''You Can't Stop the Reign'' is the third studio album by American basketball player and rapper

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), commonly known as Shaq ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. He is a and Center (basketball), center ...

. It was released on November 19, 1996, through T.W.IsM./

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...

. Recording sessions took place at T.W.IsM. Studios in

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

, Skip Saylor in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and Bosstown Recording Studios in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, with additional recordings done at Soundtrack Studios and

The Hit Factory The Hit Factory is a recording studio in New York City owned and operated by Troy Germano. History In 1969, songwriter Jerry Ragavoy opened a recording studio in New York City and named it ''The Hit Factory.'' On March 6, 1975, Edward Germano, ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

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 stat ...

was handled by Dave Atkinson, Ross "Spyda" Sloan, Domingo,

Trackmasters The Trackmasters, also known as Poke & Tone, is an American hip hop production outfit composed of Poke (Jean-Claude Olivier born January 21, 1970; Brooklyn, New York ) and Tone (Samuel Barnes born January 20, 1969; Brooklyn, New York). Active fro ...

Darkchild Rodney Roy Jerkins (born July 29, 1977), better known by his stage name Darkchild, is an American record producer, rapper, and songwriter. He has collaborated with a broad range of popular artists. Jerkins has won two Grammy Awards from 19 nomi ...

Bobby Brown Robert Barisford Brown Sr. (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and dancer. Alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, he is recognized as a pioneer of new jack swing: a fusion of hip-hop and Contemporary R&B, R ...

, Chris Large,

DJ Quik David Marvin Blake (born January 18, 1970), better known by his stage names DJ Quik or Da Quiksta, is an American rapper and record producer from Compton, California, known for his production in the G-funk style of West Coast hip-hop. Blake has ...

Easy Mo Bee Osten S. Harvey Jr. (born December 8, 1965), better known by his stage name Easy Mo Bee, is an American hip hop and R&B record producer and DJ, known for his production work for artists such as Big Daddy Kane and Miles Davis, as well as his a ...

, G-1, I-Roc, Jammin' James Carter,

Mobb Deep Mobb Deep was an American Hip-hop, hip hop duo formed in Queens, New York (state), New York in 1990. Consisting of rappers/songwriters/record producers Prodigy (rapper), Prodigy and Havoc (musician), Havoc, they are considered to be among the pr ...

and

Ralph Tresvant Ralph Edward Tresvant (born May 16, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer, best known as the lead singer of R&B group New Edition. As a solo artist, Tresvant released his double platinum-selling debut album '' Ralph Tres ...

. It features

guest appearance The term guest appearance generally denotes the appearance of a guest in an artistic or pop-culture setting. The guests themselves (referred to as guest artists, featured artists, guest stars, or guest fighters, depending on context), are disting ...

s from

The Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in the New York rap scene and gangsta rap tradi ...

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air (S ...

Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz were an American hip hop duo, composed of rappers Sean "Lord Tariq" Hamilton and Peter "Peter Gunz" Pankey, from The Bronx, New York. They are best known for their 1997 single " Deja Vu (Uptown Baby)", which reached th ...

, S.H.E., Bobby Brown,

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

, Mobb Deep and Peaches. The album was moderately successful, peaking at number 82 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and number 21 on the

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip-hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...

in the United States. It was supported by two singles with accompanying

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

s for "

You Can't Stop the Reign ''You Can't Stop the Reign'' is the third studio album by American basketball player and rapper Shaquille O'Neal. It was released on November 19, 1996, through T.W.IsM./Interscope Records. Recording sessions took place at T.W.IsM. Studios in Orla ...

" and " Strait Playin'". Its

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

, "You Can't Stop the Reign", made it to 54 on the ''Billboard''

R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (previously known as Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay) is a chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the top R&B and hip hop songs in the United States, based on audience impressions from a panel of radio stations monitored ...

in the United States, No. 40 on the UK singles chart, No. 17 on the Official Dance Singles Chart and No. 9 on the Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart in the United Kingdom and No. 47 in New Zealand. The song has multiple versions, including one that features a verse from

, which was re-used in 2001 for

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

's song "Unbreakable" from his ''

Invincible Invincible may refer to: Film and television * ''Invincible'' (2001 theatrical film), a drama by Werner Herzog about Jewish cabaret during the rise of Nazism * ''Invincible'' (2001 TV film), a fantasy/martial arts TV movie starring Billy Za ...

