Temptations (album)

Last updated

Temptations
Temptations (album).jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 16, 2001 (2001-10-16)
Recorded2001
StudioProject Blowed Recordings
Genre Hip-hop
Length43:06
Label Ground Control
Producer Josef Leimberg
Freestyle Fellowship chronology
Innercity Griots
(1993)
Temptations
(2001)
Shockadoom
(2002)
Singles from Temptations
  1. "Sex in the City"
    Released: 2001
  2. "Temptations" / "Ghetto Youth"
    Released: 2002

Temptations is the third studio album by American hip-hop group Freestyle Fellowship. Delayed considerably because of Self Jupiter's incarceration, [1] it was released on October 16, 2001, through Ground Control Records. The recording sessions took place at Project Blowed Recordings in 2001. Produced by Josef Leimberg, it features guest appearances from Abstract Rude, RBX, and Supernatural.

Contents

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]
HipHopDX 4/5 [3]
Pitchfork 6.6/10 [4]
(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Spin 4/10 [6]
The Village Voice Scissors icon black.svg [7]
Vibe 3/5 [8]

Adam "D-Lo" Low of HipHopDX praised the album, stating: "interest in a few songs may wane after time, but the vast majority of this disc has high replay value". [3] Brad Haywood of Pitchfork gave the album a 6.6 out of 10, calling it "a disappointing one". [4] Dave Tompkins of Vibe wrote: "while the Fellowship can still run crop circles around other rappers, Temptations sounds as if each of their distinctive egos were in a different space". [8] AllMusic's Dan LeRoy wrote: "the uncompromising attitude spelled out in the song 'No Hooks No Chorus' ends up hurting the album, as too many tracks focus almost exclusively on the lyrical end of the hip-hop equation, backing the group's rhymes with raw, repetitive grooves". [2] Chris Ryan of Spin noted: "on Temptations, the energy and the bop is gone, replaced, for the most part, by dead G-funk rehashes". [6] Robert Christgau of The Village Voice highlighted the song "Ghetto Youth", indicating "a good song on an album that isn't worth your time or money". [7]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Intro"2:47
2."Ghetto Youth"3:07
3."No Hooks No Chorus"2:50
4."Temptations"4:27
5."Seasons"3:05
6."Every Reason Why"2:16
7."Fragrance" (featuring Abstract Rude)3:47
8."Different"3:05
9."Hillcrest"2:44
10."Slappy the Happy Killer Clown"2:46
11."Best Rapper in the World"1:42
12."Watch What You Do"3:04
13."Freestyle Dedication" (featuring Supernatural)1:57
14."Freestyle Fellowship" (featuring RBX)2:06
15."Sex in the City"3:23
Total length:43:06

Personnel

References

  1. "Knowledge of self: Self Jupiter talks Freestyle Fellowship reunion, returning to school, and the West Coast underground". Los Angeles Times . June 18, 2010. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  2. 1 2 LeRoy, Dan. "Temptations Freestyle Fellowship". AllMusic . Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  3. 1 2 Low, Adam (October 22, 2001). "Freestyle Fellowship - Temptations". HipHopDX . Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  4. 1 2 Haywood, Brad (February 12, 2002). "Freestyle Fellowship: Temptations". Pitchfork . Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  5. M., K. (2004). Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (eds.). (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. p. 312. ISBN   978-0-7432-0169-8.
  6. 1 2 Ryan, Chris (December 2001). "Reviews". Spin . Vol. 17, no. 12. SPIN Media LLC. pp. 160–161. ISSN   0886-3032.
  7. 1 2 Christgau, Robert (January 29, 2002). "Throw Your Hands in the Air". The Village Voice . Archived from the original on January 29, 2002. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  8. 1 2 Tompkins, Dave (October 2001). "Revolutions". Vibe . Vol. 9, no. 10. Vibe Media Group. p. 156. ISSN   1070-4701.