''Tha Smokin' Nephew'' is the third solo studio album by American rapper

Baby Bash Ronald Ray Bryant (born October 18, 1969), better known by his stage name Baby Bash (formerly Baby Beesh), is an American rapper. His first two albums, '' Savage Dreams'' (2001) and '' On Tha Cool'' (2002), were released by the independent Housto ...

. It was released on September 23, 2003, through Latium Entertainment and

Universal Records Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

, making it his first commercial album as well as his first album released under the

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

"Baby Bash" (the previous two albums were recorded by him as "Baby Beesh"). Recording sessions took place at Digital Services, The Clinic and Dope House Records in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, at R&D Studios in

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

, at Lydkjøkkenet in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

. Production was handled by

Happy Perez Nathan "Happy" Perez is an American record producer, audio engineer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He was first credited on Young Bleed's debut album '' All I Have in This World, Are... My Balls and My Word'' in 1998. He co-wrote and pro ...

, Big Ice, Mario Ayala, Mike Cee, Oral Bee and Shadow, with Charles Chavez and Baby Bash serving as executive producer. It features guest appearances from Russell Lee, Grimm,

Frankie J Francisco Javier Bautista Jr. (born December 7, 1975) better known by his stage name Frankie J, is a Mexican-American singer and former member of the musical group Kumbia Kings. Born in Mexico, he grew up in San Diego and became a freestyle art ...

, Angel Dust, A-Wax,

Chingo Bling Pedro Herrera III (born August 23, 1979), better known by his stage name Chingo Bling, is an American rapper, producer and comedian. Early life and education Chingo attended Peddie School, a private college preparatory boarding school in Hights ...

, Doom, Happy Perez,

Jay Tee James Trujillo, better known by his stage name Jay Tee, is an American rapper from Vallejo, California. He has been a part of the city's scene since the early 1990s as the lead member of N2Deep and Latino Velvet along with Baby Beesh. Even thou ...

, Low G,

Lucky Luciano Charles "Lucky" Luciano ( ; ; born Salvatore Lucania ; November 24, 1897 – January 26, 1962) was an Italian gangster who operated mainly in the United States. He started his criminal career in the Five Points Gang and was instrumental in the ...

, Major Riley, Max Minelli, Merciless, Oral Bee, Perla Cruz, Powda and David Wade. The album debuted at number 48 on the ''Billboard'' 200 in the United States. It was certified Gold by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

on February 19, 2004, and reached Platinum certification on March 9, 2023. It also peaked at number 22 in New Zealand, number 80 in France and number 92 in Germany. The album's

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 ...

Suga Suga "Suga Suga" is a song by American rapper Baby Bash featuring Mexican-American singer Frankie J. Written by both singers, the song was released on July 21, 2003, to radio and was physically released on August 5 as the second and final single from ...

" became Baby Bash's highest-charting song on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, reaching number seven, and it appeared on several international rankings, including the

New Zealand Singles Chart The Official Aotearoa Music Charts, formerly the Official New Zealand Music Chart (), is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The M ...

, where it peaked at number one. It has received sales

certifications Certification is part of testing, inspection and certification and the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestatio ...

in Australia, Germany, New Zealand, and the United States. The second single, "Shorty Doowop" featuring Russell Lee and Tiffany Villarreal, peaked at No. 31 in Germany, No. 36 in Switzerland and No. 57 in Austria.

Critical reception

Steve 'Flash' Juon of RapReviews gave the album high praise for Happy Perez's Hispanic-influenced production and Bash's smooth, laid-back delivery, concluding that "Bash may be a long-time veteran of hip-hop and

latin rap Latin hip hop (also known as Latin rap) is a subgenre of hip hop music that is recorded by Spanish-speaking artists in the Caribbean, North America, Central America, South America, and Spain. Latin hip hop in the United States West Coast In the ...

, but he represents the newest trends and emerging dopeness of regionally recognized hispanic hip-hop to the best and fullest. Easily one of 2003's "must cop" albums, ''Tha Smokin' Nephew'' will open many eyes and please just as many ears".

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 ...

's David Jeffries also praised Perez's production for being energetic and cohesive, and Bash's lyrical content for containing different topics, concluding that "At 17 tracks it runs a little long, but there are only a few seeds and sticks to pick out of Baby Bash's fat bag". Nick Flanagan of ''

Now Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * Na ...

'' wrote: "Baby Bash raps in a mellow style over smooth, almost easy-listening beats with a smattering of

Ginuwine Elgin Baylor Lumpkin (born October 15, 1970), better known by his stage name Ginuwine ( ), is an American R&B singer. He began his career as a member of the musical collective Swing Mob in the early 1990s. As a solo act, he signed with Epic R ...

-esque R&B choruses. The song titles are entertaining – Image Of Pimp, Don't Disrespect My Mind – but 17 songs are a lot, especially when half aren't that great, although it gets better as it goes along". Jonah Weiner of ''

Blender A blender (sometimes called a mixer (from Latin ''mixus, the PPP of miscere eng. to Mix)'' or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary ...

'' panned the album for its lady-focused lyrical content being mediocrely delivered over subpar production. He added that the single "Suga Suga" was the only noteworthy track on the album.

Track listing

Charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smokin Nephew, the 2003 albums Baby Bash albums Universal Records albums Albums produced by Happy Perez