''The Big Doe Rehab'' is the seventh
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
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
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 ...
and
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close aff ...
member
Ghostface Killah
Dennis Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of ''Enter the Wu-Tang (36 C ...
, released on December 4, 2007 on
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 l ...
. The album features guest appearances from fellow Wu-Tang members
Raekwon
Corey Woods (born January 12, 1970), better known by his stage name Raekwon The Chef, or simply Raekwon (), is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as a founding member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, which achieved mainstream success ...
,
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 ...
,
U-God
Lamont Jody Hawkins (born November 10, 1970), better known as U-God, is an American rapper and member of the hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He has been with the group since its inception, and is known for his deep voice and rhythmic flow t ...
, and
Masta Killa
Jamel Irief (born Elgin Turner; August 18, 1969), better known by his stage name Masta Killa, is an American rapper and member of the Wu-Tang Clan. Though one of the lesser-known members of the group (he was featured on only one track on their 19 ...
as well as from
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 ...
,
Cappadonna
Darryl Hill, better known by his stage name Cappadonna, is an American rapper. He is a member of the hip-hop collective the Wu-Tang Clan and is a member of the rap group Theodore Unit together with Ghostface Killah.
Career
Cappadonna (also know ...
and members of Ghostface's
Theodore Unit crew. The album features production from
LV &
Sean C
Deleno Matthews, known professionally as Sean C (originally Sean Cane), is an American producer, DJ and "artists and repertoire" (A&R) specialist. Sean is a member of production duo Sean C & LV (Grind Music) which is affiliated with Sean Combs' H ...
. among others.
Background
The album was released on December 4, 2007. This initially conflicted with the release date of Wu-Tang Clan's fifth group album ''
8 Diagrams
''8 Diagrams'' is the fifth studio album by American hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, released December 11, 2007, on SRC/Universal Motown Records. The album was released three years after the death of Ol' Dirty Bastard, and six years after the group ...
'', a fact Ghostface was reported to be unhappy with, according to an interview with
MTV.com
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 ...
. In response to this,
RZA subsequently announced the delay of ''8 Diagrams'' by a further week so as not to clash with the release of ''The Big Doe Rehab''.
While speaking to
MTV News in December 2007, Ghostface Killah explained the album title, saying:
"I dreamt I was in rehab, but for avingmad money. Me and a bunch of old white dudes. Dreams — you can't really remember the dreams — but I was someplace, I don't even know if it was rehab, but it was mad money in there. When I woke up, the first thing that came to my mind was ''The Big Doe Rehab''. I take a list of titles and write them in my rhyme book, which I might use in the future."
Critical reception
''The Big Doe Rehab'' received generally positive reviews from
music critics. At
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, which assigns a
normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an
average
In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7 ...
score of 77, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on 29 reviews. Marisa Brown 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 ...
said, "Overall the record lacks the excitement, the originality, and the passion that can and has made Ghostface so compelling. A lot of this, for better or for worse, can be blamed on the production."
Dave Hughes of
Slant Magazine said, "Ghostface has built one of hip-hop's more reliably satisfying brands out of the sound that predominates on ''Rehab'', and his fans will find a lot to like here. But given that a relevant part of his appeal has always been his eccentricity and willingness to take risks, a record mostly defined by his adherence to the tried and true is bound to feel like a bit of a copout."
Matthew Fiander of
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 ...
said, "''The Big Doe Rehab'' succeeds because it is an album unafraid to show kinks in its armor. Ghostface is always proud on record, and he holds onto that here, but not without letting us past the pride every once in a while, to see an artist that was always brilliant and full of energy finding just the right amount of focus as he hits what could turn out to be his most furtive years."
Christian Hoard of ''
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 ...
'' said, "''The Big Doe Rehab'' isn't as distinct as last year's ''Fishscale'', but it's close."
Eric Lach of ''
Paste'' said, "While ''Rehab'' doesn't represent the top of Ghostface's game, the MC's approach is as viable as ever. And if the album doesn't pack the kind of radio-ready hits provided by this year's other big-time rappers like Kanye West and Jay-Z, it's only because this is one artist with other priorities."
