''Hustlenomics'' (stylized as ''HUSTLENOMIC$'') is the second
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 ...
by American
rapper
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
Yung Joc
Jasiel Amon Robinson (born September 20, 1980), better known by his stage name Yung Joc, is an American rapper. He is best known for his 2006 hit single " It's Goin' Down". and as a feature on T-Pain's US number-one single "Buy U a Drank (Shawt ...
. It was released, by
Bad Boy Records
Bad Boy Records (or Bad Boy Entertainment) is an American record label founded in 1993 by rapper Sean "Puffy" Combs. It operates as an imprint of Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. It has been home to many artists, including ...
on August 28, 2007. The album contains the singles "
Coffee Shop" and "Bottle Poppin," both featuring rapper
Gorilla Zoe
Alonzo Keith Mathis Jr. (born January 27, 1981), better known by his stage name Gorilla Zoe (), is an American rapper originally from East Point, Georgia. He is best known for being a member of the rap group Boyz N Da Hood. His solo debut album ...
.
History
The first single from the album is "
Coffee Shop" which features
Gorilla Zoe
Alonzo Keith Mathis Jr. (born January 27, 1981), better known by his stage name Gorilla Zoe (), is an American rapper originally from East Point, Georgia. He is best known for being a member of the rap group Boyz N Da Hood. His solo debut album ...
.
The second single off the album, "Bottle Poppin", was leaked to the internet in May. Like the first single, the track featured
Gorilla Zoe
Alonzo Keith Mathis Jr. (born January 27, 1981), better known by his stage name Gorilla Zoe (), is an American rapper originally from East Point, Georgia. He is best known for being a member of the rap group Boyz N Da Hood. His solo debut album ...
. It was produced by Don P of
Trillville
Trillville is an American hip hop group formed in 1997. Its founding members are Donnell Don P Prince, Dirty Mouth (born Jamal Glaze), and LA (formerly Lil LA and Lil Atlanta; born Lawrence Edwards). Dirty Mouth left the group in 2007 to pursue a ...
. It also featured the song "Chevy Smile", which
Yung Joc
Jasiel Amon Robinson (born September 20, 1980), better known by his stage name Yung Joc, is an American rapper. He is best known for his 2006 hit single " It's Goin' Down". and as a feature on T-Pain's US number-one single "Buy U a Drank (Shawt ...
said would be the number one song of the year. The song samples Gorilla Zoe's "
Hood Figga
"Hood Nigga" ( edited for radio as "Hood Figga") is a song by American hip hop recording artist Gorilla Zoe, released as the lead single from his debut album, ''Welcome to the Zoo''. It was officially released via iTunes, on April 24, 2007. The ...
". The single reached number three on the U.S.
''Billboard'' Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles
Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...
chart, and number 59 and 25 on the
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...
and
Hot Rap Tracks
Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by ''Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio statio ...
charts, respectively. The music video for "Bottle Poppin'" has been released and Gettin' To Da Money also has a music video.
The third single "I'm a G" features
Young Dro
D'Juan Montrel Hart (born January 15, 1979), better known by his stage name Young Dro, is an American rapper. After gaining recognition with his regional hit song "Yes Sir", from his 2002 independent album ''I Got That Dro'', Young Dro aligned ...
&
Bun B
Bernard James Freeman (born March 19, 1973), known professionally as Bun B, is an American rapper. He is best known as one half of the southern rap duo UGK (UnderGround Kingz), a group he formed in 1987 alongside Pimp C. Aside from his work with ...
, there was also a video made for the single.
The album features production from
Diddy, who executive produced the album,
Cool and Dre
Cool & Dre are a record production and songwriting duo from North Miami, Florida, consisting of Marcello "Cool" Antonio Valenzano and Andre "Dre" Christopher Lyon. The duo are best known for their work with Terror Squad (group), Terror Squad fo ...
, Don Vito,
Drumma Boy
Christopher James Gholson (born August 11, 1983), better known by his stage name Drumma Boy, is an American record producer.
Early life
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, and raised in Cordova, Tennessee, he was exposed to music at a young age. His mo ...
,
Jazze Pha
Phalon Anton Alexander, (born April 15, 1974), professionally known as Jazze Pha ( ), is an American record producer, singer, songwriter and rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. He is the founder and chief executive officer of Sho'nuff Records, to wh ...
,
The Fixxers,
The Neptunes
The Neptunes are an American songwriting and production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provides additional vocals on records and appears in the duo's music videos, ...
, among others.
[Preview Yung Joc’s new album Hustlenomics]
. ''XXL'' magazine (June 20, 2007). Accessed August 5, 2007.
