Devil's Night (album)
| Devil's Night | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by D12 | ||||
| Released | June 19, 2001 | |||
| Recorded | 1999–2001 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 75:23 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | Dr. Dre, Eminem (also exec.), Denaun Porter, DJ Head, Jeff Bass | |||
| D12 chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Devil's Night | ||||
| ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | (58/100)[2] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| The A.V. Club | (mixed)[4] |
| Entertainment Weekly | C[5] |
| HipHopDX | |
| NME | 7/10[7] |
| Q | |
| RapReviews | 7.5/10[8] |
| Robert Christgau | C[9] |
| Rolling Stone | |
| The Source |  |
Devil's Night is the debut studio album by Detroit hip hop group D12. It was released on June 19, 2001 under Shady Records and Interscope Records.
Background
The album was executively produced by Eminem, who had recently released his hugely successful third studio album, The Marshall Mathers LP, a year earlier. The album's title comes from the Devil's Night tradition, recognized in and around Detroit in which abandoned homes are set ablaze. This practice was so popular in Detroit that it was depicted in the film 8 Mile. The album produced three singles: "Purple Pills", "Ain't Nuttin' But Music", and "Fight Music". The album featured a hidden track by Eminem called "Girls", which is a diss track aimed at Limp Bizkit, DJ Lethal, Dilated Peoples, and Everlast. Devil's Night was also the first album to be released on Eminem's Shady Records label, although the label has been active since 1999. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 with approximately 372,000 copies sold during the first week of release.[12]
The group recorded Devil's Night in memory of Bugz, who was killed in May 1999 just hours prior to a concert.
Production
In August 2001, while on promotion for the album, D12 and Esham were kicked off the Warped Tour after members of the group allegedly physically attacked Esham over the lyrics of his song "Chemical Imbalance," which contained a reference to Eminem's daughter. Eminem was not present during the tour.
Guest appearances on the album included Dr. Dre, Obie Trice, Truth Hurts, and Dina Rae.
The song "Revelation" parodies "Another Brick in the Wall Pt II", where there are kids screaming and Eminem shouting "Wrong! Do it again!" and "If you don't eat yer meat, you can't have any pudding! You can't have any pudding if you don't eat yer meat!". During the chorus, Eminem also raps: "I don't wanna go to school, I don't need no education".
Censored material
On the censored version of the album, alternate versions of "Purple Pills" and "Fight Music" were included, entitled "Purple Hills" and "Flight Music". "Shit Can Happen", "Pistol Pistol", and "Pimp Like Me", were also edited, removing the offensive content from their titles. The "Dirty Edition" was available in both Europe and the United Kingdom. However, some versions swap the running order, making "Shit on You" track three and "These Drugs" track one. The rare censored version of the album did not remove all expletives, as words like "ass", "asshole", "faggot", "nigga", "pussy", "hoe", "whore", "slut", "tits", "nuts" and "goddamn" were permissible on the album, as well as most sex references. Mostly violence and heavy drug use are removed on the edited version.
There were several songs that contained censored parts, even in the explicit version of the album: In the song "Pistol Pistol", Kon Artis' line "some semi-automatic for static's the motto, spitting like Columbine kids from Colorado" was censored, with the phrase "Columbine kids" removed and replaced with the sound of kids screaming. Eminem also had a censored line at the end of the song, where he said "Sorry cops, fucking pigs" with the words "cops" and "pigs" removed. In the song "Shit Can Happen", the word "cops" is censored again in Eminem's verse when he says "when the cops come knocking". In the song "Purple Pills" the word "infant" is removed from Proof's verse when he says "now I gotta strangle an infant". In the song "Instigator", when Proof says "convinced a tenth grader to run up inside his classroom and leave the kids sprayed up" the phrase "sprayed up" is removed. In the song "Devil's Night", Kuniva's line is censored when he says "and when it blast, it'll take off every piece of your niece, from her barrettes to her cheeks to her cute little feet" with the word "niece" removed and replaced with the sound of a girl's scream.
