''Block Music'' is the second solo studio album by American rapper

Shawnna Rashawnna Guy (born January 3, 1978), better known by her stage name Shawnna, is an American rapper. She was the first female artist signed to Def Jam South through Ludacris' Disturbing tha Peace Records. She is a former member of the female Chi ...

. It was released on June 6, 2006 on Def Jam South Recordings and

Disturbing tha Peace Disturbing tha Peace Records (DTP) is an American record label founded by Ludacris, Jeff Dixon, and Chaka Zulu. History Beginnings Disturbing tha Peace was founded in 1998 by Christopher "Ludacris" Bridges, manager Chaka Zulu, and Zulu's brother ...

. Production was handled by several record producers, including Vudu, 110% Pure,

Chucky Thompson Carl Edward "Chucky" Thompson Jr. (July 12, 1968 – August 9, 2021) was an American hip hop and R&B record producer. Biography Thompson was born in Washington, D.C., in 1968. He was a member of Bad Boy Entertainment's " Hitmen" team of in-ho ...

J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League J.U.S.T.I.C.E. (Just Undeniably Some of The Illest Composers Ever) League is an American record production team composed of producers and instrumentalists from Tampa, Florida. The group is made up of members Erik "Rook" Ortiz, Kevin "Colion ...

and

Salaam Remi Salaam Remi Gibbs (born May 14, 1972) is a Grammy winning American record producer known for his association with Nas, Amy Winehouse, Robby, Fugees, Fergie, Estelle, Black Thought, and Miguel, and for his reggae-tinged (often referred to as ...

. It features guest appearances from

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray V ...

Ludacris Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, homophonous with 'ludicrous' in American English), is an American rapper, actor, record producer and record executive. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludac ...

Avant AVANT, also known as AVANT street art guerrilla collective, was the artist group active in New York City from 1980 to 1984. By 1984 AVANT had produced thousands of acrylic on paper paintings and plastered them on walls, doors, bus-stops and gallerie ...

Bobby V Bobby Marcel Wilson (born February 27, 1980), better known by his stage name Bobby V (also known as Bobby Valentino), is an American R&B singer. He was first a member of the R&B group Mista in 1994, before signing to rapper Ludacris through h ...

I-20 Interstate 20 (I‑20) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I-20 runs beginning at an interchange with I-10 in Scroggins Draw, Texas, and ending at an interchange with I-95 in Florence, South Carolina. Between ...

, Johnny P.,

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman (rapper), ...

Malik Yusef Malik Yusef El Shabazz Jones (born April 4, 1971) is an American spoken word artist, poet, rapper, writer, composer, producer and director based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Early life He was raised in Chicago's South Side neighborho ...

Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he ...

Shareefa Shareefa Faradah Cooper (born March 12, 1984), known professionally as Shareefa, is an American R&B singer. Shareefa has lived in Charlotte, North Carolina. She signed with Disturbing tha Peace/Def Jam Recordings in 2005. Her first single, "Nee ...

, Smoke of

Field Mob Field Mob is an American hip hop duo from Albany, Georgia, composed of artists Shawn Timothy "Shawn Jay" Johnson and Darion "Smoke" Crawford. Field Mob is currently signed to T-Pain's label Nappy Boy Entertainment and managed by La' Roc Managem ...

Syleena Johnson Syleena Johnson ( Thompson; September 2, 1976) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and television presenter from Chicago, Illinois. Personal life Johnson is the daughter of 1960s R&B Hi Records singer Syl Johnson and Brenda Thompson, wh ...

Too Short Todd Anthony Shaw (born April 28, 1966), better known by the stage name Too Short (stylized as Too $hort), is an American rapper and record producer. He became famous in the West Coast hip hop scene in the late 1980s, with lyrics often based on ...

8Ball & MJG 8Ball & MJG is an American hip hop duo from Memphis, Tennessee. They met at Ridgeway Middle School (Memphis, Tennessee) in 1984. In 1993, the duo released their debut album ''Comin' Out Hard''. They went on to release ''On the Outside Looking In ...

. The album peaked at number 13 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Its lead single, " Gettin' Some", was certified platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

Critical reception

''Block Music'' garnered positive reviews from

music critic ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mus ...

s praising Shawnna's improvement as a rapper in terms of lyrical content and tonal delivery. Andy Kellman of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

gave high praise to Shawnna's ability to portray different emotions and deliver topics with complex writing over energetic production, saying that, "With a surprising level of depth and a more complementary set of productions, ''Block Music'' makes '' Worth tha Weight'' – a decent album in its own right – seem like a clumsy warm-up." Alvin Blanco of '' XXL'' also commended Shawnna for side-stepping her usual sex-filled braggadocio to reveal more introspective material delivered in both hard-hitting and soft-spoken styles, concluding that "Offering up more of herself this go-round, Shawnna shows considerable growth. Maybe now she can finally get some… props."

Track listing

Charts

References

External links

* 2006 albums Shawnna albums Def Jam Recordings albums Disturbing tha Peace albums Albums produced by Salaam Remi Albums produced by J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League {{2006-hiphop-album-stub