The Latch-Key Child

The Latch-Key Child
The Latch-Key Child
Studio album by A+
Released	August 27, 1996
Recorded	1995-1996
Studio	Battery Studios (New York, NY)
Genre	Hip hop
Length	51:38
Label	Universal
Producer	Kedar Massenburg (exec.); Buckwild; Carl Carr; Fabian Hamilton; Ike Lee; Miladon; Smith Brothers Entertainment;
A+ chronology
Singles from The Latch-Key Child
	"All I See"; Released: July 16, 1996;

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
RapReviews	8/10^[2]

The Latch-Key Child is the debut studio album by American rapper A+. It was released on August 27, 1996 through Kedar Entertainment/Universal Records. Recording sessions took place at Battery Studios in New York. Production was handled by Smith Brothers Entertainment, Buckwild, Fabian Hamilton, Miladon, Carl Carr and Ike Lee, with Kedar Massenburg serving as executive producer. It features guest appearances from AZ, Prodigy, Q-Tip and Shakira Atily. The album peaked at #36 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and #17 on the Top Heatseekers in the United States.

Track listing[edit]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Next Level (Intro) / Enter Hempstead"	Andre Levins James Smith Charles Smith	Fabian Hamilton Smith Bros. Entertainment	4:00
2.	"Move On"	Levins J. Smith C. Smith Cynthia Girty Arenita Walker Rudolph Isley Ronald Isley Marvin Isley Ernie Isley Chris Jasper	Smith Bros. Entertainment	4:34
3.	"Me & My Microphone" (featuring Q-Tip)	Levins J. Smith	Buckwild	3:33
4.	"All I See" (featuring Shakira Atily)	Levins Carl Carr J. Smith C. Smith Rodney Jerkins	Carl Carr	4:24
5.	"Gusto" (featuring Prodigy)	Levins Albert Johnson K. Simpkins J. Smith C. Smith	Miladon	5:11
6.	"Hard Times"	Levins J. Smith C. Smith Frank Wilson Pamela Sawyer	Smith Bros. Entertainment	3:49
7.	"A+Z" (featuring AZ)	Levins Anthony Cruz J. Smith C. Smith Harold Johnson	Ike Lee	4:19
8.	"Wanna Be Rich"	Levins J. Smith C. Smith	Buckwild	4:11
9.	"My Thing"	Levins J. Smith C. Smith	Smith Bros. Entertainment	3:43
10.	"Parkside Coalition"	Levins K. Simpkins J. Smith C. Smith	Miladon Smith Bros. Entertainment	4:23
11.	"Party Joint"	Levins J. Smith C. Smith James Harris III Terry Lewis	Smith Bros. Entertainment	4:11
12.	"Alpha 2 Omega"	Levins C. Smith	Smith Bros. Entertainment	4:15
13.	"Shout It Out (Outro)"	Levins	Fabian Hamilton	1:05
Total length:				51:38

Sample credits

Track 2 contains samples of "Stop Before We Start" written by Cynthia Girty and Arenita Walker and performed by Bobby Womack & Candi Staton and "Voyage to Atlantis" written by Rudolph Isley, Ronald Isley, Marvin Isley, Ernie Isley and Chris Jasper and performed by The Isley Brothers
Track 6 contains elements of "Touch" written by Pamela Sawyer and Frank Wilson
Track 7 contains elements of "Let's Get Closer" written by Harold Johnson
Track 9 contains a sample of "Living Without You" written by Michael Hepburn and Fred Reed, Jr. and performed by Pleasure
Track 11 contains a sample of "No One's Gonna Love You" written by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and performed by The S.O.S. Band

Personnel[edit]

Andre "A+" Levins – main artist
Jonathan "Q-Tip" Davis – vocals (track 3)
Shakira Atily – vocals (track 4)
Albert "Prodigy" Johnson – vocals (track 5)
Anthony "AZ" Cruz – vocals (track 7)
Fabian Hamilton – producer (tracks: 1, 14)
Charles Smith – producer (tracks: 1, 2, 6, 9-12)
Joseph Smith – producer (tracks: 1, 2, 6, 9-12)
Elliot Smith – producer (tracks: 1, 2, 6, 9-12)
Anthony "Buckwild" Best – producer (tracks: 3, 8)
Carl Carr – producer (track 4)
K. "Miladon" Simpkins – producer (tracks: 5, 10)
Ike Lee – producer (track 7)
Michael Gilbert – recording, mixing (tracks: 4, 12)
Tim Latham – mixing (tracks: 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 13)
Daniel Wierup – mixing assistant (tracks: 1, 3, 5, 8, 10, 13), recording assistant (track 4), tracking assistant engineering
Jed Hackett – recording (track 2), mixing assistant (tracks: 2, 11, 12), recording assistant (track 12), additional tracking engineering
Russell Elevado – mixing (tracks: 2, 6, 9, 11)
Michael Shinn – additional drum programming (track 4)
John Kogan – recording (track 4)
Charles McCrorey – recording assistant (tracks: 4, 12), mixing assistant (track 7), tracking assistant engineering
Sharon Kearney – recording assistant (tracks: 5, 10)
Martin Czembor – mixing assistant (tracks: 6, 9), additional tracking engineering
Tim Donovan – recording (track 12), additional tracking engineering
Aidania Gonzalez – tracking assistant engineering
Kedar Massenburg – executive producer
The Drawing Board – art direction, design
Michael Lavine – photography
Alita Carter – sample clearances
Group Home Entertainment, Inc – management

Charts[edit]

Chart (1996)	Peak position
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[3]	36
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)^[4]	17

References[edit]

^ Mills, Brad. "The Latch Key Child - A+ | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
^ T., Pete (September 25, 2012). "A+ :: The Latch-Key Child :: Universal Records". www.rapreviews.com. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
^ "A Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
^ "A Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 15, 2021.

External links[edit]

The Latch-Key Child at Discogs (list of releases)

[1] Mills, Brad. "The Latch Key Child - A+ | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved November 15, 2021.

[2] T., Pete (September 25, 2012). "A+ :: The Latch-Key Child :: Universal Records". www.rapreviews.com. Retrieved November 15, 2021.

[ac_BillboardRandBHipHop_A-3] "A Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 15, 2021.

[ac_BillboardHeatseekers_A-4] "A Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 15, 2021.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]