Critical reception
Upon its release, Devil's Night received a score of 58 out of 100 from Metacritic due to mixed or average reviews from music critics.[2] Nathan Brackett of Rolling Stone gave the album 3 stars out of 5, saying that "If the Slim Shady and Marshall Mathers albums were slapstick trips into one man's psychosis - like the Marx Brothers starring in 'Taxi Driver' - then Devil's Night is 'Friday the 13th' by the Farrelly brothers....with results varying from silly to just dumb....yet its high points are some of the most accomplished hip-hop we'll hear this year."[10] AllMusic wrote "Besides the remarkable production, Eminem also showcases his songwriting genius on several of the song's hooks, bringing a catchy pop-rap approach to hardcore lyrics." [13]
Q Magazine also awarded it 3 stars out of 5, commenting, "A slightly tweaked re-run of The Marshall Mathers LP, with a couple of stonking singles."[14]
NME gave Devil's Night a 7 out of 10, stating that it is "Eminem's most misogynistic, homophobic, violent and anally fixated trip to date."[7] The Source gave the record 3 and half out of 5 mics. As many of the magazines editors were feuding with D12 at the time of the review, namely Benzino, the rating is usually considered biased.[11]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Another Public Service Announcement" (skit by Jeff Bass & Rondell Beene) | 0:49 | ||
| 2. | "Shit Can Happen" | Marshall Mathers, Denaun Porter, Von Carlisle, Ondre Moore, Jeff Bass | Denaun Porter | 4:52 |
| 3. | "Pistol Pistol" | Mathers, Porter, Carlisle, Moore, Rufus Johnson, DeShaun Holton | 5:23 | |
| 4. | "Bizarre" (skit by Bizarre) | 1:12 | ||
| 5. | "Nasty Mind" (featuring Truth Hurts) | Mathers, Porter, Carlisle, Moore, Johnson, Andre Young, Mike Elizondo | Dr. Dre | 4:43 |
| 6. | "Ain't Nuttin' But Music" (featuring Dr. Dre) | Mathers, Porter, Carlisle, Moore, Johnson, Holton, Young, Elizondo, Scott Storch | Dr. Dre | 5:11 |
| 7. | "American Psycho" | Mathers, Porter, Johnson, Bass | 4:36 | |
| 8. | "That's How" (skit by Kon Artis) | 0:37 | ||
| 9. | "That's How..." | Mathers, Porter, Carlisle, Moore, Johnson, Holton, Bass |
| 4:49 |
| 10. | "Purple Pills" | Mathers, Porter, Carlisle, Moore, Johnson, Holton, Bass |
| 5:05 |
| 11. | "Fight Music" | Mathers, Porter, Carlisle, Moore, Johnson, Holton, Young, Elizondo | Dr. Dre | 4:22 |
| 12. | "Instigator" | Mathers, Porter, Carlisle, Moore, Holton, Bass |
| 4:58 |
| 13. | "Pimp Like Me" (featuring Dina Rae) | Mathers, Porter, Carlisle, Moore, Johnson, Holton, Bass |
| 5:57 |
| 14. | "Blow My Buzz" | Mathers, Porter, Carlisle, Moore, Johnson, Holton, Bass |
| 5:10 |
| 15. | "Obie Trice" (skit by Proof and Rondell Beene featuring Obie Trice) | Denaun Porter | 1:07 | |
| 16. | "Devil's Night" | Mathers, Porter, Carlisle, Moore, Johnson, Bass |
| 4:19 |
| 17. | "Steve Berman" (skit by Steve Berman & Eminem) | Paul Rosenberg, Dean Geistlinger | 0:50 | |
| 18. | "Revelation" | Mathers, Porter, Carlisle, Moore, Johnson, Holton, Young, Elizondo, Storch | Dr. Dre | 5:48 |
| 19. | "Girls" (Limp Bizkit Diss) (performed by Eminem) (hidden track) | Mathers, Luis Resto | Eminem | 5:35 |
| Deluxe Edition Bonus Disc | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | "Shit on You" (album version) | 5:14 |
| 2. | "Words Are Weapons" | 4:38 |
| 3. | "These Drugs" | 4:40 |
| 4. | "Video CD-Rom - Includes Shit On You video, 'Dirty TV International' feature and image gallery." | -- |
Notes
Sample credits
- "Shit Can Happen" contains a sample of "Just Another Case" as performed by Cru
- "Pistol Pistol" contains a sample of "Kick in the Door" as performed by The Notorious B.I.G.
