Blacks' Magic
1990 studio album by Salt-N-Pepa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Blacks' Magic is the third studio album by American hip-hop group Salt-N-Pepa. It was released through Next Plateau and London Records on March 19, 1990. For a critical and commercial success, the album peaked at number 38 on the US Billboard 200 and number 15 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments in excess of one million copies in the United States. The album saw the release of six singles: "Expression" (#26 US, #23 UK), "I Don't Know (featuring Kid N' Play), "Independent", "Do You Want Me" (#31 US, #23 UK), "Let's Talk About Sex (#13 US, #2 UK and Top 5 in several other countries), and "You Showed Me" (#47 US, #15 UK).
- Bayside Sound (New York City)
- Soundtrack (New York City)
| Blacks' Magic | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 19, 1990 | |||
| Recorded | 1989–1990 | |||
| Studios |
| |||
| Genre | Hip-hop | |||
| Length | 52:48 | |||
| Labels | ||||
| Producers |
| |||
| Salt-N-Pepa chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Blacks' Magic | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Christgau's Consumer Guide | A−[2] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  [3] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+[4] |
| Los Angeles Times | [5] |
| Melody Maker | (favorable)[6] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [7] |
| Spin | (favorable)[8] |
Track listing
All tracks are written by Fingerprints, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Expression" | Salt |
| 4:04 |
| 2. | "Doper Than Dope" |
| 4:21 | |
| 3. | "Negro wit' an Ego" |
| 3:40 | |
| 4. | "You Showed Me" |
|
| 4:01 |
| 5. | "Do You Want Me" |
| 4:52 | |
| 6. | "Swift" |
| 4:04 | |
| 7. | "I Like to Party" |
| 3:51 | |
| 8. | "Blacks' Magic" |
| 4:16 | |
| 9. | "Start the Party" | James | Salt | 3:51 |
| 10. | "Let's Talk About Sex" |
| 3:33 | |
| 11. | "I Don't Know" |
| 3:11 | |
| 12. | "Live and Let Die" |
| 3:07 | |
| 13. | "Independent" | James | Salt | 4:46 |
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Blacks' Magic.[9]
Salt-N-Pepa
Additional musicians
- Dante Basco - Rapping
- Jacci McGhee – special guest appearance (track 1)
- Joyce Martin – background vocals (track 4)
- Alpha – background vocals (tracks 5, 10)
- Omega – background vocals (tracks 5, 10)
- Hurby Luv Bug – background vocals (tracks 5, 10)
- Kid 'n Play – special guest appearance (track 11)
- Sybil – special guest appearance (track 13)
- Stanley Brown – all keyboards
Technical
- Salt – production (tracks 1, 7, 9, 13)
- Steevee-O, The Boy Wonder – production (tracks 2, 6)
- The Invincibles – production (tracks 2–8, 10–12)
- Hurby Luv Bug – production (tracks 3, 5, 7, 10, 11); album concept
- Excalibur – production (track 4)
- Spinderella – production (track 8)
- Quicksilver – production (track 12)
- Play – album concept
- Andre DeBourg – engineering
- Dana 'Dum' Mozie – engineering
- Herb "Pump" Powers – mastering
Artwork
- Charles Lilly – illustration
- Faville Graphics – design
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[16] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||