''Ready Set Go!'' was the intended debut

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 hip-hop recording artist

Roscoe Dash Jeffery Lee Johnson Jr. (born April 2, 1990), better known by his stage name Roscoe Dash, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is best known for his debut single " All the Way Turnt Up" (featuring Soulja Boy), which peaked at numbe ...

, released on November 2, 2010 in the

United States 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 territorie ...

on MMI, Zone 4, Music Line Group and

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...

. The album was recorded in various locations during 2009 and 2010, with production primarily provided by

K.E. on the Track Kevin Erondu, better known as K.E. on the Track, is an American record producer. Early life Kevin Erondu was born in Tampa, Florida. He originated in Valdosta, Georgia. Career K.E.'s breakthrough came in 2009, when he produced the single " Swa ...

and guest performances recorded by

Soulja Boy DeAndre Cortez Way (born July 28, 1990), known professionally as Soulja Boy (formerly Soulja Boy Tell 'Em), is an American rapper and record producer. He rose to prominence, after his self published debut single "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" peake ...

J. Holiday Nahum Thorton Grymes (born November 29, 1981), better known by his stage name J. Holiday, is an American singer, songwriter, and rapper. He came into prominence in 2007 with his breakthrough hit "Bed", peaking at number five on the US ''Billboar ...

and

Jared Evan Jared Evan Siegel is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and rapper. He was signed to Zone 4 under Interscope Records. The song "Frozen", which Evan wrote and produced, appeared on the LeBron James documentary soundtrack entitled ...

. A hip hop album with influences of pop and

contemporary R&B Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music genre that combines rhythm and blues with elements of pop, soul, funk, hip hop, and electronic music. The genre features a distinctive record production style, drum machine-backed rhythm ...

, ''Ready Set Go'' features hook-driven content sung by Dash's high-pitched, nasal voice. The album's release was preceded by the release of the singles "

All the Way Turnt Up "All the Way Turnt Up" is the first single by rapper Roscoe Dash released from his debut album '' Ready Set Go!''. The song features rapper Soulja Boy and was produced by Vybe Beatz and K.E. on the Track. Music video The video features Roscoe Da ...

" and " Show Out", the latter peaking at number 46 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The album was leaked to retailer

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

before Dash had finished recording it, leading to the album being initially pulled from all other

retailers Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...

, although some have since retrospectively made it available. Its premature release has since led Dash to disown the album, as he does not regard it as his definitive debut.

Background and recording

Roscoe Dash was born Jeffrey Johnson, Jr., and lived in Atlanta with his mother and grandmother. He gained his interest in hip hop from his brother, an aspiring music producer: he began writing lyrics of his own at twelve years old, under the name "ATL" and joined a four-man group called The Blackout Boys. After releasing mixtapes both with the group and as a solo artist, Dash nearly signed to record label Porter House, the label of

Travis Porter Travis Porter is an American hip hop trio from Atlanta, Georgia. The group consists of stepbrothers Ali and Quez, and their friend Strap who they met in middle school. In November 2010 the trio signed with Jive Records. The group's biggest hits ...

– friends of Dash since 2006 – but this fell through after the two fell out following a credits dispute over an early version of Dash's later single "

". He then met local entrepreneur LA da Boomman in 2009, who then signed him to his production company, Making Moves Inc. (MMI). Dash then later agreed deals with both Music Line Group, after Boomman introduced Dash to the A&R representative Anthony Tate, and the

distributed Zone 4 after Tate and Dash spoke with music producer

Polow da Don Jamal Fincher Jones (born October 15, 1977, or 1978), professionally known as Polow da Don, is an American record producer and rapper. Jones has produced a variety of singles for a multitude of artists including "Anaconda" by Nicki Minaj (2014 ...

, the label's founder. In an interview with

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

, Dash explained that he intended to record music for ''Ready Set Go!'' that "everyone can relate to"; as well as to "be different and bring a new sound". Production was reported to be provided by

, Polow da Don and Vybe Beatz. Guest appearances on the album was provided by American rapper

, who appears on "

", and singers

and

, who the former appear on "Yes Girl", and the latter appear on "All I Know", respectively. Dash later reported to

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

that he had recorded a song with American singer

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to '' Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempo ...

for ''Ready Set Go!'' 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' ...

, on which the two "make magic". However, the album originally would include other reported songs such as "Pop a Bottle" featuring

Young Jeezy Jay Wayne Jenkins (born September 28, 1977), known by his stage name Jeezy (or Young Jeezy), is an American rapper. Signing to Def Jam Recordings in 2004, his major label debut, '' Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101'', was released the followin ...

, and "Elevator Love" featuring

Jazmine Sullivan Jazmine Marie Sullivan (born April 9, 1987) is an American R&B and soul singer. Born and raised in Philadelphia, her debut album, ''Fearless'' was released in 2008. The record topped ''Billboards Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and was certifie ...

, but those songs with collaboration does not appear on the final track listing.

Music and lyrics

Primarily a hip hop album, ''Ready Set Go!'' also contains influences of pop and

, and consists of themes aimed primarily at a young demographic, including partying and popular product brands. Much of the album's production is provided by K.E. on the Track, whose production on the title track draws influences from "Indian Flute" by

Timbaland & Magoo Timbaland & Magoo were a rap duo consisting of producer/rapper Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley and rapper Melvin "Magoo" Barcliff, formed in 1989. Hailing from Norfolk, Virginia, the duo first met when they were teenagers. They later paired up as ...