- "Nasty Mind" contains a sample of "Ain't No Fun" as performed by Snoop Dogg
- "Ain't Nuttin' but Music" contains a sample of "Turn Off the Radio" as performed by Ice Cube
- "That's How..." contains a sample of "If There's a Hell Below, We're All Going to Go" as performed by Curtis Mayfield
- "Fight Music" contains a sample of "Kashmir" as performed by Led Zeppelin
- "Instigator" contains a sample of "Under the Influence" as performed by D12
- "Revelation" contains a sample of "Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)" as performed by Pink Floyd
- "Girls" contains a sample of "Rollin'" as performed by Limp Bizkit
Personnel
- Jeff Bass – bass and keyboards on tracks 2, 3, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14 and 16; bass on track 19; guitars on tracks 3, 7, 9, 13, 14 and 16
- DJ Head – drum programming on tracks 3, 7, 10, 13, 16 and 19
- Mike Elizondo – guitars on tracks 5, 6, 11 and 18; bass on tracks 5, 6 and 11; keyboards on tracks 5 and 11
- Scott Storch – keyboards on tracks 6, 11 and 18
- Camara Kambon – keyboards on track 5
- Ray Gale – harmonica on track 10
- Traci Nelson – backing vocals on track 11
- Dina Rae – vocals on track 13
- Luis Resto – keyboards on track 19
Chart positions
| Chart (2001) | Position |
|---|---|
| Swedish Album Chart | 9 |
| UK Albums Chart | 2 |
| US Billboard 200 | 1 |
Certifications
- United States - 2x Platinum (2,100,000)
- Canada - Platinum (300,000)
- United Kingdom - Platinum (421,980)[15]
- France - Gold (150,500)
- Germany - Gold (100,000)
- Australia - Platinum (70,000)
- Japan - Platinum (60,000)
References
- ↑ "Eminem's Greatest Hits Reconsidered". MTV.
- 1 2 3 "Critic Reviews for Devil's Night". Metacritic. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
- ↑ Allmusic review
- ↑ Rabin, Nathan (2002-04-19). "D12: Devil's Night". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
- ↑ Browne, David (2001-06-29). "Devils Night Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
- ↑ HipHopDX (21 June 2001). "D12 - Devil's Night". HipHopDX.
- 1 2 Kessler, Ted (2001-07-03). "NME Album Review - D12: Devil's Night". NME. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
- ↑ "RapReviews.com Feature for June 19, 2001 - D12's "Devils Night"". rapreviews.com.
- ↑ Christgau, Robert. "CG: D12". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
- 1 2 Brackett, Nathan (2001-07-19). "Recordings: D12, Devil's Night". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2001-08-02. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
- 1 2 Clip from film Beef III. Shot of Source review 04.40 minutes in Retrieved 2012-02-23.
- ↑ "Devilish D12 Debut At No. 1". Billboard.
- ↑ Birchmeier, Jason. "All Music Overview". Retrieved 5 July 2016.
- ↑ Q Magazine(Summer/01, p.100) Retrieved 2012-02-23.
- ↑ Jones, Alan (November 11, 2013). "Official Charts Analysis: Eminem LP sells 157k in week one". Music Week. Intent Media. Retrieved November 6, 2015. (Subscription required (help)).