''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
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 ...
, 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
snap
Snap or SNAP may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Snap'', the original release title for the 2013 film ''Enter the Dangerous Mind''
*''Snap'' (TV series), a CITV programme
* ''The Stanly News and Press'', a newspaper in Albemarle, North Carol ...
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