Double Cup

The cover features a nighttime aerial shot of Rashad's hometown Chicago, designed by Rashad's friend Ashes57.^[3][4] Double Cup was named after a way to prepare the drug lean.^[4]

Several Teklife members contributed to the LP, with Rashad saying collaboration helped.^[5][6] According to collaborator DJ Spinn, many of the album's songs were ones he and Rashad had already created, then reworked over a seven to eight month period.^[7] Spinn said Double Cup was mainly recorded in his studio^[7] and their friend Taso's then-girlfriend's apartment in San Francisco, much of the time under the influence of cannabis.^[4][5]

More information Aggregate scores, Source ...

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.1/10[8]
Metacritic	79/100[9]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[10]
Drowned in Sound	8/10[11]
Exclaim!	9/10[12]
Fact	3/5[13]
Mixmag	5/5[14]
NME	8/10[15]
Pitchfork	8.6/10[16]
Resident Advisor	4.0/5[17]
Rolling Stone	[18]
Time Out	[19]

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Double Cup has received some acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 79 based on 13 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[9]

Writing for Exclaim!, James Williams said the album contended for the freshest-sounding of the year, carrying the trademarks of footwork while incorporating new ideas.^[12] Drowned in Sound's George Bass commended Double Cup's accessibility and balance of electronics and drugs.^[11] John Calvert of NME said that "it's the sound of [footwork] at its most bonkers", praising the album's innovation in a genre that "reinvents itself on an almost weekly basis".^[15] Andrew Spragg of The Quietus complimented Double Cup as a "breakthrough" that demonstrates complexity, coherency and appeal, calling Rashad someone who "knows how to signpost a good legacy".^[20] Seb Wheeler wrote for Mixmag that the album is Rashad's "career-defining" work and contains some of his "most imaginative material" yet.^[14] Christian F of Fact criticized the album as being regressive due to what he saw as a less abrasive and more genre-diluted sound than Rashad's previous work, with Mike Powell of Rolling Stone saying that the music was "thrilling in five-minute bursts" but "a little tiring over a 50-minute LP".^[13][18]

DJ Rashad said the album's reception had him "stunned, flattered [and] blessed".^[6] Pitchfork placed Double Cup at number 35 on their 2014 list of "100 Best Albums of the Decade So Far"^[21] and at number 20 on their 2019 list of "The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s".^[22]

On December 8, 2023, a tenth anniversary edition was issued with a new album cover by the same designer. It included the previously CD-only bonus track "Last Winter", which received a new music video.^[3][23] On the album's tenth anniversary, many publications credited it with globally popularizing footwork, with Mixmag calling it "one of the most influential and innovative albums of the last decade".^[24][4][25] Some publications have retrospectively increased their original ratings for Double Cup, such as AllMusic changing their 4/5 to a 5/5,^[26][10] and Spectrum Culture changing their 2.5/5 to a 4/5 for the reissue.^[27][28]

• 10 Years of DJ Rashad's 'Double Cup': An Interview With DJ Spinn. Passion of the Weiss. Retrieved October 20, 2024.