''Units in the City'' is the debut and only

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 A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

Shawty Lo during his lifetime. It was released on February 26, 2008, by

D4L Records Carlos Rico Walker (March 22, 1976 – September 21, 2016), better known as Shawty Lo, was an American rapper from Atlanta, Georgia. He initially came to prominence as a founding member of the Southern hip hop group D4L, and in 2000 founded D ...

, Asylum Records and

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

. The album features guest appearances from Phace Baity,

Gucci Mane Radric Delantic Davis (born February 12, 1980), known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper and record executive. He helped pioneer the hip hop subgenre of trap music alongside fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Young Jeezy, ...

and G-Child, 40cal, Frontstreet and Braski with the

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, which was provided by Balis Beats, DJ Montay and Bankhead DJ Pooh, among others. The album was supported by three

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 ...

s: "

Dey Know "Dey Know" (sometimes called "They Know") is a song by American hip hop recording artist Shawty Lo, released on December 4, 2007, as his commercial debut single. The song also serves as the lead single from Shawty Lo's debut solo album, ''Units ...

", " Dunn Dunn" and " Foolish". ''Units in the City'' received negative reviews from critics, who found its production derivative and lyrical content devoid of mature topics.

Critical reception

The album received overwhelming negative reviews from music critics who despised the southern production and Shawty Lo's lyrical content. Steve 'Flash' Juon of ''RapReviews'' criticized the album for showcasing Lo's average delivery for simple subject matters, concluding that, "The production and lyrics here are so awful I'm actually longing for Soulja Boy's album." DJBooth's Nathan Slavik criticized Lo for aping other rappers' style and using them to tell the same cliché hip-hop stories, saying " ere's just no way around it, ''Units In The City'' is a horrible album. Period." Athorton of ''

HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group. ...

'' also criticized Lo for lacking a distinct delivery and trying to sound like T.I. and

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 ...

, saying that "we certainly don't need another new rapper trying to remake their paths."

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 David Jeffries was the sole positive review for the album, commenting on Lo's flow feeling limited but said that it complimented the numerous hip-hop story tracks and few deviations into mature subject matter, all while combining both

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and trap music saying that "with some fun wordplay and the talent to hire all the right people for production and guest appearances, he's created the best album."

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

2008 debut albums Shawty Lo albums Asylum Records albums Albums produced by DJ Pooh {{2008-hiphop-album-stub