The Understanding (Memphis Bleek album)
2000 studio album by Memphis Bleek
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The Understanding is the second studio album by American rapper Memphis Bleek. It was released on December 5, 2000, by Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. The album was produced by Just Blaze, Robert 'Shim' Kirkland, A Kid Called Roots, DJ Twinz, Duane "Da Roc" Ramos, Eddie Scoresazy, Ez Elpee, Jose "Lace" Batiz, Lofey, Timbaland, and T.T., with Jay-Z, Damon Dash and Kareem "Biggs" Burke serving as executive producers. It features guest appearances from Jay-Z, Beanie Sigel, Amil, Carl Thomas, H. Money Bags, Missy Elliott, and Twista. In the United States, the album peaked at number 16 on the Billboard 200 and atop the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on January 8, 2001, for the sales of 500,000 units in the US alone. The album was supported with three singles: "My Mind Right", "Is That Your Chick (The Lost Verses)" and "Do My...".
- Baseline Studios (New York, NY)
- Manhattan Center Studios (New York, NY)
- Quad Studios (New York, NY)
| The Understanding | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | December 5, 2000 | |||
| Recorded | 1999–2000 | |||
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| Genre | Hip-hop | |||
| Length | 50:53 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer |
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| Memphis Bleek chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Understanding | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| HipHopDX |  [2] |
| Los Angeles Times | [3] |
| NME | [4] |
| RapReviews | 7.5/10[5] |
| Rolling Stone | [6] |
| The Source | [7] |
Track listing
Credits adapted from TIDAL.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Intro – U Know Bleek" | Just Blaze | 1:51 | |
| 2. | "Do My..." (featuring Jay-Z) |
| A Kid Called Roots | 3:39 |
| 3. | "I Get High" |
| T.T. | 3:39 |
| 4. | "We Get Low" |
| Just Blaze | 3:09 |
| 5. | "Change Up" (featuring Jay-Z and Beanie Sigel) |
| Robert "Shim" Kirkland | 2:05 |
| 6. | "My Mind Right (Remix)" (featuring Jay-Z, H Money Bags and Beanie Sigel) |
| DJ Twinz | 4:05 |
| 7. | "Hustlers" (featuring Beanie Sigel) |
| Jose "Lace" Batiz | 4:11 |
| 8. | "All Types of Shit" |
| Eddie Scoresazy | 3:48 |
| 9. | "PYT" (featuring Jay-Z and Amil) |
| Robert "Shim" Kirkland | 3:58 |
| 10. | "Bounce Bitch" |
| Lofey | 3:33 |
| 11. | "They'll Never Play Me" |
| Just Blaze | 3:39 |
| 12. | "Everyday" (featuring Carl Thomas) |
| EZ Elpee | 4:12 |
| 13. | "Is That Your Chick (The Lost Verses)" (featuring Jay-Z, Twista and Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott) | Timbaland | 4:54 | |
| 14. | "In My Life" |
| Duane "Da Roc" Ramos | 4:10 |
| Total length: | 50:53 | |||
Sample credits
- "Intro – U Know Bleek" contains samples of:
- "Madhouse", written by Michael Kunze and Sylvester Levay, and performed by Silver Convention.
- "4 da Fam", written by Amil Whitehead, Malik Cox, Tyrone Fyffe, and Dwight Grant; and performed by Amil.
- "I Get High" contains a sample of "Reina de la Noche", written by Ricardo Montaner and Pablo Manavello, and performed by Ricardo Montaner.
- "My Mind Right (Remix)" contains an interpolation of "The Monk", written by Lalo Schifrin.
- "All Types of Shit" contains a sample from "Lady Luck", written by John Townsend.
- "Everyday" contains a sample of "If That's the Way You Feel (Then Let's Fall in Love)", written by Robert Relf and Thomas Anderson, and performed by White Heat.
- "In My Life" contains samples from "I Want to Know What Love Is", written by Mick Jones, and performed by Foreigner.
Personnel
- Supa Engineer DURO – mixing (2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12)
- Bee High – co-executive producer
- Just Blaze – mixing (11)
- Kareem "Biggs" Burke – executive producer
- Shawn Carter – executive producer
- Damon Dash – executive producer
- Jimmy Douglass – engineer and mixing (13)
- Gimel "Young Guru" Keaton – engineer (1–6, 11, 12, 14), mixing (8), Pro Tools editing (13)
- Ken Lewis – guitar and mixing (11)
- Chauncey Mahan – engineer (7), Pro Tools editing (13)
- Midnite – engineer (3)
- Leonard "Lenny S." Santiago – co-executive producer
- Brian Stanley – engineer (7, 8, 10), mixing (1, 3, 14)
- Pat Viala – engineer (6, 9), mixing (5, 6)
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[12] | Gold | 500,000^ |
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^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||