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Coming of Age (Memphis Bleek album)

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Coming of Age
Studio album by
Memphis Bleek
ReleasedAugust 3, 1999
Studio
GenreHip hop
Length50:13
Label
Producer
Memphis Bleek chronology
Coming of Age
(1999) 		The Understanding
(2000)
Singles from Coming of Age
  1. "Memphis Bleek Is..."
    Released: June 8, 1999
  2. "What You Think Of That"
    Released: October 6, 1999

Coming of Age is the debut studio album by American rapper Memphis Bleek. It was released August 3, 1999, via The Island Def Jam Music Group, Def Jam Recordings and Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records on August 3, 1999. The album spawned the hit single "Memphis Bleek Is...".

Commercial performance

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The album debuted and peaked at number 7 on the Billboard 200, with 118,000 units sold in its first week.[1] The album was certified Gold by the RIAA on September 14, 1999, for shipments and sales of over 500,000 units in America.

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[3]
Rolling Stone[4]
The Source[5]
USA Today[6]

Matt Diehl of Entertainment Weekly praised Bleek for holding his own lyrically alongside guest artists Ja Rule and N.O.R.E., and displaying striking sensitivity on "Regular Cat". He also noted how the album's production of "ominous inner-city symphonies and raw street beats" was ageless.[3] Keith Farley from AllMusic noted how Bleek's vocal delivery was more "street-level" than Jay-Z's, along with the album containing an "urban funk" style like most of his material, concluding that "Still, Coming of Age is a fine debut that shows Memphis Bleek already leaps and bounds ahead of most rappers."[2] In a dual review with Ja's Venni Vetti Vecci, Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield felt that Bleek came across as a cliché-filled rapper that lacked witticism in his lyrics and wasted the beats given to him by his producers.[4]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Pain in da Ass Intro"  0:43
2."Who's Sleeping" (featuring Reb)
Pat Viala2:40
3."Memphis Bleek Is..."
Swizz Beatz4:08
4."What You Think of That" (featuring Jay-Z)
Buckwild4:40
5."Murda 4 Life" (featuring Ja Rule)
4:47
6."You're All Welcome (Pain Interlude)"  0:37
7."Stay Alive In NYC"
  • J-Runnah
  • Darold "Pop" Trotter (co.)
4:14
8."You a Thug Nigga"
  • Cox
  • Lorenzo
  • Robert Mays
  • Irv Gotti
  • Lil Rob
4:14
9."N.O.W." (featuring Da Ranjahz)
  • Cox
  • Malcolm Byer
  • Nigel Leguerre
Dark Half4:16
10."Everybody"
Omen4:00
11."I Won't Stop" (featuring Dark Half)
  • Cox
  • Bernard Parker
  • Leguerre
Bernard "Big Demi" Parker3:07
12."My Hood to Your Hood" (featuring Beanie Sigel)
  • Irv Gotti
  • Mr. Fingers
3:47
13."Why U Wanna Hate For" (featuring Noreaga)
The Burn Unit3:49
14."Regular Cat"
J-Runnah5:12

Sample credits

  • "Who's Sleeping" contains a sample from "If This World Were Mine", written by Marvin Gaye, and performed by Zulema.
  • "What You Think of That" contains a sample of "High Velocity", written and performed by Keith Mansfield.
  • "Stay Alive in NYC" contains an interpolation of "Summer is the Coldest Time of Year", written by Patti Austin, James Harris, and Terry Lewis.
  • "Regular Cat" contains a sample of "Love and Let Love", written by Ralph MacDonald, William Eaton, and William Salter; and performed by Roberta Flack.

Personnel

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  • Juan Allen – engineer (12)
  • B-High – co-executive producer
  • Big Jaz – co-executive producer
  • Kareem "Biggs" Burke – executive producer
  • Eric "EBO" Butler – mixing (7, 14)
  • Shawn Carter – executive producer
  • Tom Coyne – mastering
  • Damon Dash – executive producer
  • The Drawing Board – art direction, design
  • Irv Gotti – mixing (5)
  • Ken Duro Ifill – mixing (4, 8, 11)
  • Jonathan Mannion – photography
  • Monica Morrow – stylist
  • Joe Quinde – engineer (3), mixing (3, 13)
  • Chico Spades – engineer (4, 13)
  • Brian Stanley – engineer (10)
  • Tai – instrumentation (5)
  • Pat Viala – engineer (2, 5, 7-12, 14), mixing (2, 5, 9, 10, 12)

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[10] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Memphis Bleek Is "Coming Of Age" With Top Ten Debut. Mtv.com. Retrieved on January 26, 2013.
  2. ^ a b Farley, Keith. "Coming of Age - Memphis Bleek". AllMusic. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
  3. ^ a b Diehl, Matt (September 3, 1999). "Music Review: 'Coming of Age'". Entertainment Weekly. No. 501. Time Inc. p. 71. Archived from the original on April 29, 2007. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
  4. ^ a b Sheffield, Rob (August 19, 1999). "Memphis Bleek : Coming of Age". Recordings. Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. pp. 111–112. Archived from the original on September 19, 2008. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
  5. ^ Bonanno, Jonathan (September 1999). "Memphis Bleek – Coming of Age". Record Report. The Source. No. 120. New York. pp. 304, 306.
  6. ^ Jones, Steve (August 3, 1999). "Bleek's dark 'Age' is dawning Gray's unpredictable 'Life'". USA Today. p. 07D. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
  7. ^ "Memphis Bleek Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  8. ^ "Memphis Bleek Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  9. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1999". Billboard. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  10. ^ "American album certifications – Memphis Bleek – Coming of Age". Recording Industry Association of America.
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