Albert Einstein (album)

Albert Einstein is the second collaborative studio album by American hip hop recording artist Prodigy of Mobb Deep and American record producer The Alchemist. The album was released on June 11, 2013, by Infamous Records. The album features guest appearances from Roc Marciano, Domo Genesis, The Alchemist, Havoc, Raekwon and Action Bronson.

Albert Einstein
Studio album by
Prodigy and The Alchemist
ReleasedJune 11, 2013
Recorded2012-2013
GenreHip hop
Length47:45
LabelInfamous Records
ProducerThe Alchemist, Adrian Younge
Prodigy and The Alchemist chronology
Return of the Mac
(2007)		 Albert Einstein
(2013)
Prodigy chronology
The Bumpy Johnson Album
(2012)		 Albert Einstein
(2013)		 Hegelian Dialectic (The Book of Revelation)
(2017)
The Alchemist chronology
Russian Roulette
(2012)		 Albert Einstein
(2013)
Singles from Albert Einstein
  1. "Give ‘Em Hell"
    Released: January 28, 2013
  2. "Dough Pildin'"
    Released: May 12, 2013
  3. "Y.N.T."
    Released: June 4, 2013
  4. "IMDKV"
    Released: February 3, 2014

Background

On November 27, 2012 Prodigy announced an upcoming collaboration album with producer The Alchemist via his Twitter account, along with the title of Albert Einstein. He also would say the album was scheduled for an early 2013 release. It would be their second collaboration album after 2007's Return of the Mac.[1] In November 2012, when speaking about the album with Complex Prodigy described it as a concept album.[2]

On April 7, 2013 The Alchemist revealed via Twitter that the album had been completed.[3] Then on April 12, 2013, the album's official track listing was revealed. The album contains 16 tracks and features guest appearances by Roc Marciano, Domo Genesis, Havoc, Raekwon, and Action Bronson.[4][5]

Release and promotion

The first single, "Give ‘Em Hell" was released on January 28, 2013 via Prodigy's SoundCloud page. The song features vocals by Prodigy and was produced by The Alchemist.[6][7] The album was originally scheduled to be released on May 14, 2013, but Amazon.com would later reveal a release date for the album of June 11, 2013.[8] The second song released in promotion of the album would be "Dough Pildin'" on May 12, 2013.[9] On June 4, 2013, the music video was released for "Y.N.T." featuring Domo Genesis.[10] The music video for "Dough Pildin'" was released on June 17, 2013.[11] On June 25, 2013, the music video was released for "Give ‘Em Hell".[12] On February 3, 2014, the music video was released for "IMDKV".[13]

Critical response
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic73/100[14]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllHipHop8/10[15]
AllMusic[16]
Exclaim!6/10[17]
HipHopDX[18]
Pitchfork Media8.2/10[19]
PopMatters7/10[20]
RapReviews8.5/10[21]
XXL (L)[22]

Albert Einstein was met with generally positive reviews 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 73, based on 7 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[14] Reed Jackson of XXL gave the album an L, saying "It’s the type of rough and witty realism people loved from P in the ’90s, and hopefully it’s here to stay for projects to come."[22] Logan Smithson of PopMatters gave the album a seven out of ten, saying "Albert Einstein has plenty of memorable beats, but the lyrics don’t match that same level of success. You might not be blown away by the album, but Prodigy and Alchemist have put together a highly enjoyable album."[20] Jaroslav Lavick of RapReviews gave the album an 8.5 out of ten, saying "This album is Prodigy and Alchemist giving long time fans exactly what they want."[21]

Peter Marrack of Exclaim! gave the album a six out of ten, saying "He's casual, not always sincere, but dangerously convincing; his bars haven't faltered since his early Mobb Deep days and Einstein is no exception."[17] Nate Patrin of Pitchfork Media gave the album an 8.2 out of 10, saying "Albert Einstein is so casually visceral and immediately gettable that it feels like a recent high point for both of them."[19] Jesse Fairfax of HipHopDX gave the album three and a half stars out of five, saying "Sharing his first name with the famed genius, Prodigy breaks his advanced expertise down to a science on Albert Einstein. Prodigy continues his largely consistent reign as a still thriving pioneer of New York’s once thugged-out era."[18] Matthew Sanderson of AllHipHop gave the album an eight out of ten, saying "This album is for the fans of the original Mobb sound of the late 90s. For the most part sick signature Alchemist beats, with the addition of some new sounds that are just right."[15]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 175 on the Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 3,000 copies in the United States.[23]

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Intro"0.25
2."IMDKV"2:35
3."Give ‘Em Hell"2:56
4."Stay Dope"3:18
5."Curb Ya Dog"3:13
6."Death Sentence" (featuring Roc Marciano)3:14
7."Bear Meat"2:52
8."Y.N.T." (featuring Domo Genesis)2:36
9."R.I.P." (featuring Havoc & Raekwon)3:22
10."Dough Pildin'"2:26
11."Confessions"3:37
12."Bible Paper" (featuring The Alchemist)3:44
13."The One" (featuring Action Bronson)3:35
14."Breeze"3:02
15."Raw Forever"4:27
16."Say My Name"2:22
P=MC² Deluxe Edition[25]
No.TitleLength
17."Mightier Pen"2:39
18."Murder Goes Down"2:09
19."Infamous Allegiance"3:22
20."Gnarly"3:16