'' album. The "Still Can't Stop the Reign" version peaked at No. 36 on the US ''Billboard'' Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart. The second single from the album, "Strait Playin'", reached No. 72 on the Radio Songs, No. 33 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, No. 32 on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay and No. 40 on the

Rhythmic Airplay The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, and previously named Rhythmic Songs, Rhythmic Top 40 and CHR/Rhythmic) is an airplay chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on ...

in the US, and No. 17 in New Zealand. Its "Superman Remix" version was included in 1997 '' Music From and Inspired By the Motion Picture Steel'' soundtrack album. On June 28, 2024, the album was officially re-released onto streaming platforms, now featuring the original unreleased version of "No Love Lost", which included a verse from

Track listing

;Sample credits * Track 1 contains elements of "''Superman'' Theme" by

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

. * Track 2 contains elements of "You Can't Stop the Rain" by Loose Ends. * Track 4 contains elements of "Don't Do Me This Way" by

Alicia Myers Alicia Myers (born November 20, 1957) is an American R&B musician. Beginning her music career with the band Al Hudson & the Soul Partners, who later evolved into One Way, Myers went on to a moderately successful solo career in the early 1980s, ...

. * Track 8 contains elements of "

Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart) "Stop, Look, Listen (to Your Heart)" is a soul song written by Thom Bell and Linda Creed originally recorded by Philadelphia soul group the Stylistics. The Stylistics original version An R&B ballad, it was the first track from their debut sel ...

" by

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...

and

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...

. * Track 9 contains elements of "

In the Air Tonight "In the Air Tonight" is the debut solo single by English drummer and singer-songwriter Phil Collins. It was released as the lead single from Collins's debut solo album, ''Face Value (album), Face Value'', in January 1981. It was selected as the s ...

" by

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...

. * Track 11 contains elements of "

Let's Wait Awhile "Let's Wait Awhile" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson from her third studio album '' Control'' (1986). It was released on January 6, 1987 on A&M Records as the album's fifth single. The song was written and produced by Jackson and Jimmy ...

" by

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreogr ...

. * Track 13 contains elements of "

Just Be Good to Me "Just Be Good to Me" is a song by the S.O.S. Band, written and produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis for their fourth studio album, ''On the Rise'' (1983). "Just Be Good to Me" was released as the lead single from ''On the Rise'' in March 1983, ...

" by

The S.O.S. Band The S.O.S. Band (sometimes written as S.O.S. Band; abbreviation for Sounds of Success) is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B and Boogie (genre), electro-funk musical ensemble, group who gained fame in the 1980s. They are best known for the songs ...

. ;Notes * Track 2 features uncredited rap vocals by

Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in the New York rap scene and gangsta rap tradi ...

* Track 14 features uncredited rap vocals by Smooth B. * Track 16 features uncredited rap vocals by

Rakim William Michael Griffin Jr. (born January 28, 1968), better known by his stage name Rakim (), is an American rapper. He is one half of Golden age hip-hop, golden age hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, with whom he released four albums: ''Paid in Full ...

Personnel

– vocals (tracks: 1, 2, 4–9, 11–16), executive producer *Jane Eugene – background vocals (track 2) *Nanci Fletcher – background vocals (track 2) *Peaches – vocals (track 3) *Peter "

Peter Gunz Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz were an American hip hop duo, composed of rappers Sean "Lord Tariq" Hamilton and Peter "Peter Gunz" Pankey, from The Bronx, New York. They are best known for their 1997 single "Deja Vu (Uptown Baby)", which reached the ...

