''Black Friday'' is the eighth

mixtape A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...

by American hip hop recording artist

Jay Rock Johnny Reed McKinzie Jr. (born March 31, 1983), better known by his stage name Jay Rock, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter from Los Angeles. He signed to indie label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), in 2005. Under TDE, Rock secured a rec ...

. It was released on November 26, 2010, for free download and then on December 7, 2010, via

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

and

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...

, under

Top Dawg Entertainment Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) is an American independent record label founded in 2004, by CEO Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith. Terrence "Punch" Henderson is president of the label. There are currently eleven artists signed to the label: the label's f ...

. It was Jay Rock's last mixtape before the release of his debut studio album '' Follow Me Home''.

Background

The mixtape was interactive as it gained some of its tracks thanks to fans' feedback on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

and fans also helped shape the album cover. Music videos were released for "No Joke", "Diary of a Broke Nigga" and "Get on Your Shit".

Lyrics, production and themes

The lyrics stay true to the typical rags-to-riches street narrative style, adding a sense of regularity to the mixtape, though it rarely crosses over into redundancy, thanks to Jay Rock's delivery. The production embodies astral atmospheric sounds that evoke feelings of an urban cement dreamscape over the traditional hip-hop elements. "Walk by Me" production was described as trademark

G-Funk G-funk, short for gangsta funk, is a sub-genre of gangsta rap that emerged from the West Coast scene in the late 1980s. The genre is heavily influenced by 1970s psychedelic funk (P-funk) sound of artists such as Parliament-Funkadelic. Characte ...

synth on steady loop over the deep groove of drums and bass. The mixtapes themes were described as "street" related and Rock's rapping was described as "reality rap". Ology described the mixtape as a "street narrative"

Guests and production

The mixtape features

guest appearance In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other p ...

s from

Black Hippy Black Hippy is an American hip hop supergroupKendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his Progressive rap, progressive musical styles and Social consciousness, socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most infl ...

Schoolboy Q Quincy Matthew Hanley (born October 26, 1986), better known by his stage name Schoolboy Q (stylized as ScHoolboy Q), is an American rapper. In 2009, Hanley signed to Carson-based independent record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) and in late ...

and

Ab-Soul Herbert Anthony Stevens IV (born February 23, 1987), better known by his stage name Ab-Soul, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter. Raised in Carson, California, he signed to indie record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) in 2007, where ...

along with

Big Scoob Stewart D. Ashby Jr. (born May 9, 1973) better known by his stage name Big Scoob is an American rapper from Kansas City, Missouri, who records for Strange Music. Early life Big Scoob spent his late adolescence and part of his early adulthood ...

Trae Tha Truth Frazier Othel Thompson III (born July 3, 1980), better known by his stage name Trae tha Truth (or simply Trae), is an American rapper and record executive from Houston, Texas. Embarking on a musical career in 1998, he soon established himself ...

and

Spider Loc Curtis Williams (born January 19, 1976), more commonly known as Spider Loc, is an American rapper and actor. He was formerly signed to Interscope Records and 50 Cent's G-Unit Records. Biography Spider Loc was discovered by Suge Knight and ...

among others. The

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

was handled by Focus..., Crada and

DJ Khalil Khalil Abdul-Rahman Hazzard (born October 16, 1973), professionally known as DJ Khalil, is an American music producer and DJ from Los Angeles. He is the instrumental half of the hip hop duo Self Scientific (along with rapper Chace Infinite) an ...

, as well as in-house

producers Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

from

, such as

Willie B Willie B. (C. 1957 - February 2, 2000) was a western lowland gorilla who lived at the Zoo of Atlanta for 39 years, from 1961 until his death on February 2, 2000. He was named after the former mayor of Atlanta, William Berry Hartsfield. Willi ...

and

Sounwave Mark Anthony Spears, known professionally as Sounwave, is an American hip-hop producer and songwriter from Compton, California, and an original member of the Californian hip-hop label Top Dawg Entertainment. Sounwave has worked on every Kendrick ...

, representing

Digi+Phonics Digi may refer to: * Short for "digital" as in digicam, digiscale, digiscrap, digibee *Digi Communications, a Romanian telecommunications company in Romania, Hungary, Spain and Italy *Digi International, an American electronics manufacturer *Digi-K ...

Critical reception

''Black Friday'' received critical acclaim upon its release. It was named the 83rd best mixtape of 2010 by XXL and described as a "banger". Ab-Soul's features were widely praised by critics.

Track listing

; Samples * "Still in the Hood" samples "Fully Loaded Clip" by

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...

. * "Kush Freestyle" samples "

Kush Kush or Cush may refer to: Bible * Cush (Bible), two people and one or more places in the Hebrew Bible Places * Kush (mountain), a mountain near Kalat, Pakistan Balochistan * Kush (satrapy), a satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire * Hindu Kush, a m ...

" by

Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...

. * "Diary of a Broke Nigga" samples "What's Your Name" by The Moments. * "Shadow of Death" samples "Dance Music" by

R. D. Burman Rahul Dev Burman (27 June 1939 – 4 January 1994) was an Indian music director who is considered one of the most influential composers of India. From the 1960s to the 1990s, Burman composed musical scores for 331 films. Burman did major work w ...

References

{{Authority control 2010 mixtape albums Jay Rock albums Top Dawg Entertainment albums Albums produced by Sounwave Strange Music mixtape albums