Czarface (album)

Czarface
Studio album by Czarface
Released February 19, 2013
Recorded 2012
Genre Hip hop
Length 46:41
Label Brick Records
Producer
Czarface chronology
Czarface
(2013)		 Every Hero Needs a Villain
(2015)

Czarface is the eponymous debut studio album by American hip hop supergroup Czarface.[1][2] The album was released on February 19, 2013, by Brick Records.[3] The album features guest appearances from Roc Marciano, Oh No, Ghostface Killah, Action Bronson, Cappadonna and Vinnie Paz. The album's production comes from 7L, Spada4 and DJ Premier.[4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic77/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
Exclaim![6]
HipHopDX[7]
PopMatters[8]
Q[9]
XXL (XL)[10]

Czarface was met with generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 77, based on 7 reviews, which indicates "generally positive reviews".[5] Omar Burgess of HipHopDX gave the album four out of five stars, saying "CZARFACE has no major flaws. It’s obviously not for everyone, yet even when incorporating current critical favorites like Action Bronson and Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire, no compromises are made. Inspectah Deck, 7L & Esoteric use '90s East Coast Hip Hop as a blueprint to innovate, and ultimately, that’s what made that era so special in the first place."[7] Bryan Hahn of The Source gave the album a positive review, saying "Czarface doesn't fall short of what it wanted to accomplish-knocking the chumps out the ring. It doesn't pretend to deliver positive messages for the kids or even tell heart wrenching stories about the hood. Plain and simple, 7L masterminded sinister beats while Esoteric and Inspectah Deck recruited some fellow emcees to show the potential of the often-mislead art of lyricism can sound like. Long live, Czarface."[11] Mark Bozzer of Exclaim! gave the album a seven out of ten, saying "Minus all of the corny sound bites, this album undoubtedly keeps the underground renaissance sizzling."[6]

Bogar Alonso of XXL gave the album an XL, saying "Mention of the ‘90s, hip-hop’s supposed last golden era, might make some queeze, and for good reason. Hip-hop purists have long sucked on the decade like a warm thumb, afraid of the cold, mean world that lay ahead. But CZARFACE, also the name for Deck and co.’s group, keeps matters as fresh. The album’s marquee—with names like Roc Marciano, Action Bronson, and Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire—assures just that. “Cement 3’s,” “It’s Raw,” and “Poisonous Thoughts”―listed in the order of appearance of the guests mentioned―come off as love letters rather than industry rub-offs. If the above trio were operating in the late ‘90s, they’d be dropping similar heat."[10] Matthew Fiander of PopMatters gave the album a six out of ten, saying "Song to song we see confident production and expert rhyming from guys we know can do both. But while Inspectah Deck may be one of the most effortless emcees in Wu-Tang, he’s not the most narrative. Neither is Esoteric. So while the songs here bang in all the ways you want, they rarely catch you off guard and they rarely tell you where they’re going. Not that they need to, but that sense of direction, out of the past and toward something new, might have elevated a good album to something great."[8]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 34 on the US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums in the first week of its release.[12]

Track listing

No.TitleProducer(s)[13]Length
1."Czarface" (Intro)7L1:16
2."Air ‘Em Out"
  • 7L
  • Todd Spadafore
2:41
3."Cement 3′s" (featuring Roc Marciano)
  • 7L
  • Todd Spadafore
3:25
4."Czar Refaeli" (featuring Oh No)
  • 7L
  • Todd Spadafore
4:00
5."Rock Beast"
  • 7L
  • Todd Spadafore
2:55
6."Savagely Attack" (featuring Ghostface Killah)7L3:20
7."Marvel Team-Up"7L2:27
8."It’s Raw" (featuring Action Bronson)
  • 7L
  • Todd Spadafore
4:47
9."Let It Off"DJ Premier4:22
10."Word War 4"7L2:51
11."Dead Zone"7L2:56
12."Poisonous Thoughts" (featuring Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire)7L4:04
13."Shoguns" (featuring Cappadonna and Vinnie Paz)7L4:40
14."Hazmat Rap"
  • 7L
  • Todd Spadafore
2:57
Total length:46:41
Extended Second Edition Bonus Track[14]
No.TitleProducer(s)Length
15."Rock Beast (Death Czar Remix)"7L2:37

References

  1. ↑ @MCEsoteric (17 February 2013). "@uncle_nutty nah it's CZARFACE as the group name, and it's a self titled album" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. ↑ @MCEsoteric (16 May 2015). "the new album is named "Every Hero Needs a Villain" and ---ahem---CZARFACE is the name of the group twitter.com/harry_amey/status/599616542905606145" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. ↑ Horowitz, Steven J. (2013-01-07). "Inspectah Deck & 7L & Esoteric "CZARFACE" Tracklist & Cover Art". HipHopDX. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  4. ↑ "Czarface: Inspectah Deck with 7L & Esoteric: Music". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  5. 1 2 "Critic Reviews for Czarface". Metacritic. Retrieved 2013-04-15.
  6. 1 2 Bozzer, Mark (2013-02-19). "Czarface - Czarface • Hip-Hop Reviews •". Exclaim.ca. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  7. 1 2 Burgess, Omar (February 20, 2013). "Inspectah Deck & 7L & Esoteric - Czarface". HipHopDX. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  8. 1 2 Fiander, Matthew. "Czarface: Czarface". PopMatters. Retrieved 2013-04-15.
  9. ↑ "Czarface Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2013-04-15.
  10. 1 2 "CZARFACE (7L & Esoteric and Inspectah Deck), CZARFACE Review". XXL. February 20, 2013. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Review: Czarface (Inspectah Deck + 7L & Esoteric) - Czarface". The Source. February 27, 2013. Retrieved March 2, 2013.
  12. ↑ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums : Page 4". Billboard. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  13. ↑ "CZARFACE - CZARFACE - Vinyl LP Record [2LP] - Underground Hip Hop - Store". Underground Hip Hop. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  14. ↑ "Czarface - Czarface (Extended Second Edition W/ Bonus Track) - Audio Cd - Underground Hip Hop - Store". Ughh.com. Retrieved 2013-10-12.

Czarface at Discogs (list of releases)

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