''The Beginning of the End...'' is the debut studio album by American hip hop group
UTP. It was released on May 18, 2004 through
Rap-A-Lot Records
Rap-A-Lot is a hip hop record label co-founded by James Prince and Cliff Blodget in 1986. Smoke-a-Lot Records is a subsidiary.
Rap-A-Lot was first distributed by A&M Records with the release of Raheem's 1988 debut ''The Vigilante''. The label w ...
. Recording sessions took place at Stone House 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' ...
, at Studio Center in
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
, and at UTP Studios in
.
Production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stati ...
was handled by Derek "Grizz" Edwards, Slice Tee,
Donald "XL" Robertson, Ad Future, and
Juvenile. It features guest appearances from
Partners-N-Crime
Partners-N-Crime is a rap group from New Orleans, Louisiana, made up of Kango Slimm (born Walter Williams) and Mr. Meana (born Michael Patterson), friends raised in the 17th ward of New Orleans, where they met in high school through a mutual f ...
, Ms. Tee and Big Zuse.
The album peaked at number 122 on the
''Billboard'' 200 and number 17 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 in the United States. The album produced two singles: "
Nolia Clap
"Nolia Clap" is a song by American Southern hip hop trio UTP, released on August 31, 2004, through Rap-A-Lot 4 Life/UTP Records as a lead single from the group's debut studio album '' The Beginning of the End...''. It was written by Terius " Ju ...
" and "What's Up". Its
lead single
A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date.
Release s ...
, "Nolia Clap", made it to number 31 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 9 on both
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 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 ...
. The album's
chopped and screwed
Chopped and screwed (also called screwed and chopped or slowed and throwed) is a music genre and technique of remixing music that involves slowing down the tempo and deejaying. It developed in the Houston hip hop scene in the early 1990s by DJ ...
version was edited by
OG Ron C.
Background
''The Beginning of the End...'' marked
UTP's first studio album after having previously releasing two compilation albums in 2002 (''
The Compilation'') and 2003 (''Street Stories''). Instead of using the UTP name, the trio was instead billed as
Juvenile, Wacko & Skip in order to build off Juvenile's popularity.
Track listing
Personnel
* Terius "
Juvenile" Gray – main artist, producer, mixing, executive producer, A&R
* Damon "Wacko" Grison – main artist
* Clifford "Skip" Nicholas – main artist
* Walter "Kango" Williams – featured artist
(tracks: 3, 7, 11, 13, 14)
* Trishell "Ms. Tee" Williams – featured artist
(tracks: 13, 14)
* C. "Zuse" Winn – featured artist
(track 13)
* Michael "Meanor" Patterson – featured artist
(track 14)
* Adam "AD Future" Brumfield – producer
* Derek "Grizz" Edwards – producer
*
Donald "XL" Robertson – producer
* Sheldon "Slice Tee" Arrington – producer
*
James Prince
James L. Smith (also referred to as James Prince, J. Prince, or Lil J.) (born October 31, 1965) is an American music executive, promoter and manager. He is the CEO and co-founder of the Houston based record label Rap-A-Lot. Smith and his son ...
– executive producer
* John "JP" Pegram – engineering
* Mac "Silencer" Jones – engineering
* Dave Junco – engineering, mixing
*
Mike Dean – mixing, mastering
* Anzel "Red Boy" Jennings – A&R
* Aubrey Francis – project coordinator
* Paul Francis – project administrator
* Mark Hayes – art direction, design
* Mike Frost – photography
Charts
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beginning of the End, The
2004 debut albums
UTP (group) albums
Rap-A-Lot Records albums