. "I Be Shopping" contains numerous examples of product placement, backed by a "memorable melody" which David Jeffries 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 ...

argues broadens the song's "appeal beyond mall rats". Dash described "All the Way Turnt Up" as "new-age

crunk Crunk is a subgenre of hip hop music that emerged in the early 1990s and gained mainstream success during the mid 2000s. Crunk is often up-tempo and one of Southern hip hop's more dance and club oriented subgenres. An archetypal crunk track freq ...

": Soulja Boy, the song's guest, likened it to a stylistically exaggerated version of his own single "

Turn My Swag On "Turn My Swag On" is a song written and recorded by American rapper Soulja Boy Tellem. It was released in October 2008 as the third single from his 2008 album ''iSouljaBoyTellem''. It was performed at the 2009 BET Awards. The song topped the US ...

". " Show Out" contains an infectious chorus and was described by Amazon as a "flashy, soon-to-be club anthem". Typically, Dash exhibits a nasal, high-pitched delivery that frequently displays signs of being digitally altered and layered "as if there were 20 Dashes per track, whining and echoing as far as the ear can hear".

Release and promotion

''Ready Set Go!'' was released via MMI, Zone 4, Music Line Group and

originally reported that the album would be released on May 11, 2010, although ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' later claimed that the album would be released on June 1, 2010. It was then pushed back to November 2, 2010, but the album was leaked to American retailer

prior to its release – it was also unfinished, as Dash intended to add additional material. Although the unfinished album was then officially distributed through Walmart on November 2, the album was not sent to any other retailers on the same date, although it can now be bought via

eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a ...

and in Denmark and Ireland, via the

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

, although not in the United States. Although a release to additional retailers was reported to take place on March 29, 2011, this never materialized. In an interview with ''Billboard'', Dash would remark that he no longer regarded ''Ready Set Go!'' as his debut album following its leaking, preferring his debut

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

J.U.I.C.E. ''J.U.I.C.E.'' (abbreviation for ''Just Understand I Control Everything'') is the debut extended play (EP) by American hip hop recording artist Roscoe Dash. It was released on December 20, 2011, by M.M.I. (Making Moves Incorporated), Music Line E ...

'' (2011). Two singles were released to promote ''Ready Set Go!''. Dash originally purchased the production for "

", the first single, via Vybe Beatz's Soundclick page: after Dash had recorded the original version of the song, he played it to hip hop group

, who wished to appear on it and duly recorded a new version of the song. However, after Travis Porter incorrectly credited him as a guest on the song instead of the lead when it appeared on Travis Porter's mixtape ''I'm a Differenter 2'' (and subsequently performed it without him on numerous occasions) Dash fell out with the group after their promises to rectify the error did not materialize, and removed them from the song. On the advice of L.A. da Boomman, Dash then requested rapper

record a verse from a song, who was so desperate to perform on the song that he protested his case via

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

to make the appearance. The final version, which features additional production from K.E. On the Track, was released to digital retailers on January 22, 2010, and reached number 46 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, number 18 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 ...

chart and number eight 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 ...

chart. The second single, " Show Out", was released digitally on April 20, 2010: it did not match the commercial performance of its predecessor, only reaching numbers 41 and 22 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts. The music video for "All the Way Turnt Up" was filmed in an Atlanta warehouse and released via MTV Jams on February 22, 2010, with the video for "Show Out" featuring shots of Dash among expensive cars and riding a jet-ski. Although it was not released as a single, "Sexy Girl Anthem" peaked at number 71 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits for ''Ready Set Go!'' adapted from

. * Christian Arceo – composer * Jenelle Bellinger – A&R * Bigg Makk – composer, producer * Terrence Cash – mixing * Leland "Big Fruit" Clopton – composer, producer * Los Da Mystro – composer, producer * DJ Spinz – composer, producer * Kevin "K.E." Erondu – composer, engineer, producer * Jared Evan – composer, featured artist * Cliff Feiman – production supervisor * Yvette Gayle – publicity * John Gowen – engineer, mixing * J. Holiday – featured artist * Jeffery "Roscoe Dash" Johnson – primary artist, composer * Mike Johnson – engineer * Tiffany Johnson – marketing * Kaylee – art direction, design * Hannibal Matthews – photography * Krista Michalski – staff * Nick Miller – marketing * Scott Naughton – engineer, mixing * Terrence Nelson – A&R * Lavour "L.A." Sanders – executive producer * Tony "Chef Tone" Scales – composer, producer * Glenn Schick – mastering * Robert "Kaspa" Smith – marketing, promoter * Mike Snodgress – marketing coordinator * DeAndre "Soulja Boy" Way – composer, featured artist * Anthony "T.A." Tate – A&R, executive producer * Mia A. Welsh – staff * Clay West – marketing, promoter * Ianthe Zevos – creation

Release history

References

External links

{{Authority control 2010 debut albums Roscoe Dash albums Interscope Records albums Albums produced by Polow da Don Albums produced by Boi-1da Albums produced by Drumma Boy