Certified (David Banner album)

Certified is the 4th studio album by Mississippi rapper David Banner. It was released September 27, 2005, by SRC and Universal.[1] Most of the album's production was handled by Banner. The album features guest appearances from Jadakiss, Jazze Pha, Talib Kweli, Twista and Jagged Edge, among others. The album spawned two singles which was "Play", which reached #7 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. The second single off the album though not as successful was "Fucking."

Certified
Studio album by
David Banner
ReleasedSeptember 27, 2005
Recorded2004-2005
Genre Hip hop, Hardcore Hip Hop, dirty south, Southern hip hop, gangsta rap, crunk
Length68:36
LabelSRC, Universal
ProducerBilly Hume, Craig Love, Cyber Sapp, Down Beat, David Banner, Get Cool, Jazze Pha, Jake Arnold, Kevin Rudolf, Lil Jon, Mr. Collipark, Maestro, Mike Hartnett
David Banner chronology
MTA2: Baptized in Dirty Water
(2003)		 Certified
(2005)		 The Greatest Story Ever Told
(2008)
Singles from Certified
  1. "Play"
    Released: July 7, 2005

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic71/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Entertainment WeeklyB-[4]
MusicOMH[5]
Okayplayer[6]
Pitchfork8.4/10[7]
PopMatters[8]
RapReviews9/10[9]
Stylus MagazineB-[10]
USA Today[11]
Vibe[12]

Certified garnered positive reviews from music critics who praised Banner's approach to over-the-top hip-hop stories and insightful political tracks. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 71, based on 13 reviews.[2]

Pedro Hernandez of RapReviews gave high praise to Banner for building upon his previous material and delivered an album with solid production, balanced themes and capable guest artists, concluding that "Certified treads a fine line between keeping it real and selling units, but Banner treads that line very well. Though it is his best album to date, hopefully this is only the beginning for the game's most conscious rapper."[9] AllMusic editor Andy Kellman said that despite the cluttered list of guest artists, the record delivers on Banner's established material with higher production values and gusto conviction, saying that "Certified certifies that Banner is as crucial to hip-hop in the early 2000s as any other MC."[3] PopMatters Dan Nishimoto admired Banner's approach of crafting a mainstream hip-hop album that over-exaggerates tropes while delivering serious topics in disguise, saying that "Certified's appeal lies in this tightrope act. Fully aware of his captive audience, Banner goes for broke to bring in as wide a swath as possible."[8]

Steve Jones of USA Today praised the album's balance of both political and sex-filled tracks, saying that "It's a mix that is certified to both educate and entertain."[11] Evan McGarvey of Stylus Magazine was lukewarm on the record, finding the production and guest artists not at the level of Banner's vision at times but said that its still able to deliver its twisted empathy, saying that, "Certified is mostly a frightening album because it’s so clearly not up to Banner’s full potential but still a dramatic cut above almost everything else."[10] Azeem Ahmad of MusicOMH felt that the album was over-bloated with numerous songs that told the same inane stories over similar beats found in Lil Jon's discography, concluding that "There's little familiarity, too little to relate to on Certified, and I for one would rather give airtime to British talent than to try and push the likes of David Banner, whose music may be groundbreaking, but is alien to our ears."[5]

Track listing
No.TitleProducer(s)Length
1."Lost Souls"David Banner, Craig Love3:15
2."Treat Me Like" (featuring Jadakiss)Lil Jon3:53
3."Gangsta Walk" (featuring Three 6 Mafia, Marcus & 8Ball & MJG)Cyber Sapp4:28
4."2 Fingers" (featuring Jagged Edge)David Banner3:29
5."Play"Mr. Collipark3:50
6."Fucking" (featuring Jazze Pha)Jazze Pha3:51
7."Thinking of You" (featuring Case)David Banner, Kevin Rudolf5:03
8."On Everything" (featuring Twista)Get Cool4:09
9."Certified" (featuring Marcus)David Banner4:11
10."Ain't Got Nothing" (featuring Magic & Lil Boosie)David Banner3:52
11."Bloody War" (featuring B.G.)David Banner4:30
12."Westside"Maestro3:32
13."Take Your" (featuring Too Short, Bun B & Jazze Pha)David Banner4:42
14."My Life" (featuring Sky Keeton)David Banner, Mike Hartnett3:54
15."Ridin'" (featuring Talib Kweli & Dead Prez)Down Beat4:34
16."X-ed" (featuring Kamikaze)David Banner3:41
17."Crossroads" (featuring Grout)David Banner, Billy Hume, Jake Arnold3:45
iTunes Bonus track
No.TitleProducer(s)Length
18."Shake that Booty (Krumpa Remix)" (featuring Elephant Man)David Banner3:10

Charts
Chart (2005) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[13] 6
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[14] 3
gollark: Well, that never really happened to me, I don't buy overpriced games.
gollark: I would rate lottery-fun lower. There's no challenge, intellectual effort, or whatever, it's just anticipation and random luck.
gollark: That just sounds particularly cost-ineffective then.
gollark: If you spent all your entertainment money on expensive things you won't get much use out of, total fun is lower.
gollark: Not everyone likes computer games, but there are for most people likely to be better ways to have fun than lotteries.

References
  1. "Certified (Bonus Track Version) by David Banner on iTunes". Itunes.apple.com. 2005-09-20. Retrieved 2015-12-05.
  2. "Reviews for Certified by David Banner". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  3. Kellman, Andy. "Certified - David Banner". AllMusic. Retrieved December 20, 2011.
  4. Sinclair, Tom (September 16, 2005). "Certified". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved December 20, 2011.
  5. Ahmad, Azeem (February 13, 2006). "David Banner - Certified". MusicOMH. Archived from the original on April 13, 2007. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  6. Ruhi, Adrian (September 2005). "David Banner - Certified". Archived from the original on October 17, 2006. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
  7. Shepherd, Julianne (September 20, 2005). "David Banner: Certified". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 20, 2011.
  8. Nishimoto, Dan (September 28, 2005). "David Banner: Certified". PopMatters. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  9. Hernandez, Pedro (September 27, 2005). "David Banner :: Certified :: Universal Records". RapReviews. Retrieved December 20, 2011.
  10. McGarvey, Evan (September 26, 2005). "David Banner - Certified - Review". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on July 25, 2009. Retrieved December 20, 2011.
  11. Jones, Steve (September 19, 2005). "Bon Jovi rocks; Streisand rolls". USA Today. Gannett Company. Retrieved December 20, 2011.
  12. Golianopoulos (September 2005). "David Banner 'Certified'". Vibe. Vibe Media. 13 (10): 231. ISSN 1070-4701. Retrieved December 20, 2011.
  13. "David Banner Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
  14. "David Banner Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
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