''Waking at Dawn'' is the debut studio album by Canadian recording artist

Roy Woods Denzel Spencer (born April 18, 1996), better known by his stage name Roy Woods (also stylized as Roy Wood$), is a Canadian singer and rapper. Woods is signed to OVO Sound, the record label co-founded by Canadian rapper and singer Drake, record p ...

. It was released on July 1, 2016, by

OVO Sound OVO Sound (also known simply as OVO) is a Toronto-based Canadian record label, founded in 2012 by hip hop artist Drake, producer 40, and Oliver El-Khatib. It operates as a subsidiary of, and is distributed through, Warner Music Group's Warner ...

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 serves as a follow-up to his debut EP '' Exis'' (2015). It was preceded by two singles; "Gwan Big Up Urself" and "How I Feel".

Background

On March 11, 2016, Roy Woods announced the album's title via Twitter. The release date and cover art was revealed on June 29, 2016.

Singles

The album's lead single and second single, "Gwan Big Up Urself" and "How I Feel" was released on June 4, 2016.

Critical reception

Waking at Dawn was met with generally positive reviews. The album received a 74 out of 100 by HotNewHipHop. Writing for ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'', Themistoklis Alexis praised the album's "flashes of maturity" but criticized Woods' "failure to emote fully on phonics."

Track listing

Credits were adapted from

Tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * Tidal (album), ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * ...

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal. Performers *

– primary artist Technical * Sunny Diamonds – recording engineer , mixing engineer * Chris Athens – mastering engineer Production * FrancisGotHeat – producer * Prezident Jeff – producer * Sunny Diamonds – producer * L.A. Chase – producer * Krs. – producer * DZL – producer * ALO – producer *

Murda Beatz Shane Lee Lindstrom (born February 11, 1994), known professionally as Murda Beatz, is a Canadian record producer. He has produced hit singles like " Butterfly Effect" by Travis Scott, "Back on Road" by Gucci Mane, "Nice for What" by Drake, "Moto ...

– producer *

Akeel Henry Akeel Henry is a Canadian record producer and recording engineer. He was the winner of the Jack Richardson Producer of the Year Award at the Juno Awards of 2023 for his work on Giveon's " For Tonight" and John Legend's "Splash". He was previously ...

– producer * Omari Jabari – producer * Saintfall – producer

Charts

Release history

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2016 debut albums Roy Woods albums Albums produced by Murda Beatz OVO Sound albums Warner Records albums