Born to Reign

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Born to Reign is the third studio album released by American actor and rapper Will Smith. The album was released on Columbia Records in the United States on June 25, 2002 and was considered a drop from his previous level of success, having only reached Gold status by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), whereas Big Willie Style and Willennium both reached multi-platinum status. This album includes "Black Suits Comin' (Nod Ya Head)", which was also the lead single from the original motion picture soundtrack of Men in Black II. The album also spawned the European hit single "1000 Kisses", which features vocals from Smith's wife Jada Pinkett Smith.

Reception

Critical

AllMusic gave the album a four-star rating, claiming:

"It'd be inaccurate to call Will Smith's third album the musical equivalent of Ali -- a bid for artistic credibility from an artist so assured and smooth, it's been easy to pigeonhole him as merely a pop artist -- but given the range and harder edge on Born to Reign, it's hard not to think of it at first. Make no mistake, this is not as serious as Ali, nor is it a record whose first intent is to enlighten and educate. It's a fun, pop-leaning record, much like his first two records, and never is it afraid to return to the sounds and styles that brought the former Fresh Prince big hits, but among comfortably familiar jams, Smith stretches his legs. Some of the hip-hop hits harder; there's a touch of reggae; he even appropriates a bit of a Ricky Martin vibe on "I Can't Stop.

It's a small but significant change, and while it doesn't result in a record that flows as effortlessly, or giddily, as Willennium, it's easy to appreciate the effort to stretch, because even if all the experiments aren't necessarily successful, however, sometimes, the idea is better than the execution, it does reinvigorate the Smith signature pop-rap sound, apart, oddly, from the theme for Men in Black 2, "Black Suits Comin'," the only cut in this vein to fall flat, and results in another solid record from Smith. Maybe not as consistent as its predecessors, but still enjoyable in its familiar turf, while provoking admiration for its ambition, even when it's not always satisfying. Not a bad way to stretch."[1]

Commercial

Born to Reign debuted at number 13 on the US Billboard 200, selling 60,000 copies in its first week.[2] On July 26, 2002 the album has been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). As of April 2005, the album sold 237,000 copies in the US.[2]

Controversy

The album was released as a copy-protected disc, which reportedly not only prevented the contents of the disc from being copied, but froze users' computers after they attempted to listen to it via their CD-ROM drives. This resulted in complaints of lost computer files due to the album's protection element.[1]

Track listing

Template:Track listing

Notes[3]
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  • <templatestyles src="Citation/styles.css"/>^[c] signifies a vocal producer.
Sample credits[3]

Personnel

Personnel credits adapted from liner notes.[3]

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  • Annas Allaf – guitar (tracks 3, 5)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., Rhodes (track 5)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., Pro Tools engineer (tracks 6, 8, 9, 11)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Jerry Allen – additional production (track 12)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Rico Anderson – producer and programming (track 8)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Chandler Bridges – engineer (tracks 9, 14)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., Pro Tools engineer (tracks 1-3, 5, 6, 11, 12)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • David Campbell – string arrangements (tracks 3, 5, 11, 12)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Rob Chiarelli – producer (tracks 7, 11-13)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., additional production (tracks 3, 5)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., bass (tracks 5, 6)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., guitar (track 6)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., engineer (tracks 1, 5, 6, 8, 11-13)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., mixing (tracks 1, 3, 5, 7-9, 11)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Luis Conte – percussion (tracks 3, 11)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Steve Churchyard – strings engineer (tracks 1, 3, 5, 11, 12)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., percussion engineer (track 11)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Tony Dofat – producer (track 6)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Brandon Duncan – engineer (track 3)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., Pro Tools engineer (tracks 1, 5, 6)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Ron Feemster – additional production (track 7)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Dominique Fillan – steel drums engineer (track 11)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Bryan Golder – engineer (track 3)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., Pro Tools engineer (tracks 1, 5, 8-12, 14)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein – DJ scratches (track 9)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Andy Haller – engineer (track 2)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Jerry Hey – horn arrangements (tracks 3, 11)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Bryon Jones – vocal producer (track 5)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • John Kaplan – engineer (track 8)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Tim Kelley – producer, vocal producer, and engineer (tracks 2, 10)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Mar'Laina Kemp – background vocals (track 13)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Knowledge – additional vocals (track 2)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Abe Laboriel, Jr. – drums (track 11)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • L.E.S. – producer (track 9)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Manny Marroquin – mixing (tracks 2, 6, 10)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Herb Middleton – producer (track 9)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Jamie Muhoberac – keyboards (track 5)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Derek Nakamoto – string arrangements (track 1)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Andy Narell – steel drums (track 11)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Jimane Nelson – co-producer (track 11)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Gregg Pagani – producer (track 13)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Nora Payne – background vocals (track 9)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Poke & Tone – producers (tracks 3, 5)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Herb Powers Jr. – mastering
  • O.Banga – vocal producer (tracks 1-3, 5, 6, 8-10, 13)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., additional vocals (track 2)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., executive producer
  • Rick Rock – producer (track 1)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Bob Robinson – producer (tracks 2, 10)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Sauce – producer (track 14)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., vocal producer (track 5)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Dexter Simmons – mixing (tracks 12, 14)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Jada Pinkett-Smith – featured vocals (track 5)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Will Smith – vocals, producer (track 7)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., executive producer
  • Mark Sparks – producer (tracks 7, 11, 12)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Kel Spencer – additional vocals (track 11)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Trā-Knox – vocals
  • Christina Vidal – featured vocals (track 13)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Erick Walls – additional production (track 12)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

Template:Div col end

Charts

Weekly charts

Template:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chart
Weekly chart performance for Born to Reign
Chart (2002) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[4] 58
Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[5] 29
Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[6] 10
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[7] 30

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for Born to Reign
Chart (2002) Peak
position
Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[8] 98
Canadian Rap Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[9] 53

Certifications

Template:Certification Table Top Template:Certification Table Entry

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References

Template:Reflist Template:Will Smith

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  1. ↑ a b Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Allmusic
  2. ↑ a b Template:Cite magazine
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