| The King & I | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 19, 2017 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 72:13 | |||
| Label | Rhino | |||
| Producer |
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| Faith Evans album chronology | ||||
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| The Notorious B.I.G. album chronology | ||||
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The King & I is a collaborative album by American singer Faith Evans and late rapper The Notorious B.I.G., released by Rhino Entertainment Company on May 19, 2017. [3]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 48/100 [4] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [5] |
| The Guardian | [6] |
| HipHopDX | 3.1/5 [7] |
| Musikexpress | [8] |
| The Observer | [9] |
| Pitchfork | 4.5/10 [1] |
The King & I received generally mixed reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 48 based on 10 reviews. [4] HipHopDX critic Jesse Fairfax called the album a "worthwhile concept that once deserved to see the light of day," but noted that "excessive filler and intermissions dull the shine of" the release. [7] Hannah J. Davis, writing for The Guardian , noted: "With vocals smoother than a vat of cocoa butter, Evans moves from poignant duet to "Juicy"-style sexathon alongside [The Notorious B.I.G. ], although – naturally – it lacks a certain improvisation and cohesion." [6] AllMusic editor Andy Kellman felt that "the constant recycling, along with the quantity and variety of other voices, detract from some of Evans' best, most impassioned performances, which are matched with some solid work from a roster of co-producers." [5]
Pitchfork editor Evan Rytlewski found that while "the project oozes affection for Biggie, it's yet another gangly, recycled posthumous album of verses we've all heard before [...] The muse is solid, and there's something sweet about the idea that after all these years, Biggie still brings out the best in Evans. Now if only his reconstituted raps weren't plastered over every inch of the record." [1] Spin critic Brian Josephs called the album "an unconvincing Biggie tribute" and added: "It's a sweet sentiment, but The King & I wastes too much energy centering a known relationship on these formless descriptions, a flaw that turns a 72-minute project into a poshly produced endurance contest. The classicist early-aughts R&B is informed by Evans' nostalgic impulse, but the effect is often touristic rather than resonant." [2] Damien Morris from The Observer noted that The Notorious B.I.G. "was never boring, unlike this compilation of tired productions and mawkish interludes. Duets should be meetings of equals. Instead, the greatest rapper of all time is propped up slack-jawed and open-eyed in the corner of each track," [9]
In the United States of America The King & I debuted at number 65 on the Billboard 200, with 9,000 album-equivalent units. [10] By February 2018, it sold 24,000 copies in the United States. [11]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "A Billion" |
|
| 0:59 |
| 2. | "Legacy" |
|
| 4:11 |
| 3. | "Beautiful (Interlude)" |
| Thompson | 0:30 |
| 4. | "Can't Get Enough" |
|
| 3:53 |
| 5. | "Don't Test Me" |
|
| 3:48 |
| 6. | "Big/Faye (Interlude)" (featuring Jamal Woolard) |
| J. Dub | 1:28 |
| 7. | "Tryna Get By" |
|
| 3:46 |
| 8. | "The Reason" |
| Just Blaze | 3:38 |
| 9. | "I Don't Want It" (featuring Lil' Cease) |
|
| 3:29 |
| 10. | "I Got Married (Interlude)" (featuring Mama Wallace) |
|
| 2:26 |
| 11. | "Ten Wife Commandments" |
|
| 3:47 |
| 12. | "We Just Clicked (Interlude)" (featuring Mama Wallace) |
|
| 1:05 |
| 13. | "A Little Romance" |
|
| 3:04 |
| 14. | "The Baddest (Interlude)" |
|
| 0:43 |
| 15. | "Fool for You" |
|
| 4:22 |
| 16. | "Crazy (Interlude)" (featuring 112 and Mama Wallace) |
|
| 1:13 |
| 17. | "Got Me Twisted" |
|
| 2:54 |
| 18. | "When We Party" (featuring Snoop Dogg) |
|
| 3:27 |
| 19. | "Somebody Knows" (featuring Busta Rhymes) |
|
| 5:15 |
| 20. | "Take Me There" (featuring Sheek Louch and Styles P) |
| Just Blaze | 4:01 |
| 21. | "One in the Same" |
|
| 3:25 |
| 22. | "I Wish (Interlude)" (featuring Kevin McCall and Chyna Tahjere) |
|
| 1:27 |
| 23. | "Lovin' You for Life" (featuring Lil' Kim) |
|
| 3:49 |
| 24. | "NYC" (featuring Jadakiss) |
|
| 3:29 |
| 25. | "It Was Worth It" |
|
| 1:58 |
| Total length: | 72:13 | |||
| No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26. | "Body Language" |
| 3:20 |
| 27. | "My B" |
| 3:15 |
Notes
Sample credits
| Chart (2017) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA) [12] | 85 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [13] | 132 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [14] | 174 |
| US Billboard 200 [15] | 65 |
| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [16] | 31 |
Christopher George Latore Wallace, better known by his stage names The Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta rap, he is widely considered one of the greatest rappers of all time. Wallace became known for his distinctive laid-back lyrical delivery, offsetting the lyrics' often grim content.
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Faith Renée Evans is an American R&B singer, songwriter and actress known as "The First Lady of R&B". Born in Lakeland, Florida, and raised in New Jersey, she relocated to Los Angeles in 1991 for a career in the music business. After working as a backing vocalist for Al B. Sure! and Christopher Williams, she became the first female artist to contract with Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs' Bad Boy Records in 1994 at age 20. On the label, she featured on records with several label mates such as 112 and Carl Thomas, and released three platinum-certified studio albums between 1995 and 2001: Faith (1995) and Keep the Faith (1998), and Faithfully (2001).
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