''D12 World'' is the second and final

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

Detroit hip hop Detroit, Michigan, is a major center in the United States for the creation and performance of music, and is best known for three developments: Motown, early punk rock (or proto-punk), and techno. The Metro Detroit area has a rich musical hi ...

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

D12 D12 (an initialism for The Dirty Dozen) was an American hip hop collective from Detroit, Michigan. Formed in 1996, the group achieved mainstream success with its lineup of ''de facto'' leader Eminem, Proof, Bizarre, Mr. Porter, Kuniva and Swift ...

, released on April 27, 2004. The album sold 544,000 copies in its first week on the U.S. Billboard 200. The album is also the last D12 release to feature

Proof Proof most often refers to: * Proof (truth), argument or sufficient evidence for the truth of a proposition * Alcohol proof, a measure of an alcoholic drink's strength Proof may also refer to: Mathematics and formal logic * Formal proof, a con ...

before his death in 2006, and the second D12 album to feature Bugz on a track.

Background

In memory of Bugz, who was killed prior to a concert on May 21, 1999, the group recorded the track "Good Die Young" in memory of him. The album also includes a skit entitled "Bugz '97", which is a 1997 recording of Bugz, originally taken from the song "Desperados". The group was often overshadowed by

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

's massive success, and as such, the group toured without him for promotion of the album (but the album still reached the top of the US Billboard chart). At the time, Eminem was busy recording ''

Encore An encore is an additional performance given by performers after the planned show has ended, usually in response to extended applause from the audience.Lalange Cochrane, in ''Oxford Companion to Music'', Alison Latham, ed., Oxford University Pres ...

''. Although shadowed by Eminem's success, members Bizarre and

managed to prevail with mildly successful solo careers following ''D12 World'', with the releases of ''

Hannicap Circus ''Hannicap Circus'' is the debut solo studio album by American rapper Bizarre. It was released on June 28, 2005 via Sanctuary Urban. Production was handled by several record producers, including Hi-Tek, Mr. Porter, Eminem and Erick Sermon. It f ...

'' and ''

Searching for Jerry Garcia ''Searching for Jerry Garcia'' is the second and final studio album by Detroit rapper Proof of D12, released on August 9, 2005. It was the only solo album that Proof released on a major record label before his death. The album is named after Gra ...

'', respectively, in 2005. Before the album's release, "6 in the Morning" was featured on Eminem's 2003

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 ...

Straight from the Lab ''Straight from the Lab'', is a 2003 bootleg mixtape consisting of previously unreleased songs by Eminem. The songs on the mixtape were scheduled to be released the following year on Eminem's fifth studio album, ''Encore''. Songs * "Can-I ...

'' and was entitled "Come On In".

Singles

The album produced two singles,

My Band "My Band" is a song by American hip hop group D12. It was released in March 2004 as the first single from their second album ''D12 World''. The song is a parody of the false concept that Eminem is the lead singer of the "band" D12. The single bec ...

and

How Come "How Come" is a song by the American rap group D12. It was released in June 2004 as the second single from their second album '' D12 World''. The song was certified Gold by the RIAA. Content The song is about the relationship between the memb ...

, which were released on March 14, 2004 and June 8, 2004, respectively.

Production

The album was executively produced by Eminem, who also handled most of the

audio production Sound design is the art and practice of creating sound tracks for a variety of needs. It involves specifying, acquiring or creating auditory elements using audio production techniques and tools. It is employed in a variety of disciplines including ...

for the album along with

Denaun Porter Denaun Porter (born December 7, 1974), also known by the stage names Mr. Porter, Kon Artis, and more recently simply Denaun, is an American rapper and music producer. He was a member of Detroit hip hop group D12 until its disbandment in 2018. ...

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 ...

Essman Essman is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Rauni Essman (1918–1999), Finnish sprinter * Susie Essman (born 1955), American stand-up comedian, actress, writer, and television producer {{surname ...

Hi-Tek Tony Cottrell, better known as Hi-Tek (born May 5, 1976), is an American rapper and record producer from Cincinnati, Ohio. He is best known for his work with Talib Kweli. His father is singer Willie Cottrell of the Willie Cottrell Band, whom Hi- ...

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

, Luis Resto,

Mike Elizondo Mike Elizondo (born October 22, 1972) is an American producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. A protege of Dr. Dre, Elizondo has worked with 50 Cent, Eminem, Carrie Underwood, Fiona Apple, Mastodon, Ry Cooder, Skylar Grey, Twenty ...

, Night & Day,

Red Spyda Andy "Red Spyda" Thelusma is an American hip hop producer who has worked on many songs for artists including 50 Cent, D-Block, Mobb Deep, Amerie, D12, and G-Unit. Other notable works by Red Spyda have included his contributions to the in-game ...

Trackboyz The Trackboyz are an American hip hop production team consisting of Mark "Tarboy" Williams Joe "Capo" Kent, Travis "Tizzle" Miller, Marlon "Tracmajor" Byrd, Rodrick "PubG" Finch & DJ D-Rocc from St. Louis, Missouri. Among the hits they have en ...

and Witt & Pep. Guest appearances on the album included

Obie Trice Obie Trice III (born November 14, 1977) is an American rapper. He was signed to fellow Detroit rapper Eminem's Shady Records in 2002, where he released the albums ''Cheers'' (2003) and ''Second Round's on Me'' (2006). Trice formed his own record ...

