''Notorious'' is the debut studio album by American rapper and producer

Donald D Donald Lamont, professionally known by his stage name Donald D, is an American rapper and record producer from the Bronx, New York. He is a member of the Universal Zulu Nation, a former member of the B-Boys, and is best known as a member of ...

. It was released in 1989 via Ice-T's Records label with distribution through

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

and CBS Records Inc. Recording sessions took place at Syndicate Studio West and Wide Tracks Recording Studio in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Record production on the album was handled by

Afrika Islam Charles Andre Glenn (born 1967), professionally known by his stage name Afrika Islam, is an American hip hop DJ and producer. He was one of the pioneers of hip hop culture and the hip hop radio station. He began his musical career in 1977 as a ...

and Donald D, with executive production provided by Ice-T. Reaching a peak position of number 78 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 ...

, the album remained on the chart for a total of 18 weeks. It spawned two singles: "F.B.I.", which peaked at number 8 on the

Hot Rap Songs 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 stat ...

, and "Notorious".

Track listing

Sample credits * Track 1 contains elements from "Somebody Else's Guy" by Jocelyn Brown (1984), "The Grunt" by The J.B.'s (1970) and "Test of the Emergency Broadcast System" by

Don Pardo Dominick George "Don" Pardo (February 22, 1918 – August 18, 2014) was an American radio and television announcer whose career spanned more than seven decades. A member of the Television Hall of Fame, Pardo was noted for his 70-year tenure with ...

(1985) * Track 2 contains elements from "Soul Vibrations" by

Kool & the Gang Kool & the Gang is an American R&B/soul/funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964 by brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell, with Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown, and Ricky West. T ...

(1972), "A Funky Song" by

Ripple Ripple may refer to: Science and technology * Capillary wave, commonly known as ripple, a wave traveling along the phase boundary of a fluid ** Ripple, more generally a disturbance, for example of spacetime in gravitational waves * Ripple (electri ...

(1973) and "Givin' Up Food for Funk" by The J.B.'s (1972) * Track 3 contains elements from "Blow Your Head" by

Fred Wesley Fred Wesley (born July 4, 1943) is an American trombonist who worked with James Brown in the 1960s and 1970s and Parliament-Funkadelic in the second half of the 1970s. Biography Wesley was born the son of a high school teacher and big band lead ...

& The J.B.'s (1974), "

Synthetic Substitution "Synthetic Substitution" is a 1973 song by Melvin Bliss. Originally starting life as a throwaway B-side, with "Reward" as the A-Side, the song failed to chart anywhere on its initial release because of the collapse of Opal Productions, the parent ...

" by

Melvin Bliss Melvin McClelland (June 1, 1945-July 26, 2010) was a rhythm and blues singer known for his 1973 in music, 1973 song "Reward/Synthetic Substitution", the B-side of which was heavily sampled

(1973), "

White Lines (Don't Don't Do It) "White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Melle Mel, released as a 12" in 1983 on Sugar Hill Records. The song, which warns against the dangers of cocaine, addiction, and drug smuggling, is one of Mel's ...

" by

Grandmaster Melle Mel Melvin Glover (born May 15, 1961 in The Bronx), better known by his stage name Grandmaster Melle Mel (or simply Melle Mel) () is an American hip hop recording artist who was the lead vocalist and songwriter of Grandmaster Flash and the Furio ...

(1983) and "

Looking for the Perfect Beat "Looking for the Perfect Beat" is a song by Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force. The song was produced by Arthur Baker and John Robie and was the follow-up track for the group following " Planet Rock". The track took much longer to develop ...

" by Afrika Bambaataa &

Soulsonic Force Soulsonic Force (also referred to as Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force) is an American electro-funk and hip hop ensemble led by Afrika Bambaataa who helped establish hip-hop in the early 1980s with songs such as " Planet Rock." They were also ...