" Pankey – vocals (track 12), background vocals (tracks: 4, 6, 7) *Sherry Watson – additional background vocals (track 4) *Shawn "

" Carter – vocals (track 5) *Sean "

Lord Tariq Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz were an American hip hop duo, composed of rappers Sean "Lord Tariq" Hamilton and Peter "Peter Gunz" Pankey, from The Bronx, New York. They are best known for their 1997 single " Deja Vu (Uptown Baby)", which reached ...

" Hamilton – vocals (tracks: 5, 17), background vocals (track 8) *Enrico Consilus Gates – background vocals (track 5), A&R *David "

" Blake – background vocals & producer (track 6) *Kejuan "

Havoc havoc, Havoc, Havocs, Havok, or Havock may also refer to: People with the name * Havoc (musician) (born 1974), American rapper and record producer * Johnny Devine (born 1974), Canadian professional wrestler who uses the ring name Havok * Jimmy H ...

" Muchita – vocals & producer (track 8) *Albert "

Prodigy Prodigy, Prodigies or The Prodigy may refer to: * Child prodigy, a child who produces meaningful output to the level of an adult expert performer ** Chess prodigy, a child who can beat experienced adult players at chess Arts, entertainment, and m ...

" Johnson – vocals & producer (track 8) *

– vocals (track 9), background vocals & producer (track 14) *Jania Foxworth – vocals (track 10), background vocals (track 11) *Tyren Perry – vocals (track 10), background vocals (track 11) *Jaimee Foxworth – vocals (track 10), background vocals (track 11) *Alicia "Blue" Renee – lead vocals (track 13), background vocals (tracks: 12, 13) *

– background vocals & producer (track 14) *Dave Atkinson – keyboard programming (track 2), keyboards (tracks: 4, 9), producer (tracks: 4, 13), additional producer (tracks: 2, 9), additional mixing (tracks: 8, 14) *Ross "Spyda" Sloan – drum programming (track 4), producer (tracks: 4, 13), additional producer (tracks: 2, 9), additional mixing (track 14) *Jean-Claude "Poke" Olivier – keyboards (track 5), keyboard programming (track 11), producer (tracks: 5, 11) *Samuel "Tone" Barnes – drum programming (track 5), producer (tracks: 5, 11) *Kenneth Crouch – additional keyboards (track 6) * Domingo Padilla – drum programming (track 7), producer (track 7, 9) *Sherwin "I-Roc" Charles – additional keyboards & producer (track 15) *Osten S. "

" Harvey, Jr. – keyboards, drum programming & producer (track 16) *Chris "Large" Jones – producer (track 2) *George "G-One" Archie – producer (track 6) *Rodney "

" Jerkins – producer (track 12) *"Jammin'" James Carter – producer (track 15) *Ken Finnel – co-producer & engineering (track 14) *Pat & Jimbob – additional producers (track 15) *Fred McGuinn – engineering (tracks: 2, 4, 5, 9, 12, 13, 15, 16), mixing assistant (track 2) *Gary Platt – mixing (tracks: 2, 4), engineering (track 13) *Dexter Simmons – mixing (tracks: 3, 8, 9, 12, 13, 15) *Bill Esses – mixing (tracks: 5, 11) *Chris Puram – engineering & mixing (track 6), editing, sequencing *Tony Smalios – mixing (track 7) *Mario Rodriguez – mixing (track 8) *Eric Lynch – engineering & mixing (track 16) *Robert Vosgien – mastering *Frank Edwards – editing, sequencing, executive producer, A&R *Leonard Armato – executive producer *Hasan Pore – associate producer, A&R *Kevin Mitchell – associate producer, A&R *Paul Palmer – A&R *Rob Kahane – A&R *Sharon Ronen – album coordinator *Cindy Cooper – album coordinator

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1996 albums Shaquille O'Neal albums Albums produced by G-One Interscope Records albums Albums produced by DJ Quik Albums produced by Easy Mo Bee Albums produced by Trackmasters Albums produced by Rodney Jerkins Albums produced by Havoc (musician) Albums produced by Domingo (producer)