — keyboards (track 14)
  • Nicholas "Streetrunner" Warwar — producer (tracks: 1, 16)
  • Johnny David "DJ Nasty" Mollings — producer (track 2)
  • Andrew Harr — producer (track 2)
  • Jermaine Jackson — producer (track 2)
  • Andre Lyon — producer (tracks: 4-6, 12, 13), executive producer
  • Marcello Valenzano — producer (tracks: 4-6, 12, 13), executive producer
  • Kaseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean — producer (track 7)
  • DJ Khaled — producer (tracks: 9, 15), executive producer
  • Levar "LV" Coppin — producer (track 10)
  • Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley — producer (track 11)
  • Adrian "Drop" Santalla — recording (tracks: 1, 7, 9-11, 14-16)
  • Ken "Duro" Ifill — mixing (tracks: 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 10, 12, 15, 16)
  • Javier Valverde — mixing assistant (tracks: 1, 9, 10, 15, 16)
  • Robert "Big Brizz" Brisbane — recording (tracks: 2, 4, 5, 8, 12, 13)
  • Patrick Johnson — mixing assistant (tracks: 2, 4, 5, 12, 13)
  • David Brown — recording (track 3)
  • Gimel "Young Guru" Keaton — mixing (track 3)
  • Scott Kieklak — mixing (track 5)
  • Joe Yannece — mastering (track 5)
  • Brian Lodato — recording (track 6)
  • Reed Taylor — recording assistant (track 6)
  • Josh Copp — recording assistant (track 7)
  • Chris Theis — mixing (track 7)
  • Arnold Mischkulnig — mixing assistant (track 7)
  • Serban Ghenea — mixing (tracks: 8, 13)
  • John Hanes — additional ProTools engineering (track 8)
  • Tim Roberts — additional ProTools engineering assistant (track 8)
  • Jimmy Douglass — recording (track 11)
  • John Frye — recording & mixing (track 14)
  • Mark Vinten — recording (track 14)
  • Chris Gehringer — mastering
  • Greg Gigendad Burke — art direction, design
  • Rage Johnson — illustration
  • Olaf Heine — photography
  • Rob "Reef" Tewlow — A&R
  • Sam "Bino" Taylor — A&R
  • Anne DeClemente — A&R
  • Deborah Mannis-Gardner — sample clearances

Charts

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Reid, Shaheem (September 16, 2004). "A Boastful Fat Joe Shows off His Things of That Nature". MTV. Archived from the original on August 16, 2022. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Whitmire, Margo (June 22, 2005). "Coldplay Holds Foos, Backstreet From No. 1". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 8, 2022. Retrieved October 26, 2011.
  3. ^ a b Kellman, Andy. "All or Nothing - Fat Joe". AllMusic. Archived from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
  4. ^ a b Lynskey, Dorian (July 15, 2011). "CD: Fat Joe, All Or Nothing". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on June 25, 2023. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
  5. ^ a b "Fat Joe - All or Nothing". HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group. June 14, 2005. Archived from the original on May 16, 2023. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
  6. ^ a b During, Jim (September 28, 2005). "Fat Joe - All Or Nothing". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on June 25, 2023. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
  7. ^ Kirke, Alexis (July 18, 2005). "Fat Joe – All Or Nothing". musicOMH. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
  8. ^ a b Juon, Steve 'Flash' (June 14, 2005). "Feature for June 14, 2005 - Fat Joe's "All or Nothing"". RapReviews. Archived from the original on June 27, 2022. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
  9. ^ a b Hoard, Christian (June 30, 2005). "Fat Joe: All Or Nothing". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Archived from the original on October 2, 2007. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
  10. ^ a b Spin (July 2005). "Breakdown". Spin. 21 (7). Spin Media LLC: 104. ISSN 0886-3032. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  11. ^ "Fat Joe - All Or Nothing - Review". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on June 18, 2015. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  12. ^ "Rap's Fat Joe gives us his 'All'". USA Today. Gannett. June 20, 2005. Archived from the original on December 8, 2022. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
  13. ^ Marino, Nick (June 20, 2005). "All or Nothing Review". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Archived from the original on October 15, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
  14. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: July 2, 2005". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 11, 2022. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  15. ^ "Fat Joe Splits Atlantic, Preps New Album". Billboard. July 27, 2006. Archived from the original on June 25, 2023. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  16. ^ "Fat Joe Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
  17. ^ "Fat Joe Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
  18. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2005". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 28, 2022. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
edit