Insomnia (Erick Sermon album)

Insomnia
Compilation album by Erick Sermon
Released	April 23, 1996
Recorded	1994–1995
Studio	Mirror Image (Dix Hills, NY) The Music Palace (West Hempstead, NY) Rockin' Reel Recording Studios (East Northport, NY) Chuck Simone Studio
Genre	East Coast hip hop hardcore hip hop
Length	42:29
Label	Def Squad Rockin' Reel Interscope
Producer	Erick Sermon (also exec.) Redman Rockwilder Sugarless
Erick Sermon chronology
Double or Nothing (1995) Insomnia (1996) El Niño (1998)
Singles from Insomnia
"Funkorama" Released: December 19, 1995 "It's That Hit" Released: 1995 "I Feel It" Released: June 4, 1996

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
RapReviews	6/10 [2]
The Source	[3]

Insomnia is a hip-hop compilation album presented by American rapper and record producer Erick Sermon. It was released on April 23, 1996, via Interscope Records. The recording sessions took place at Mirror Image, at the Music Palace, and at Rockin' Reel Recording Studios in New York, and at Chuck Simone Studio. The album was produced by Sermon, who also served as executive producer, Redman, Rockwilder, and Ty Fyffe. Beside Sermon, it features contributions from fellow artists affiliated with or discovered by him, such as Calif, Domo, Duo, Jamal, Keith Murray, L.O.D., Passion, Redman, the Wixtons, Xross-Breed, and Thomas "Tommy Gunn" Blincoe, who was murdered shortly before the album's release, ^[4] and to whom the album is dedicated. The album peaked at number 53 on the Billboard 200 and number 10 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums in the United States. It spawned three singles: "Funkorama", which peacked at No. 81 on the Billboard Hot 100, "It's That Hit" and "I Feel It".

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro" (performed by Cherry Martinez)			0:31
2.	"Funkorama" (performed by Redman)	Reginald Noble Jonathan Davis Ali Shaheed Muhammad Malik Taylor Mark Morales Darren Robinson Damon Wimbley	Redman Erick Sermon (co.)	3:03
3.	"The Vibe" (performed by Xross-Breed)	L. Scott Dana Stinson Noble	Redman	3:10
4.	"As the..." (performed by Passion)	Passion Johnson Erick Sermon	Sermon	3:14
5.	"Beez Like That (Sometimes)" (performed by Jamal and Calif)	Jamal Phillips Calif Moore E. Sermon Stinson Wayne Shorter	Sermon Rockwilder (co.)	2:52
6.	"It's That Hit" (performed by Keith Murray)	Keith Murray E. Sermon Bob James Claude Johnson George Clinton, Jr. Roy C. Hammond William Collins	Sermon	4:06
7.	"Up Jump the Boogie" (performed by the Wixtons)	E. Woodson E. Sermon Tyrone Fyffe	Sermon Sugarless (co.)	4:08
8.	"Caller's Interlude" (performed by Cherry Martinez)			2:28
9.	"I Feel It" (performed by L.O.D.)	Gerald Berlin Ron Joseph E. Sermon Douglas E. Davis Ricky Walters Tom Browne Thomassina Carrollyne Smith	Sermon	4:24
10.	"On the Regular" (performed by Duo)	T. Stanley Kim Sermon E. Sermon Collins Clinton, Jr. Maceo Parker	Sermon	3:11
11.	"Fear" (performed by Tommy Gunn)	Thomas Blincoe E. Sermon	Sermon	3:57
12.	"Ready for War" (performed by Domo)	D. Paige E. Sermon	Sermon	3:36
13.	"Reign" (performed by Erick Sermon)	E. Sermon Rick James	Sermon	3:49
Total length:				42:29

Sample credits

• Track 2 contains sample of "Midnight" as performed by A Tribe Called Quest and elements from "Stick 'Em" as performed by the Fat Boys
• Track 5 contains sample of "Black Thorne Rose" as performed by Weather Report
• Track 6 contains sample of "Bootzilla" as performed by Bootsy's Rubber Band, a sample of "Impeach the President" as performed by the Honeydrippers and a portion of the composition "I Want to Thank You"
• Track 9 contains elements from "Funkin' for Jamaica" as performed by the Mindbenders and elements from "The Show" as performed by Doug E. Fresh
• Track 10 contains sample from "Aah...The Name Is Bootsy, Baby"
• Track 13 contains a sample of "All Night Long" as performed by the Mary Jane Girls

Personnel

• Erick Sermon – executive producer, vocals (track 13), producer (tracks: 4–7, 9–13), co-producer (track 2), sleeve notes
• Reginald "Redman" Noble – vocals (track 2), producer (tracks: 2, 3), sleeve notes
• L. "Kewjo" Scott – vocals (track 3), sleeve notes
• Dana "Rockwilder" Stinson – vocals (track 3), co-producer (track 5), sleeve notes
• Passion Johnson – vocals (track 4), sleeve notes
• Jamal "Mally G" Phillips – vocals (track 5), sleeve notes
• Calif Moore – vocals (track 5), sleeve notes
• Keith Murray – vocals (track 6), sleeve notes
• The Wixtons – vocals (track 7)
• Gerald "50 Grand" Berlin – vocals (track 9), sleeve notes
• Ron "Ron Jay" Joseph – vocals (track 9), sleeve notes
• T. "T-Man" Stanley – vocals (track 10), sleeve notes
• Kim "Big Kim" Sermon – vocals (track 10), sleeve notes
• Thomas "Tommy Gunn" Blincoe – vocals (track 11), sleeve notes
• Domo Paige – vocals (track 12), sleeve notes
• Deborah "Cherry Martinez" Tennyson – voice (tracks: 1, 8)
• Tyrone "Ty" Fyffe – co-producer (track 7)
• Troy Hightower – recording, mixing
• Bob Fudjinski – recording
• Chuck Simone – recording
• Dave Greenberg – recording
• Tommy Uzzo – mixing
• Tony Dawsey – mastering
• Mike Hogan – engineering assistant
• Cathrine Wessel – photography
• Jah Boogie – sleeve notes
• Shugar Diamonds – sleeve notes

Chart history

Chart (1996)	Peak position
US Billboard 200 [5]	53
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [6]	10

References

1. "Various Artists - Insomnia: The Erick Sermon Compilation Album Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic . Retrieved February 15, 2023.
2. Juon, Steve 'Flash' (July 29, 2025). "Erick Sermon :: Insomnia – The Erick Sermon Compilation Album – RapReviews". www.rapreviews.com. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
3. Borrow, Zev (April 1996). "Record Report: Various Artists – Insomnia: The Erick Sermon Compilation Album". The Source . No. 79. New York. pp. 83–84.
4. Texeira, Erin. "Rapper, 2 Others Are Found Slain". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved February 12, 2017.
5. "Erick Sermon Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
6. "Erick Sermon Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 3, 2019.

External links

• Insomnia The Erick Sermon Compilation Album at Discogs (list of releases)