, Dina Rae,

Young Zee Dewayne Battle (born December 24, 1970), known professionally as Young Zee, is an American underground hip hop emcee. He was a former member of the Outsidaz, alongside Pacewon. Career Outsidaz The Outsidaz, a large hip hop crew that became t ...

and

B-Real Louis Mario Freese (born June 2, 1970), known by his stage name B-Real, is an American rapper. Since 1991, he has been one of two lead rappers in the hip hop group Cypress Hill, along with Sen Dog. He has also been a part of the rap metal band ...

Commercial performance

''D12 World'' debuted at the top of the US, UK, Irish, Canadian, Australian and NZ albums charts. It debuted at number 2 in Germany and also in the top 5 in Switzerland and Norway. It debuted in the top 10 in Sweden, Denmark, France, Belgium and the Netherlands. It sold about 544,000 records in its first week of release in the United States alone. Debuting at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200, the album ended the first five-week run of singer Usher's best-selling album, ''Confessions''. On the week of May 22, 2004, Usher's ''Confessions'' regained the ''Billboard'' 200's number-one spot, sending ''D12 World'' to number two. The album went on to have the best performing first-week sales for a hip hop release of that year until the release of Eminem's ''Encore'' that November. Ultimately the album was certified double platinum, having a twenty-eight week stay on the chart overall. The album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart with approximately 76,666 copies sold during the first week of release. Ultimately the album was certified platinum; total sales of the album stand at 323,649 as of December 2017. "

", the first single, was also successful, reaching number one in Australia and on the US Rhythmic Top 40, the Top 5 in the UK and Germany, and Top 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Critical reception

Upon release, ''D12 World'' received mixed reviews from critics. At

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 58, based on 13 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Track listing

Notes * signifies an additional producer. * signifies a co-producer. *The skit "Bugz" is taken from the song "Desperados", performed by DJ Butter, Eminem, Proof, Bugz & the Almighty Dreadnaughtz. *The song "Just Like U" does not appear on the clean version of the album. *The song "Get My Gun" is an unlockable song in the 2006 open-world game Scarface: The World Is Yours. *The song "Barbershop" can be found on the '' Barbershop 2: Back in Business'' soundtrack. *The clean version of the album allows "ass" to be uncensored but few uses of the word "hell", some references to alcohol use, most references to drugs, sexual content, and violence are edited out, although all sound effects remain intact. *The song "6 In The Morning (Come On In)" was leaked in the bootleg mixtape

Straight From The Lab ''Straight from the Lab'', is a 2003 bootleg mixtape consisting of previously unreleased songs by Eminem. The songs on the mixtape were scheduled to be released the following year on Eminem's fifth studio album, ''Encore''. Songs * "Can-I ...

Sample credits *The song "Git Up" contains a sample from "

The Name Game "The Name Game" is a song co-written and performed by Shirley Ellis as a rhyming game that creates variations on a person's name. She explains through speaking and singing how to play the game. The first verse is done using Ellis's first name; t ...

" by

Shirley Ellis Shirley Marie O'Garra (stage name Shirley Ellis, married name Shirley Elliston; January 19, 1929 – October 5, 2005) was an American soul music singer and songwriter of West Indian heritage. She is best known for her novelty hits "The Nitty Grit ...

*The song "Just Like U" contains a sample from "Sir Galahad" by

Rick Wakeman Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboardist best known as a former member of the progressive rock band Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004, and for his solo albums released in the 1970s. Born and raised ...

. *The song "U R the One" contains a sample from "Girl Callin'" by

Chocolate Milk Chocolate milk is a type of flavoured milk made by mixing cocoa solids with milk (either dairy or plant-based). It is a food pairing in which the milk's mouthfeel masks the dietary fibres of the cocoa solids. Types The liquid carbohydrate ...

*The song "Good Die Young" contains a sample from " Screen Kiss" by

Thomas Dolby Thomas Morgan Robertson (born 14 October 1958), known by the stage name Thomas Dolby, is an English musician, producer, composer, entrepreneur and teacher. Dolby came to prominence in the 1980s, releasing hit singles including "She Blinded Me ...

*The song "Keep Talkin'" contains samples from "Tortuga" by Starwood and "

Halftime In several team sports, matches are played in two halves. Half-time (also written halftime or half time) is the name given to the interval between the two halves of the match. Typically, after half-time, teams swap ends of the field of play in or ...

" by

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

Personnel

* B-Real – Guest Appearance * Steve Baughman – Mixing * Rondell Beene – Skit * Bizarre – Skit * Joe Borges – Assistant * Bugz – Skit * Tony Campana – Engineer * Richard Castro – Skit * Larry Chatman – Project Coordinator * Mike "Chav" Chavarria – Engineer * D12 – Group * Dr. Dre – Producer, Mixing * Mike Elizondo – Keyboards * Eminem – Producer, Executive Producer, Mixing, Skit * Essman – Producer * 50 Cent – Skit * Brian "Big Bass" Gardener – Mastering * Marcus Heisser – A&R * Richard Hunt – Engineer * Steven King – Bass, Guitar, Engineer, Mixing, Skit * Kuniva – Skit * Marc Labelle – A&R * Tracy McNew – A&R * Riggs Morales – A&R * Night and Day – Producer * Red Spyda – Keyboards, Producer * Luis Resto – Keyboards, Producer * Michael Strange – Engineer * Obie Trice – Guest Appearance * Sacha Waldman – Photography * Young Zee – Skit * Kanye West – Producer * Paul Williams - Songwriter * J.R. Rotem - Keyboards, Songwriter

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

AllMusic review
* {{Authority control 2004 albums D12 albums Shady Records albums Albums produced by Dr. Dre Albums produced by Kanye West Albums produced by Hi-Tek Albums produced by Mr. Porter Albums produced by Eminem Albums produced by Mike Elizondo Horrorcore albums