''Lil' Romeo'' is the self-titled debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by American rapper, Lil' Romeo. It was released July 3, 2001, on

No Limit Records No Limit Records is an American record company founded by Master P. The label's albums were distributed by Priority Records, Universal and Koch Records. The label included artists such as Snoop Dogg, Mercedes, Silkk the Shocker, Mystikal ...

, Soulja Music and

Priority Records Priority Records is an American distribution company and record label known for artists including N.W.A, Ice Cube, MC Ren, Eazy-E, Master P, Snoop Dogg, Mos Def, Silkk the Shocker, Jay-Z, Paris, Mack 10, 504 Boyz, Brotha Lynch Hung, ...

. The album has features production by Master P, Carlos Stephens and Sean "Barney" Thomas; the album also has guest appearances by Freequan,

Silkk the Shocker Vyshonn King Miller (born June 18, 1975), better known by his stage name Silkk the Shocker (formerly Silkk), is an American rapper from New Orleans, Louisiana. The brother of Master P, Miller signed with his record label No Limit Records, an im ...

Lil' Zane Zane Copeland Jr. (born July 11, 1982), known professionally as Lil' Zane or simply Zane, is an American rapper. He is perhaps best known for his 2000 single " Callin' Me" (featuring 112), which peaked at number 20 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 10 ...

Allusion Allusion, or alluding, is a figure of speech that makes a reference to someone or something by name (a person, object, location, etc.) without explaining how it relates to the given context, so that the audience must realize the connection in the ...

, Little D, 6 Piece and Afficial. The album garnered mixed reviews from music critics. It spawned the singles " My Baby" and "The Girlies". The album debuted at number 6 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and was certified Gold the next year.

Reception

Critical reception

''Lil' Romeo'' received a mixed reception from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

editor Jason Birchmeier praised the album for its "great pop-rap productions" and credited Master P for providing hooks that grabbed your attention. Music critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

gave the album a two-star honorable mention, indicating a "likable effort consumers attuned to its overriding aesthetic or individual vision may well enjoy." He highlighted "My Baby" and "Where They At" as "gangsta pop at its funniest, sickest, and safest." Kathryn McGuire of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' commented on how the album was like a creation that Master P made in between his various business projects. An editor from ''

HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of Hip hop music, hip hop music criticism and news. ''HipHopDX'' has over 3.5M monthly readers, the website encompassing hip hop news, interviews, music, and reviews. The website's founder and CEO is Sharath C ...

'' criticized the album for its repetitive material in the songs and Romeo's flow for being "lackluster and underdeveloped."

Commercial performance

The album peaked at number 6 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and number 5 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, ...

, selling 200,000 copies in its first week and spawned the hit single " My Baby", which reached number 3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number one on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

music charts. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA for selling over 500,000 copies in the United States of America on July 5, 2001.

Track listing

Sample credits *"My Baby" contains a sample of "

I Want You Back "I Want You Back" is the first national single by the Jackson 5. It was released by Motown on October 7, 1969, and became the first number-one hit for the band on January 31, 1970. It was performed on the band's first television appearances, on ...

" by

The Jackson 5 The Jackson 5, later known as the Jacksons, are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was formed in Gary, Indiana in 1964, and originally consisted of brothers Jackie, Ti ...

*"The Girlies" contains a sample of "Girlz, They Love Me" by

Marley Marl Marlon Lu'Ree Williams (born September 30, 1962), better known by his stage name Marley Marl, is an American DJ, record producer, rapper and record label founder, primarily operating in hip hop music. Marlon grew up in Queensbridge Houses, Queen ...

*"That's Kool (Remix)" contains a sample of "Stick'em" by

The Fat Boys The Fat Boys were an American hip-hop trio from Brooklyn, New York (state), New York, who emerged in the early 1980s. The group was briefly known originally as the Disco 3, originally composed of Mark "Prince Markie Dee" Morales, Damon Wimbley, ...

*"Make You Dance" contains samples of " Angel of the Morning" by

Chip Taylor Chip Taylor (born James Wesley Voight; March 21, 1940) is an American songwriter and singer noted for writing " Angel of the Morning" and " Wild Thing". He is the paternal uncle of actress Angelina Jolie and former actor James Haven. He is the ...

and " That's the Way (I Like It)" by KC and the Sunshine Band *"Little Souljas Need Love Too" contains a sample of " Teenage Love" by

Slick Rick Richard Martin Lloyd Walters (born January 14, 1965), better known as Slick Rick, is an English-American rapper and record producer. He rose to prominence as part of Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew in the mid-1980s. His songs " The Show" and ...

*"When I Get Grown" contains samples of " Love T.K.O." by

Teddy Pendergrass Theodore DeReese Pendergrass (March 26, 1950 – January 13, 2010) was an American Soul music, soul and R&B singer and songwriter. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Pendergrass lived most of his life in the Philadelphia area, and initial ...

and " Back in the Day" by

Ahmad Ahmad () is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other English spellings of the name include Ahmed. It is also used as a surname. Etymology The word derives from the root ( ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from ...

*"What" contains a sample of " What Y'all Want (Remix)" by

Eve Eve is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Creation myths develop through oral traditions and there ...

*"Take My Pain Away" contains a sample of "

Take My Breath Away "Take My Breath Away" is a song written by Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock for the 1986 film ''Top Guns soundtrack, performed by American new wave band Berlin and included on their album '' Count Three & Pray''. The song won the Academy ...

" by

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Personnel

Adapted from the ''Lil' Romeo'' liner notes. *Colin Jahn – art direction *Giulio Costanzo – additional

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...

*Tim Alexander and Leslie Henderson – photography *

Bernie Grundman Bernie Grundman (born 16 December 1943, Minneapolis) is an American audio engineer. He is most known for his mastering work and his studio, Bernie Grundman Mastering, which he opened in 1984 in Hollywood. The studio, which includes engineers Chr ...

– mastering *Howard DeLoach – project coordinator *Music Resources – sample clearance

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lil' Romeo (Album) 2001 debut albums Romeo Miller albums No Limit Records albums Priority Records albums