Fire in the Hole (album)
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| Fire in the Hole | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 10, 2004 | |||
| Recorded | 2003–04 | |||
| Studio | State Street Studios (Brooklyn, NY) | |||
| Genre | Hip-hop | |||
| Length | 56:25 | |||
| Label | Babygrande | |||
| Producer |
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| Brand Nubian chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Fire in the Hole | ||||
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Fire in the Hole is the fifth studio album by American hip-hop group Brand Nubian. It was released on August 10, 2004, via Babygrande Records. Recording sessions took place at State Street Studios in Brooklyn. Production was handled by members DJ Alamo, Grand Puba, Sadat X, and Lord Jamar, who also served as executive producer together with Chuck Wilson. It features guest appearances from Starr and Aisha Mike. The album made it to No. 57 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart in the United States.
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 68/100[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| HipHopDX | 4/5[3] |
| Pitchfork | 6.5/10[4] |
| RapReviews | 8/10[5] |
| Spin | B−[6] |
| Stylus Magazine | C[7] |
| The New Rolling Stone Album Guide |  [8] |
Fire in the Hole was met with generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 68, based on seven reviews.[1]
Steve 'Flash' Juon of RapReviews.com praised the album, saying: "may be one of 2004's most important rap records".[5] Spin reviewer called it "a snappier comeback than 1998's Foundation".[6] Writing for Pitchfork, Jamin Warren stated: "unfortunately, Fire in the Hole fails to invoke any effective nostalgia as it phlegmatically wanders through 12 solid but unexciting tracks".[4]
In mixed reviews, AllMusic's Andy Kellman wrote: "few will ever refer to this as a classic, though even fewer will ever think of this as a poor showing".[2] Gabe Gloden of Stylus Magazine found: "unfortunately, even when they attempt to paint a serious social commentary, they can’t seem to suppress their sophomoric potty humor".[7]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Who Wanna Be a Star? (It's Brand Nu Baby!)" | Lord Jamar | 4:13 | |
| 2. | "Young Son" |
| Lord Jamar | 4:31 |
| 3. | "Where Are You Now?" (featuring Starr) |
|
| 4:18 |
| 4. | "Just Don't Learn" |
|
| 5:14 |
| 5. | "Still Livin' in the Ghetto" (featuring Starr) |
| Lord Jamar | 5:44 |
| 6. | "Momma" |
| DJ Alamo | 5:06 |
| 7. | "Got a Knot" |
|
| 4:27 |
| 8. | "Coming Years" |
| Lord Jamar | 4:19 |
| 9. | "Whatever Happened...?" |
| Lord Jamar | 4:06 |
| 10. | "Always Mine" |
| Lord Jamar | 4:03 |
| 11. | "Ooh Child" (featuring Aisha Mike) |
|
| 4:46 |
| 12. | "Soldier's Story" |
| Lord Jamar | 5:38 |
| Total length: | 56:25 | |||
Personnel
- Lorenzo "Lord Jamar" DeChalus – vocals, producer (tracks: 1–5, 8–12), additional producer (track 7), recording, executive producer
- Maxwell "Grand Puba" Dixon – vocals, producer (tracks: 7, 11)
- Derek "Sadat X" Murphy – vocals, producer (track 3)
- K. "DJ Alamo" Jones – producer (tracks: 4, 6)
- Starr – vocals (tracks: 3, 5)
- Aisha Mike – vocals (track 11)
- Bernard Grobman – guitar (track 5)
- Chris Conway – mixing
- Emily Lazar – mastering
- Sarah Register – additional mastering
- Charles "Chuck" Wilson Jr. – executive producer
- Jeff Chenault – art direction, design
- Dennis Edwards – photography
- Seth Kushner – photography
- Jesse Stone – marketing
