''Usual Suspects'' is the fourth studio album by American hip hop group

5th Ward Boyz 5th Ward Boyz is an American southern hip hop trio, based out of Houston, Texas. Their name is derived from Houston's Fifth Ward, Houston, Fifth Ward. The group signed to Rap-A-Lot Records following the Geto Boys' popularity on the label. The g ...

. It was released on November 18, 1997, through

Rap-A-Lot Records Rap-A-Lot is a hip hop record label co-founded by James Prince and Cliff Blodget in 1986. Smoke-a-Lot Records is a subsidiary. Rap-A-Lot was first distributed by A&M Records with the release of Raheem's 1988 debut ''The Vigilante''. The label w ...

. Recording sessions took place at Hippie House Studios and Digital Services in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

and at the Enterprise in

Burbank Burbank may refer to: Places Australia * Burbank, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane United States * Burbank, California, a city in Los Angeles County * Burbank, Santa Clara County, California, a census-designated place * Burbank, Illinois, ...

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 Mike Dean, who had produced the majority of the group's previous three albums, Leroy " Mr. Lee" Williams, Freddie Young, Scarface, Flip, John Bido, and the 5th Ward Boyz themselves. It features

guest appearance In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other p ...

s from Mr. Slimm of

5th Ward Juvenilez The 5th Ward Juvenilez was an American hip hop group from the 5th Ward of Houston, Texas. The group consisted of Daddy Lo, Mr. Slimm and Nickelboy and was signed to Rap-a-Lot Records. History Formed in 1993, the 5th Ward Juvenilez made their ...

, Do or Die,

Devin the Dude Devin Copeland (born June 4, 1970), better known by his stage name Devin the Dude, is an American rapper from Houston, Texas. He is known for his unique rapping style and his 2002 songs "Lacville '79" and "Doobie Ashtray". Early life Devin Cop ...

, Johnny P, Scarface,

Spice 1 Robert Lee Greene, Jr. (born July 2, 1970), better known by his stage name Spice 1 (an acronym for "Sex, Pistols, Indo, Cash and Entertainment"), is an American rapper from Hayward, California. He began releasing albums in 1992. Career Jive Re ...

Willie D William James Dennis is an American rapper, best known as a member of the Houston rap group the Geto Boys, alongside Bushwick Bill and Scarface. He maintains and regularly uploads to his YouTube channel, posting social commentary videos. As of ...

8Ball & MJG 8Ball & MJG is an American hip hop duo from Memphis, Tennessee. They met at Ridgeway Middle School (Memphis, Tennessee) in 1984. In 1993, the duo released their debut album ''Comin' Out Hard''. They went on to release ''On the Outside Looking In ...

. Though the album was an improvement on the charts over their last album ''

Rated G ''Rated G'' is the third album by the 5th Ward Boyz, released on November 28, 1995 through Rap-a-Lot Records. Producer Mike Dean, who had produced the group's previous two albums, returned to produce the album with the three members of the 5th ...

'', peaking at 180 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and 26 on the R&B/Hip-Hop charts, ''Usual Suspects'' was less well received. Alex Henderson 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 ...

called it an "unoriginal effort" and said "''Usual Suspects'' demonstrated that in 1997 there were still many rappers who were content to offer one tired, worn-out gangsta rap cliché after another".

Track listing

Charts

Personnel

*Andre "007" Barnes – main performer *Eric "E-Rock" Taylor – main performer *Richard "Lo Life" Nash – main performer *Frank Robinson – featured performer (tracks: 2, 3) * Robert L. Green, Jr. – featured performer (track 2) *Red Dog – featured performer (track 3) *Tasha – featured performer (track 4) * Brad Jordan – featured performer & producer (track 6) * Marlon Jermaine Goodwin – featured performer (track 10) * Premro Smith – featured performer (track 10) *John Pigram – featured performer (track 12) *Anthony "N.A.R.D." Round – featured performer (track 12) *Dennis "A.K. 47" Round – featured performer (track 12) *J. "Gotti" Baker – featured performer (track 13) * Devin C. Copeland – featured performer (track 14) * William James Dennis – featured performer (track 14) * Leroy Williams, Jr. – producer (tracks: 2, 6, 11, 12, 14, 15), mixing * Michael George Dean – producer (tracks: 4, 5, 10, 11, 13, 16), mixing, mastering, engineering *Freddie Young – producer (track 3) *Philip "Flip" Osman – producer (track 7), engineering *John Okuribido – producer (track 8) *Joe Bythewood – co-producer (track 12) *

James Hoover James Hoover (February 28, 1971 in Morgantown, West Virginia) is a Grammy Award-winning freelance audio engineer who has worked with performers such as Beyoncé, ZZ Top, Chamillionaire, South Park Mexican Carlos Coy (born October 5, 1970), ...

– engineering & mixing *Dewey Forker – executive producer * James A. Smith – executive producer *Jason Clark – art direction, design *Mario Castellanos – photography

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1997 albums 5th Ward Boyz albums Rap-A-Lot Records albums Albums produced by Mike Dean (record producer)