51 (album)

51 is the second solo mixtape by rapper Kool A.D., formerly of the rap group Das Racist. The mixtape, released in April 2012, is a follow-up to Kool A.D.'s debut solo mixtape, The Palm Wine Drinkard, which was released in January 2012.

51
Mixtape by
Kool A.D.
ReleasedApril 24, 2012 (2012-04-24)
RecordedOakland, California
GenreHip hop, alternative hip hop
Length59:07
LabelGreedhead / Mishka / Veehead[1]
ProducerKool A.D., Amaze 88, Trackademicks, KechPhrase, Young L, Mike Finito
Kool A.D. chronology
The Palm Wine Drinkard
(2012)		 51
(2012)		 63 and 19
(2013)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Consequence of Sound[2]
Pitchfork(7.9/10)[3]
Prefix Magazine(8.0/10)[4]
Robert Christgau(B+)[5]
Rolling Stone[1]

Recording

Unlike previous Das Racist efforts, Kool A.D. recorded 51 in Oakland, California, which resulted in a more confident sound according to many critics.[2] A.D. recruited many Bay Area producers and rappers to assist him with the creation of the mixtape, though fellow New York-based Das Racist member Heems appears on one track.

Content

A variety of references are made throughout the lyrics of 51. Kool A.D. disparagingly references the feud between Drake and Common by commenting, "Who cares?" on the track "La Pinata." Other references in the mixtape include boxer Manny Pacquiao, artist Damien Hirst, musician Al Green, and Lady Gaga's song "Poker Face." The tracks "Oooh" and "No" sample Marvin Gaye.

Reception

51 received mostly positive reviews from critics. Many compared the album positively to Kool A.D.'s less well-received previous effort, The Palm Wine Drinkard. Pitchfork applauded the fact that "Kool A.D. is actually rapping for the most part on this one rather than further pursuing the robo-tripping path of Palm Wine Drinkard," noting that 51 is "the most consistently listenable thing out of the Greedhead camp since Sit Down, Man probably because it's the most effortlessly fun since Shut Up, Dude."[3] In a positive review, Prefix Magazine described the mixtape as "a damn fine mixtape—album, release, whatever. It’s a trip down into Kool A.D.’s psyche, a demonstrable showing that while Das Racist might be based in New York, one of their members is spiritually Bay."[4] Rolling Stone's Matthew Trammell, in a mixed review, wrote that "the project veers off course when A.D. taps Bay Area-beatmaker Young L, and derails entirely (and possibly intentionally) when the rapper steps behind the boards for songs like the grinding, non-sensical 'Power/Refinement Knowledge,'" though Trammell noted that the mixtape as a whole "suggest[s] that Kool A.D should record in the Bay Area more often."[1]

Track listing
No.TitleProducerLength
1."51"Amaze 884:52
2."Electrum"Illingsworth1:25
3."La Pinata"Amaze 882:15
4."Oooh" (feat. Main Attrakionz)Amaze 884:03
5."Arrested Development" (feat. Kassa Overall)Kechphrase3:41
6."Ticky Tacky" (feat. Main Attrakionz & Green Ova)Young L2:50
7."Manny Pacquiao"Trackademicks3:47
8."California Music Channel" (feat. Trackademicks)Trackademicks3:12
9."Power / Refinement Knowledge"Kool A.D.1:56
10."Donda"Amaze 881:08
11."Biz vs. Nuge" 0:24
12."Damien Hirst" (feat. Mondre M.A.N. & Dope G)Young L4:05
13."Town Business" (feat. Mondre M.A.N., Trackademicks & Dope G)Trackademicks3:40
14."Leverage" (feat. Boots Riley)Amaze 881:50
15."Gentry"Kool A.D.2:37
16."TV Eye"Amaze 882:55
17."No"Amaze 883:17
18."The Robbery"Amaze 881:56
19."A Milli"Kool A.D.1:23
20."A Different World" (feat. Meyhem Lauren & Heems)Mike Finito3:09
21."Al Green"Kool A.D. & Daniel Lynas2:41
22."Island High Cypher"Amaze 882:12
gollark: Possibly Good Stuff:* TypeScript - your code can actually be typechecked reasonably well* React - very nice declarative rendering of stuff* async/await - whilst not as good as monadic whatevers, it does make asynchronous stuff much nicer* Ramda - very nice functional utilities
gollark: I do quite like *some* of JS, just not... most?
gollark: We need this in a library; people can't implement this on their own without being professional developers.
gollark: And, well, `x % 2 === 0` is also astoundingly complex. I mean, look at that weird squiggly confusing thing that very senior, experienced developers call "modulus"!
gollark: As we all know, `typeof x === "number"` is so very complicated that to ensure people can do it easily - without getting it wrong by falling into one of many, many pitfalls - it has to be in a library.

References
  1. Matthew Trammell (June 15, 2012). "Kool A.D.: 51". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2012-06-17.
  2. Adam Kivel (May 8, 2012). "Album Review: Kool A.D. - 51". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 2012-06-17.
  3. Ian Cohen (April 27, 2012). "Kool A.D.: 51". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2012-06-17.
  4. Andrew Winistorfer (April 30, 2012). "Album Review: Kool A.D. - 51". Prefix Magazine. Retrieved 2012-06-17.
  5. Robert Christgau. "Kool A.D."
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