| 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, known by the stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, and Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in the New York rap scene and gangsta rap traditions, he is widely considered one of the greatest rappers of all time. Wallace became known for his distinctive, laidback lyrical delivery, offsetting his lyrics' often grim content. His music was usually semi-autobiographical, telling of hardship and criminality but also of debauchery and celebration.
Life After Death is the second studio album by American rapper the Notorious B.I.G., released on March 25, 1997, on Bad Boy Records and Arista Records. A double album, it was released sixteen days after his murder. It features collaborations with guest artists such as 112, Jay-Z, Lil' Kim, Mase, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Too Short, Angela Winbush, Darryl McDaniels of Run-DMC, R. Kelly, the Lox, and Puff Daddy. Life After Death exhibits the Notorious B.I.G. further delving into the mafioso rap subgenre. The album is a sequel to his first album, Ready to Die, and picks up where the last song, "Suicidal Thoughts", ends.
Faith Renée Evans is an American R&B singer, songwriter, and actress. Born in Lakeland, Florida and raised in New Jersey, she relocated to Los Angeles in 1991 in pursuit of a recording career. Evans initially performed as a backing vocalist for R&B singers Al B. Sure! and Christopher Williams, and by the age of 20, signed with Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records as the label's first female artist in 1994. Following her uncredited appearance on labelmate the Notorious B.I.G.'s single "One More Chance", she released her debut studio album, Faith (1995), to critical acclaim and moderate commercial reception. Evans then guest performed alongside 112 on Puff Daddy’s 1997 single "I'll Be Missing You," which won Best Rap Performance at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards and became the first hip hop song to debut atop the Billboard Hot 100. Her second and third albums, Keep the Faith (1998) and Faithfully (2001), peaked at numbers six and 14 on the Billboard 200, respectively, and saw further critical praise.
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