''Ill Na Na'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Foxy Brown. It was released on November 19, 1996, by

Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...

. It was

reissue In the music industry, a reissue (also re-release, repackage or re-edition) is the release of an album or Single (music), single which has been released at least once before, sometimes with alterations or additions. Reasons for reissue New aud ...

d on September 29, 1997, in the UK with an addition of the song "

Big Bad Mamma "Big Bad Mama" is a single by American rapper Foxy Brown (rapper), Foxy Brown and American contemporary R&B, R&B group Dru Hill from the How to Be a Player (soundtrack), soundtrack to the 1997 film, ''Def Jam's How to Be a Player, How to Be a Play ...

". Brown began working on the album after being discovered by the production team

Trackmasters The Trackmasters are an American hip hop production duo composed of music producers Poke (Jean-Claude Olivier) and Tone (Samuel Barnes), best known for their commercial hit records in the mid-late 1990s and early 2000s. Frank "Nitty" Pimentel joi ...

and appearing on a number of singles by other artists, such as

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, along ...

, Case and

Jay Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

. The immediate success of the singles led to a bidding war at the beginning of 1996, and in March, Def Jam Recordings won and signed the then 17-year-old rapper to the label. Mostly produced by Trackmasters, ''Ill Na Na'' features guest appearances from

Blackstreet Blackstreet (often stylized as BLACKstreet) is an American R&B group founded in 1991 by record producers Chauncey "Black" Hannibal, and Teddy "Street" Riley. The group has released four albums with Interscope Records until 2003. They achieved ...

Havoc High Altitude Venus Operational Concept (HAVOC) is a set of crewed NASA mission concepts to the planet Venus. All human portions of the missions would be conducted from lighter-than-air craft or from orbit. Background Venus is a planet with a r ...

Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), better known by his stage name Method Man, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is known as a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He is also half of t ...

Kid Capri David Anthony Love Jr. (born February 7, 1967) is an American DJ and rapper better known by his stage name Kid Capri. Early life Kid Capri's humble roots can be traced back to his parents' home in the Bronx, where ten year old David Antho ...

and

. Lyrically, the album mainly focuses on themes of fashion, sex and mafia. ''Ill Na Na'' debuted at number seven on the ''Billboard'' 200 with 128,000 copies sold in its first week. It has sold over a 1.4 million copies and was certified

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

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 ...

(RIAA). The album also includes other certifications such as; Gold in

Music Canada Music Canada (formerly Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA)) is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It a ...

(MC) for selling over 40,000 and Silver in

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...

(BPI) for selling over 60,000. Three singles were released from the album. " Get Me Home" was released on September 15, 1996. It peaked at number 42 on the Billboard Radio Songs chart. The second single, " I'll Be", released on March 4, 1997, also noted a commercial success. It peaked at number seven on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming Brown's highest charting single. The song was ranked number 52 on VH1's 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs. Another song, "

" was released July 28, 1997, and was featured on the soundtrack to the film ''How to Be a Player'' (1997). Though not released on the original album, it was added to the European reissue in 1997. It peaked at number 53 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The album pushed and broke boundaries for female rappers. It became the first female rap album to debut in the top 10 of the

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...

, the first female rap album to have certified plaques outside the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, and highest selling and fastest female rap album of 1996 to go

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

within 2.7 months.

Background and recording

Between 1995 and 1996, Brown went into the recording studio to record her debut studio album, originally set to be released in October 1996. The album featured guest appearances by

, and

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

with a majority of the production by the

. ''Ill Na Na'' produced two hit singles, "Get Me Home" featuring Blackstreet, and "I'll Be" featuring Jay-Z. ''Ill Na Na'' was re-released in 1997. The song "I'll Be" was ranked number 52 on VH1's "100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs" list in 2008.

Singles

"Get Me Home" is the first single from ''Ill Na Na''. The song peaked at number 42 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Radio Songs charts and number 10 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' R&B charts. "I'll Be" is the second single released from ''Ill Na Na'', produced by the Trackmasters and featuring Jay-Z. Released on March 4, 1997, "I'll Be" quickly became a hit, peaking at 7 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, at the time becoming both Foxy Brown and Jay-Z's highest charting single. Two months after its release on May 2, "I'll Be" was certified gold by the RIAA for sales of over 500,000 copies. To date it remains Foxy Brown's only song to earn a certification. "Big Bad Mamma" is the final single on the ''Ill Na Na'', performed by American rapper Foxy Brown and American R&B group Dru Hill and from the soundtrack to the 1997 film, ''

How to Be a Player ''Def Jam's How to Be a Player'' is a 1997 sex comedy film, starring Bill Bellamy, Natalie Desselle and Bernie Mac. The film was directed by Lionel C. Martin, and written by Mark Brown and Demetria Johnson. The '' How to Be a Player Soundtrack'' ...

