Urban Rapsody

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Urban Rapsody
Rick James - Urban Rapsody album cover.jpg
Studio album by
Rick James
ReleasedOctober 14, 1997
Genre Funk
Length72:28
Label Private-I/Mercury/PolyGram [1]
Producer Rick James, Daniel LeMelle
Rick James chronology
Kickin'
(1989)		Urban Rapsody
(1997)		 Deeper Still
(2007)

Urban Rapsody is the twelfth studio album by the American funk singer Rick James. [2] [3] It was released through Mercury Records and Private-I Records in 1997, and was the final album released in his lifetime. The album combines rap and funk.

Contents

Urban Rapsody received a Parental Advisory sticker, James's only album with one. It was his first release since 1988's Wonderful , due to substance abuse problems and an extended period of incarceration.

The album peaked at No. 170 on the Billboard charts. [4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [5]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Entertainment Weekly B− [7]

(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide gave the album 1.5 stars (out of 5), writing that it is a "cannily conservative attempt to recapture the R&B portion of his audience, but it lacks the fire of his early hits." [8]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Rick James, except where noted.

  1. "Urban Rapsody" (James, LeMelle, Rappin' 4-Tay)
  2. "West Coast Thing" (James, Shepherd)
  3. "Somebody's Watching You" (James, Shepherd)
  4. "Back in You Again"
  5. "Turn It Out"
  6. "Good Ol' Days"
  7. "Player's Way" (James, Snoop Dogg, Shepherd)
  8. "Never Say You Love Me"
  9. "It's Time" (James, Shepherd, Neb Love)
  10. "So Soft So Wet" (James, Shepherd)
  11. "Bring On the Love"
  12. "Mama's Eyes" (James, Shepherd)
  13. "Soul Sista"
  14. "Favorite Flava" (James, Shepherd, Neb Love)
  15. "Urban Rapsody (Reprise)" (James, LeMelle)

References

  1. ↑ Conner, Thomas [in German]. "Freak Out! Rick James Leaves Prison a New Man". Tulsa World.
  2. ↑ "Freedom Funk : A Liberated Rick James Isn't Singing Any Folsom Prison Blues". Los Angeles Times. September 27, 1997.
  3. ↑ Catlin, Roger. "Rick James Reaches Deep into His Past for Show at the Palace". Hartford Courant.
  4. ↑ "Rick James". Billboard.
  5. ↑ "Urban Rapsody: Rick James". AllMusic. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  6. ↑ Larkin, Colin (May 27, 2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN   9780857125958.
  7. ↑ "Album Review: 'Urban Rapsody'". Entertainment Weekly. October 24, 1997. Archived from the original on November 6, 2015.
  8. ↑ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (July 11, 2004). (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. ISBN   9780743201698.


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