Yeeeah Baby
| Yeeeah Baby | ||||
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| Studio album by Big Pun | ||||
| Released | April 4, 2000 (USA) | |||
| Recorded | 1999-2000 | |||
| Genre | Hardcore rap, East Coast hip hop, Latin hip hop | |||
| Length | 52:08 | |||
| Label | Terror Squad/Loud Records | |||
| Producer | Fat Joe (Executive) Just Blaze Buckwild L.E.S. Sean Cane DJ Shok Richard "Younglord" Frierson Knobody O.Gee Mahogany producer Minnesota Guy Boogie KNS The Infinite Arkatechz |
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| Big Pun chronology | ||||
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Yeeeah Baby is the second solo and final studio album by rapper Big Pun. In the wake of Big Pun's death in February 2000, it was posthumously released in April of the same year as planned, peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200 charts, and subsequently was certified Platinum[1]. Fat Joe, Pun's close friend and mentor, is the executive producer of the album.
Yeeeah Baby included his trademark sinister sound with tracks like “Off Wit His Head” and “Leather Face,” it also featured more lighthearted efforts like the optimistic “It’s So Hard” and the Puerto Rican nationalist anthem “100%.” Struggling with morbid obesity, Pun experienced breathing problems throughout the album’s recording process, slowing down his iconic flow. He died at 28 years of age, just two months before the album’s release.
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[edit] Background
The original title that Big Pun selected for Yeeeah Baby was Endangered Species,[citation needed] which was to later become the title of Pun's second posthumous album, released the following year. The album consist of two of Big Pun's biggest hits, the first single "It's So hard" and the Puerto Rican anthem "100%".
In his last magazine interview, conducted by Industry Insider only a week before his death, Pun detailed that his approach on Yeeeah Baby was not as "hardcore" as his previous album, Capital Punishment, in an attempt to reach out to an even wider fanbase than his debut album already had.[2]
[edit] Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [3] |
| Rolling Stone |  [4] |
| Q | [5] |
| NME | (7/10)[6] |
| RapReviews | (8.5/10)[7] |
| The Source | [8] |
| Entertainment Weekly | (C)[9] |
| Vibe | (Favorable)[10] |
| Billboard | (Favorable)[11] |
[edit] Commercial
Yeeeah Baby posted a strong debut on the billboard 200, the album sold more than 179,000 copies in its first week in stores to take the third slot on the chart.[citation needed] It reached Gold status within three months.
[edit] Critical
Yeeeah Baby received favorable reviews from music critics.
- Rolling Stone (4/13/00, p. 128) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "...[Pun] has gone out with a bang. He attacked standard hip-hop topics with witty, unpredictable elasticity....Pun is at his habanero hottest..."
- Q (7/00, p. 111) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...Would have established [him] as both a radio-friendly commercial force and rebellious icon..."
- CMJ (4/24/00, p. 30) - "...Beams the spotlight on the Boricua bomber's unparalleled breath control and hilarious jaw-dropping wordplay."
- Vibe (6/00, p. 214) - "...A triumphant final effort for one of the Boogie Down Bronx's favorite super-lyrical sons....[It] showcases Pun's matured artistic vision and newly mastered flows but never ceases to move bodies and minds..."
- The Source (5/00, p. 186) - 4 mics out of 5 - "...An even more in-depth peep inside the heart and soul of a man in constant struggle with himself....a backstage pass to the all-out jam that was Pun's personality: street-wise, intellectually sharp, sex-crazed - and funny as hell..."
- NME (4/29/00, p. 35) - 7 out of 10 - "...[A] raucous final musical statement....like a library of every cool contemporary hip-hop sound squeezed onto one compact disc....One for delinquent work experience boys everywhere..."
[edit] Track listing
| No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Creation (Intro)" | 1:29 | |
| 2. | "Watch Those" | Knobody | 3:20 |
| 3. | "Off Wit His Head" (featuring Prospect) | Just Blaze | 4:06 |
| 4. | "It's So Hard" (featuring Donell Jones) | Younglord | 2:52 |
| 5. | "We Don't Care" (featuring Cuban Link) | Younglord | 3:12 |
| 6. | "New York Giants" (featuring M.O.P.) | Mahogany, Minnesota | 3:30 |
| 7. | "My Dick" (featuring Tony Sunshine) | Guy Boogie, KNS | 3:19 |
| 8. | "Leatherface" | The Infinite Arkatechz | 3:25 |
| 9. | "Air Pun (Skit)" | 0:51 | |
| 10. | "100%" (featuring Tony Sunshine) | Sean Cane for The Hitmen | 3:51 |
| 11. | "Wrong Ones" (featuring Sunkiss) | Just Blaze | 4:07 |
| 12. | "Laughing at You" (featuring Tony Sunshine) | O.Gee | 4:26 |
| 13. | "Nigga Shit" | Buckwild | 1:45 |
| 14. | "Ms. Martin" (featuring Remy Ma) | DJ Shok | 4:16 |
| 15. | "My Turn" | L.E.S. | 3:48 |
| 16. | "You Was Wrong" (featuring Fat Joe, Drag-On & Remy Ma) | DJ Shok | 3:51 |
[edit] Album chart positions
| Year | Album | Chart positions | |
| Billboard 200 | Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums | ||
| 2000 | Yeeeah Baby | #3 | #1 |
[edit] Singles chart positions
| Year | Song | Chart positions | |||
| Billboard Hot 100 | Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | Hot Rap Singles | Rhythmic Top 40 | ||
| 2000 | "It's So Hard" | #75 | #19 | #11 | #39 |
| 2000 | "100%" | #84 | #53 | #16 | - |
