''The Rude Awakening'' is the second studio album by American hip hop duo Smif-N-Wessun. It was released on March 31, 1998 via

Priority Records Priority Records is an American distribution company and record label known for artists including N.W.A, Ice-T, Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Big L, Silkk the Shocker and Westside Connection. It also distributed hip hop record labels including Death Row R ...

under the name Cocoa Brovaz. The duo was forced to drop their original name after they were sued by the

Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (S&W) is an American firearm manufacturer headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States. Smith & Wesson was founded by Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson as the "Smith & Wesson Revolver Company" in 1856 ...

firearms company.

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 several record producers, including

Da Beatminerz Da Beatminerz are a hip-hop production crew from Bushwick, Brooklyn, and are known for their dark, gritty sound that is very popular with the underground hip-hop scene. History The crew, originally composed of brothers Mr. Walt (born June 2, 19 ...

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 ...

, Self, Shaleek, Shawn J Period and member

Steele Steele may refer to: Places America * Steele, Alabama, a town * Steele, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Steele, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Steele, Missouri, a city * Lonetree, Montana, a ghost town originally called Steele ...

. The album peaked at number 21 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and number 3 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 lead single from the album was "Black Trump", which features

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 ...

of the

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 affili ...

. Their 1997 single "Won On Won" from the '' Soul in the Hole''

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

is included here, as well as the singles "Spanish Harlem" and "Bucktown USA".

Track listing

Music videos

*"Won on Won"
Released: 1997 *"Black Trump"
Director: G. Thomas
Released: 1998 *"Spanish Harlem"
Released: 1998

Charts

Singles chart positions

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rude Awakening, The 1998 albums Smif-n-Wessun albums Duck Down Music albums Priority Records albums Albums produced by Grind Music Albums produced by Da Beatminerz