(1983) * Track 4 contains elements from "Gotta Get Away" by Flaming Ember (1971) * Track 5 contains elements from "Pick Up the Pieces One by One" by A.A.B.B. (1975), " It's Yours" by

T La Rock Terrence "Terry" Ronnie Keaton known by the stage name T La Rock, (born September 16, 1961) is an American old-school emcee best known for his collaboration with Def Jam Recordings co-founder Rick Rubin and the 1984 single "It's Yours." Bio ...

Jazzy Jay John Bayas (born November 18, 1961), also known as The Original Jazzy Jay or DJ Jazzy Jay, is an American hip hop DJ and producer. Background Jazzy Jay was born into a Gullah family in coastal South Carolina. He moved with his family to New Y ...

(1984) and "The Syndicate" by Ice-T (1988) * Track 6 contains elements from "

Ramble On "Ramble On" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin from their 1969 album '' Led Zeppelin II''. It was co-written by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, and was recorded in 1969 at Juggy Sound Studio, New York City, during the band's second concert ...

" by

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

(1969) * Track 7 contains elements from "Unwind Yourself" by

Marva Whitney Marva Whitney (born Marva Ann Manning; May 1, 1944 – December 22, 2012) was an American funk singer commonly referred to by her honorary title, Soul Sister #1. Whitney was considered by many funk enthusiasts to be one of the "rawest" and "brass ...

(1967), " Bring the Noise" by

Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe ...

(1987) and "Mighty Mighty" by

Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, big band, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million reco ...

(1974) * Track 8 contains elements from "Joyous" by

Pleasure Pleasure refers to experience that feels good, that involves the enjoyment of something. It contrasts with pain or suffering, which are forms of feeling bad. It is closely related to value, desire and action: humans and other conscious anima ...

(1977), "Razor Blade" by Little Royal & the Swingmasters (1972) and "

Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved "Get Up, Get into It, Get Involved" is a funk song recorded by James Brown. It was released as a two-part single in 1970 and charted #4 R&B and #34 Pop. It features backing vocals by Bobby Byrd, who shared writing credit for the song with Brown ...

" by

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

(1970) * Track 9 contains elements from "Shake It (Do the 61st)" by Anquette (1987) and " It's Yours" by

(1984) * Track 10 contains elements from "You Can Have Watergate Just Gimme Some Bucks and I'll Be Straight" by

& The J.B.'s (1973) and "Brother Green (The Disco King)" by Roy Ayers Ubiquity (1975) * Track 11 contains elements from " Sing a Simple Song" by

Sly & the Family Stone Sly and the Family Stone was an American band from San Francisco. Active from 1966 to 1983, it was pivotal in the development of funk, soul, rock, and psychedelic music. Its core line-up was led by singer-songwriter, record producer, and multi- ...

(1968) * Track 12 contains elements from "If You've Got It, You'll Get It" by

The Headhunters The Headhunters are an American jazz fusion band formed by Herbie Hancock in 1973. The group fused jazz, funk, and rock music. History (and name) Hancock had grown dissatisfied with his prior band, Mwandishi, and wanted to make a band with a s ...

(1975)

Personnel

Donald Lamont Donald Alexander Lamont (born 13 January 1947LAMONT, Donald Alexander
''Who's ...

– main artist, producer, arranger * Tracy Lauren Marrow – featured artist (track 10), executive producer * Charles Andre Glenn – producer, programming (tracks: 1–5, 7-9) * Johnny Rivers – programming (tracks: 6, 11) * DJ Chilly-D – programming (tracks: 10, 12), scratches * Vachik Aghaniantz – mixing * Tom Baker – mastering *

Glen E. Friedman Glen Ellis Friedman (born March 3, 1962) is an American photographer and artist. He became known for his activities within rebellious skateboarding and music cultures. Photographing artists Fugazi, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, Circle Jerks, Minor ...

– photography * Tony Sellari – artwork * Robert Joseph Pfeifer – A&R * Jorge Hinojosa – management * Cara Lewis – booking

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1989 debut albums Albums produced by Afrika Islam Epic Records albums