''True Magic'' (or ''TRU3 MAGIC'') is the third

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 rapper

Mos Def Yasiin Bey (; born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973), previously and more commonly known by his stage name Mos Def (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. His hip hop career began in 1994, alongside his siblings in the s ...

, released on December 29, 2006, by

Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint. Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...

. After Geffen had absorbed Mos Def's former label Rawkus, the album was released haphazardly to fulfill a contractual obligation; its physical release lacked a booklet, cover art, lyrics, or credits. Following an

internet leak An internet leak is the unauthorized release of information over the internet. Various types of information and data can be, and have been, "leaked" to the Internet, the most common being personal information, computer software and source code, a ...

, ''True Magic'' was released to mostly mixed reviews from critics, and has sold over 97,000 copies by 2014.

Background

''True Magic'' was released to fulfill Mos Def's contract with

. It featured production from

The Neptunes The Neptunes are an American songwriting and production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provides additional vocals on records and appears in the duo's music videos, ...

Rich Harrison Richard Christopher Harrison (born 1979) is an American record producer and songwriter from Washington, D.C., specializing in R&B and hip hop music. The winner of a Grammy Award, Harrison is well known for producing songs such as " Get Right ...

and Minnesota, among others. The song "Crime & Medicine" samples

GZA ''Gary Eldridge Grice'' (born August 22, 1966), better known by his stage names GZA ( ) and The Genius, is an American rapper and songwriter. A founding member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, GZA is the group's "spiritual head", being both ...

's 1995 single "Liquid Swords", while the song "Dollar Day" uses the same beat as Juvenile's "

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 ...

Release and reception

Following an online leak of the album, ''True Magic'' was released by Geffen in a clear plastic case without a booklet, cover art, lyrics, or credits.Benbow, Julian (2007-01-10)
"Mos Def reappears with 'True Magic'"
''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

''. Retrieved on 2009-09-25.Sterdan, Darryl (2001-01-05)
"Album Review: TRUE MAGIC"

Jam! Jam! was a Canadian website which covers entertainment news. It was part of the Canoe.com online portal, formerly owned and operated by Quebecor through its Sun Media division, and now owned by Postmedia Network. Jam! was the only media outlet ...

. Retrieved on 2009-09-25. Geffen re-released it several months later with complete artwork and a slightly altered track order. ''True Magic'' received generally mixed reviews from critics; it holds an aggregate score of 45 out of 100 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 ...

."Critic Reviews for True Magic (First Version)"

. Retrieved on 2009-09-25.

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 ...

's Andy Kellman called it "a disappointment" with "just enough quality material ('Dollar Day,' 'Fake Bonanza,' 'There Is a Way') to make the average fan not want to wipe it memory, but the flashes of brilliance are all too scarce." ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' critic Nate Chinen said the music sounded as if it had been produced "on the cheap" and that some songs carried "urgent messages upfront, but not much depth within". Mos Def "may deliver tantalizing flashes of lyrical skill, but he doesn't inspire much feeling other than listless dread", Chinen wrote.New York Times review
/ref> Michael Furman from ''

Tiny Mix Tapes ''Tiny Mix Tapes'' (also ''TMT'' or ''tinymixtapes'') is an online music and film webzine that focuses primarily on new music and related news. In addition to its reviews, it is noted for its subversive, political, and sometimes surreal news, a ...

'' was more enthusiastic about the album, writing that "it's not a happy record, and there are few, if any, genius rhymes. But it speaks volumes about the frustration and resignation of the underprivileged." Its

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, "Undeniable", was nominated for the

2007 Grammy Award The 49th Annual Grammy Awards was a ceremony honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2005 and ending September 30, 2006 in the United States. The awards were handed out on Sunday, February 11, 2007 at the Staples C ...

for

Best Rap Solo Performance The Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance was awarded from 1991 to 2011, alongside the Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. Previously, a single award was presented for Best Rap Performance. In 2003, this award was split into separate a ...

. By March 2014, ''True Magic'' had sold 97,000 copies in the United States.

Track listing

Charts

References

External links

*
True Magic
' at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

{{Authority control 2006 albums Mos Def albums Geffen Records albums Albums produced by Rich Harrison Albums produced by the Neptunes Albums produced by DJ Khalil