Guests include
Bun B
Bernard James Freeman (born March 19, 1973), known professionally as Bun B, is an American rapper. He is best known as one half of the southern rap duo UGK (UnderGround Kingz), a group he formed in 1987 alongside Pimp C. Aside from his work with ...
, Diddy,
Gorilla Zoe
Alonzo Keith Mathis Jr. (born January 27, 1981), better known by his stage name Gorilla Zoe (), is an American rapper originally from East Point, Georgia. He is best known for being a member of the rap group Boyz N Da Hood. His solo debut album ...
,
Jim Jones
James Warren Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was an American preacher, political activist and mass murderer. He led the Peoples Temple, a new religious movement, between 1955 and 1978. In what he called "revolutionary suicide", ...
,
Rick Ross
William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper.
Prior to releasing his debut single, "Hustlin'", in 2006, Ross was the subject of a bidding war, receiving offers from Sean Combs, D ...
,
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...
,
The Game,
Trick Daddy
Maurice Samuel Young (born September 27, 1974), better known by his stage name Trick Daddy, is an American rapper from Miami's Liberty City (Miami), Liberty City.
Early life
Trick Daddy was born on September 27, 1974, at Jackson Memorial Hospita ...
,
Young Dro
D'Juan Montrel Hart (born January 15, 1979), better known by his stage name Young Dro, is an American rapper. After gaining recognition with his regional hit song "Yes Sir", from his 2002 independent album ''I Got That Dro'', Young Dro aligned ...
and more.
[
]
Reception
Critical reception
Simon Vozick-Levinson of ''Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' said, "With his sophomore effort, the rhymester confidently wraps his unhurried drawl around the hugest, most sparkling synths that exec producer P. Diddy’s riches can buy. Yung though he is, Joc just may be a credible rival to T.I. as the reigning king of ATL swagger. 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 ...
editor David Jeffries called it a "big improvement" over ''New Joc City
''New Joc City'' is the debut album by American rapper Yung Joc. It features the hit songs " I Know You See It" and " It's Goin' Down" which was produced by Nitti and reached number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.
Commercial performance
''N ...
'', praising the T.I.-less looser vibe throughout the album's track listing, calling ''Hustlenomics'' "a step in the right direction for Joc, but more importantly to the listener, it's always entertaining and quite impressive in parts."
DJBooth's Nathan Slavik gave praise to tracks like "Hell Yeah" and "Brand New" for having the kind of "feel good vibes" that work best for Joc than being on either side of "straight hardcore" ("Cut Throat") or "family-friendly" ("Coffee Shop"). He later called ''Hustlenomics'' "a decent album that tries so hard to please everyone it loses its own identity. If Joc and Bad Boy are hustlers selling hip-hop, what does that make anyone who buys his album? I'm not hating, I just can’t shake the feeling I'm being hustled." ''PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
'' contributor Josh Timmermann felt that Joc was a "marginally talented, deeply generic rapper" throughout the record and gave credit to the various producers and featured artists for elevating the material, saying " this album proves nothing else, it’s that the formula still works: hire A-list producers and guest rappers, and you're all but guaranteed a passable hip-hop record."
Despite commending the production overall, Andres Tardio of ''HipHopDX
''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group.
...
'' said, "On an album full of bewildering lines, no special dances and no real draw in general, Joc is left without much to dance on. Even if he does "walk it out the bank," we are still grading a rap album and ''Hustlenomics'' is a class that should be missed." ''Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
''s Christian Hoard
Christian David Hoard is an American music journalist and music editor for '' Rolling Stone''. A 2000 graduate of the University of Michigan, he began his career as a music journalist writing for the ''Michigan Daily''. He later moved to New York ...
was critical of the album, saying that Joc's "slack diction, mild drawl and unremarkable rhymes about drug-slinging and his own greatness" resembled that of a poor interpretation of the Game
A game is a structured form of play (activity), play, usually undertaken for enjoyment, entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator s ...
, concluding that it's "less a treatise than a collection of lame get-rich anthems. It will probably earn Joc another gold chain or six, but it feels pretty generic."
Commercial performance
''Hustlenomics'' sold 70,000 copies in its first week of release, debuting at number three on the ''Billboard'' 200. As of April 2009, it has sold approximately 200,000 copies according to Nielsen Soundscan
Luminate (formerly Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen Music Products, and MRC Data) is a provider of music sales data. Established by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett in 1991, data is collected weekly and made available every Sunday (for albums sales) and eve ...
.
Track listing
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
References
{{Authority control
2007 albums
Yung Joc albums
Bad Boy Records albums
Albums produced by the Neptunes
Albums produced by Cool & Dre
Albums produced by Jazze Pha
Albums produced by Drumma Boy
Albums produced by DJ Quik