Nathan Rabin of ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' said, "If the title weren't already taken ''More Fish'' would be a fitting name for Ghostface's new album, another tour de force from a guy who made history with his Wu-Tang brethren while still in his early twenties and just keeps getting better with age. ''The Big Doe Rehab'' feels like a worthy sequel to last year's ''Fishscale''."
Commercial performance
''The Big Doe Rehab'' debuted at number 41 on the U.S.
''Billboard'' 200 chart and sold about 36,000 units in its debut week. Unhappy with the album sales, Ghostface has since posted a video on his MySpace page expressing disappointment in most of his fans for downloading the album illegally.
Track listing
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.
Notes
* signifies a co-producer
* signifies an additional producer
Sample credits
* "Toney Sigel A.K.A. the Barrel Brothers" contains a sample of "Fallin' in Love With You", written by Ugene Dozier and Phil Hurtt, as performed by
Al Wilson.
* "We Celebrate" contains a sample of "
I Just Want to Celebrate", written by
Dino Fekaris
Dino George Fekaris (born January 24, 1945, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States) is a Greek-American music producer and songwriter.
Fekaris was the producer and co-writer (with Freddie Perren) of the song "I Will Survive", and other songs sung ...
and Nickolas Zesses, as performed by
Rare Earth.
* "Walk Around" contains a sample of "Packed Up and Took My Mind", written by Ora Craig and
Mack Rice, as performed by
Little Milton
James Milton Campbell Jr. (September 7, 1934 – August 4, 2005), better known as Little Milton, was an American blues singer and guitarist, best known for his number-one R&B single " We're Gonna Make It". His other hits include " Baby, I Love ...
.
* "White Linen Affair (Toney Awards)" contains a sample of "That's the Way It's Got to Be (Body and Soul)", written by
Paul Kyser
Paul Kyser (born December 6, 1943) is an American promoter, record label owner, singer, songwriter, record producer and arranger. He wrote and co-produced the hit " Dawning of Love" with Tom Vetri for Devotion. He also wrote " Body and Soul (Th ...
, as performed by Soul Generation.
* "Supa GFK" contains a sample of "Superman Lover", written by
Johnny "Guitar" Watson and
Reynaldo Rey
Reynaldo Rey (born Harry Reynolds; January 27, 1940 – May 28, 2015) was an American actor, comedian, and television personality.
Career
Rey moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where he taught for seven years and became a member of the Karamu House Theat ...
, as performed by Johnny "Guitar" Watson.
* "I'll Die for You" contains a sample of "It's All Over", written by
Charles Jackson and
Marvin Yancy
Marvin Jerome Yancy (May 31, 1950 – March 22, 1985) was an American gospel musician, pastor and Grammy-winning record producer, and former pastor of Fountain of Life Baptist Church. He started his music career, in 1971, with The Independents, w ...
, as performed by
The Independents.
* "Paisley Darts" contains a sample of "Lie No. 2", written by Bobby Miller, as performed by
The Originals.
* "Shakey Dog Starring Lolita" contains a sample of "Musings to Myself", written by
Leon Michels
Leon Marcus Michels is an American music producer, record executive, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist best known as the leader of the eclectic soul project El Michels Affair and co-founder of Truth & Soul Records and Big Crown Records. H ...
,
Nicholas Movshan, and Todd Smion, as performed by
El Michels Affair
El Michels Affair is an American " cinematic soul" group led by New York-based musician Leon Michels. The group released its debut album ''Sounding Out The City'' in 2005. After touring behind Raekwon and other Wu-Tang Clan members, the group reco ...
.
* "Killa Lipstick" contains a sample of "Riding High", written by Ralph Aikens, Tyrone Crum, Keith Harrison, Robert Neal, Roger Parker, and
Clarence Satchell, as performed by
Faze-O
Faze-O was a late 1970s funk group based in Dayton, Ohio and produced by Clarence Satchell of the Ohio Players
Ohio Players is an American funk band, most popular in the 1970s. They are best known for their songs "Fire" and " Love Rollercoas ...
.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Big Doe Rehab, The
2007 albums
Def Jam Recordings albums
Ghostface Killah albums
Albums produced by Scram Jones
Albums produced by Grind Music