''. The song also appeared on the re-issue of ''Ill Na Na''. The song, which was produced by the Trackmasters and based around an interpolation of Carl Carlton's "She's a Bad Mama Jama", became a semi-successful hit, peaking at 53 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, Foxy's second highest charting single as a solo artist. The single was released with the then reunited EPMD's "Never Seen Before" as the B-side.

Commercial performance

In the United States, ''Ill Na Na'' debuted at number seven on the ''Billboard'' 200 and at number two on the

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated J ...

chart, selling 128,000 copies in its first week, and was certified

by the

(RIAA) within three months of its release. 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 ...

, the album has sold over 1,450,834 copies in the United States. In Canada, it was certified gold by the

Canadian Recording Industry Association Music Canada (formerly Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA)) is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It a ...

(CRIA). In the United Kingdom, it debuted at number 98 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

and was certified silver by the

(BPI).

Track listing

Sample credits * "Intro...Chicken Coop" contains a sample of "I Want to Make Love to You So Bad" performed by

Isaac Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, actor, songwriter, and composer. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwri ...

. Also contains interpolations of Just Another Case Cru & "Dead Man Walking" by

Cormega Cory McKay (born December 3, 1970), better known by his stage name Cormega, is an American rapper who attained notice when he was shouted out by Nas on his song "One Love", from the critically acclaimed 1994 album ''Illmatic''. The album was re ...

. * "(Holy Matrimony) Letter to The Firm" contains samples of "Ike's Mood" performed by Isaac Hayes and " I Love You" by

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

. * "Foxy's Bells" contains a sample of "

Rock the Bells Rock the Bells was an annual hip-hop festival that originally took place in Southern California only, but has since toured throughout the world. The concert featured a line-up of high-profile alternative hip-hop artists, often headlined by a mor ...

" performed by

. * "Get Me Home" contains a sample of "

Gotta Get You Home Tonight "Gotta Get You Home Tonight" is a 1984 single written by McKinley Horton & Eugene Wilde Eugene Wilde (born Ronald Eugene Broomfield, December 6, 1961) is an American R&B singer who had two No. 1 hits on the US ''Billboard'' R&B charts in the ...

" performed by

Eugene Wilde Eugene Wilde (born Ronald Eugene Broomfield, December 6, 1961) is an American R&B singer who had two No. 1 hits on the US ''Billboard'' R&B charts in the 1980s. Career Broomfield was born in North Miami Beach, Florida and raised in Miami. He g ...

. * "If I..." contains a sample of " Any Love" performed by

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his sweet and soulful vocals, Vandross has sold over 40 million records worldwide. He achieved eleven consecutive P ...

. * "Ill Na Na" contains a sample of " Brick House" performed by

Commodores Commodores are an American funk and soul band, which were at their peak in the late 1970s through the mid 1980s. The members of the group met as mostly freshmen at Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in 1968, and signed with Motown in ...

. * "No One's" contains a sample of "No One's Gonna Love You" performed by

SOS Band The S.O.S. Band (sometimes written as S.O.S. Band; abbreviation for Sounds of Success) is an American R&B and electro-funk group who gained fame in the 1980s. They are best known for the songs " Take Your Time (Do It Right)", " Just Be Good ...

. * "I'll Be" contains a sample of "I'll Be Good" performed by

René & Angela René & Angela were an American R&B duo consisting of musical artists and producers René Moore and Angela Winbush. They formed in 1977 and disbanded in 1986. They are most remembered for their 1985 song "I'll Be Good". Career They recorded ...

. * "Outro" contains a sample of "I Want to Make Love to You So Bad" performed by Isaac Hayes. Notes *Some enhanced editions of the album include the music videos for "I'll Be" & "Get Me Home" as tracks fifteen and sixteen.

Personnel

Adapted from the ''Ill Na Na'' liner notes. * Executive Producers:

Chris Lighty Darrel Steven "Chris" Lighty (May 8, 1968 – August 30, 2012) was an American music industry executive. He co-founded Violator, a record label, management and marketing company, which represented hip hop and R&B artists such as Busta Rhymes ...

, Steve Stoute and

* A&R Direction: Chris Lighty and

David Lighty David Maurice Lighty Jr. (born May 27, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for ASVEL of the LNB Pro A. He played college basketball at Ohio State University. Lighty ended his college career as the all-time leader in career games p ...

* Management: Don Pooh Management * Mastering:

Tom Coyne Tom Coyne may refer to: * Tom Coyne (writer), American writer and professor * Tom Coyne (broadcaster) (1930–2015), British television presenter * Tom Coyne (music engineer) (1954–2017), American mastering engineer * Thomas Coyne (cricketer) ( ...

* Art Direction and Design: Drawing Board Design * Photography: Michael Levine

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

External links

* ''Ill Na Na''at

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 ...

* {{Authority control 1996 debut albums Foxy Brown (rapper) albums Def Jam Recordings albums Albums produced by Teddy Riley Albums produced by Trackmasters Albums recorded at Chung King Studios