Personnel

Credits for Albert Einstein adapted from AllMusic.[26]

  • Action Bronson – Featured Artist
  • Alan Daniel 'The Alchemist' Maman – Featured Artist, Primary Artist, Engineer, Executive Producer, Producer
  • Mark B. Christensen – Mastering
  • Domo Genesis – Featured Artist
  • Havoc – Featured Artist
  • Albert "Prodigy" Johnson – Primary Artist, Executive Producer
  • Roc Marciano – Featured Artist
  • Raekwon – Featured Artist
  • Dom Rinaldi – Cover Art
  • Eddie Sancho – Mixing
  • Joe "Average Joe" Patrello - Engineer
  • BaJa Ukweli – Layout Design
  • Adrian Younge – Producer
  • Nacor Zuluaga – Assistant
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References
  1. Horowitz, Steven J. (2012-11-27). "Prodigy Announces Collaborative Album "Albert Einstein" With Alchemist". HipHop DX. Retrieved 2013-04-06.
  2. "Prodigy Announces New Album with The Alchemist". Complex. 2012-11-27. Retrieved 2013-04-06.
  3. "Twitter / Alchemist: ALBERT EINSTEIN IS DONE". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2013-05-07.
  4. "Prodigy & The Alchemist Albert Einstein Cover & Tracklist". Rap Radar. 2013-04-12. Retrieved 2013-05-07.
  5. Paine, Jake (2013-04-12). "Prodigy & Alchemist "Albert Einstein" Release Date, Cover Art & Tracklist". HipHop DX. Archived from the original on 2013-04-15. Retrieved 2013-05-07.
  6. "Listen: Prodigy "Give 'Em Hell"". Complex. 2013-01-28. Retrieved 2013-04-06.
  7. "Prodigy Drops New Single 'Give 'Em Hell'". Rapfix.mtv.com. 2013-01-28. Retrieved 2013-04-06.
  8. "Albert Einstein: Prodigy & Alchemist: Music". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2013-04-06.
  9. "Prodigy & The Alchemist Link Up For 'Dough Pildin". TheSource. 2013-05-13. Retrieved 2013-06-07.
  10. "Prodigy f. Domo Genesis - "YNT (Young and Thuggin')" [Prod. Alchemist]". HipHop DX. Retrieved 2013-06-07.
  11. "Watch Prodigy And The Alchemist In "Dough Pildin'" Video - XXL". Xxlmag.com. 2013-06-18. Retrieved 2013-07-16.
  12. "New Video: Prodigy x The Alchemist "Give 'Em Hell"". Rap Radar. 2013-06-25. Retrieved 2013-07-16.
  13. "Video: Prodigy & The Alchemist - IMDKV". Worldstarhiphop.com. Retrieved 2014-02-05.
  14. "Albert Einstein Reviews". Metacritic. 2013-06-11. Retrieved 2014-02-05.
  15. Matthew Sanderson. "AHH REVIEW: Prodigy x Alchemist's "Albert Einstein"". AllHipHop.com. Retrieved 2013-06-14.
  16. "Albert Einstein - The Alchemist,Prodigy | Awards". AllMusic. 2013-05-04. Retrieved 2013-07-16.
  17. Marrack, Peter. "Prodigy & Alchemist - Albert Einstein". Exclaim.ca. Retrieved 2013-06-14.
  18. Fairfax, Jesse. "Prodigy & Alchemist - Albert Einstein". HipHop DX. Archived from the original on 2013-06-13. Retrieved 2013-06-14.
  19. "Prodigy / The Alchemist: Albert Einstein". Pitchfork. 2013-08-07. Retrieved 2013-08-07.
  20. Smithson, Logan. "Prodigy x Alchemist: Albert Einstein". PopMatters. Retrieved 2014-02-05.
  21. "Feature for July 16, 2013 - Prodigy & Alchemist's "Albert Einstein"". Rapreviews.com. 2013-07-16. Retrieved 2014-02-05.
  22. "Prodigy And Alchemist - 'Albert Einstein' Album Review - XXL". Xxlmag.com. 2013-06-08. Retrieved 2013-06-14.
  23. Paine, Jake (2013-06-19). "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 6/16/2013". HipHop DX. Archived from the original on 2013-06-22. Retrieved 2013-07-16.
  24. "Prodigy & Alchemist - Albert Einstein - Audio CD - Underground Hip Hop - Store". Ughh.com. Retrieved 2013-06-07.
  25. MVP (2014-02-25). "Prodigy & Alchemist - Albert Einstein: P=mc2 [Bonus EP Stream] | OnSMASH". Freeonsmash.com. Retrieved 2015-04-03.
  26. "Albert Einstein - The Alchemist, Prodigy : Credits : AllMusic:". Retrieved 10 June 2013.
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