He Got Game (soundtrack)

He Got Game is a soundtrack and sixth studio album by American hip hop group Public Enemy, released on April 28, 1998 under Def Jam Recordings.[2] It was released as the soundtrack to Spike Lee's 1998 film of the same name and was the group's last album for Def Jam.[3] He Got Game was produced by members of the Bomb Squad, along with producers Abnes Dubose, Danny Saber, D. R. Period, and Jack Dangers.

He Got Game
Soundtrack album / Studio album by Public Enemy
Released	April 28, 1998
Recorded	June 1997 – February 1998
Genre	Hardcore hip hop, conscious hip hop[1]
Length	48:10
Label	Def Jam
Producer	Abnes Dubose, The Bomb Squad, Danny Saber, D. R. Period, Jack Dangers
Public Enemy chronology
Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age (1994) He Got Game (1998) There's a Poison Goin' On (1999)
Singles from He Got Game
"He Got Game" Released: May 2, 1998

The album sold poorly upon its release and peaked at number 26 on the Billboard 200. Its single, the title track, charted at number 16 in the United Kingdom, where the album reached number 50. He Got Game was well received by music critics, who praised its melodic sound and Chuck D's lyrics.

Background

He Got Game served as the soundtrack to Spike Lee's 1998 basketball drama of the same name.[2] A film score of the same name, featuring music composed by Aaron Copland, was also released on April 21.[4]

After a four-year hiatus by the group,[5] Professor Griff and The Bomb Squad reunited with Public Enemy for the album, which features political, sports-derived imagery by Chuck D.[6] According to critic Armond White, He Got Game uses basketball as a metaphor for "the essence of black male aspiration. Disproving the film's suggestion of b-ball as an easy passport out of the ghetto, [Public Enemy] challenge trite assumptions about black luck and skill".[7] The album's production features backup female vocals, church-like chorales, austere beats, strings, and funk samples. The title track overtly interpolates Buffalo Springfield's 1966 song "For What It's Worth" and its vocalist Stephen Stills.[8] It was released as He Got Game's only single in May 1998.[3]

Commercial performance

He Got Game debuted at number 26 on the US Billboard 200 chart on May 11, 1998, and sold 46,282 copies in its first week.[9] Despite hip hop music's increased commercial viability at the time, the album had fallen out of the top 100 by July.[10] In an article for the Los Angeles Times, Robert Hilburn opined that its "relatively lackluster showing" with consumers was due to Public Enemy's image and lyrical content rather than the album's quality:

Rap audiences tend to be young and want their own heroes. For all its respect, PE is associated with another era in rap. The music, too, may be too restrained for the thug-life tone favored by today's mass rap audience.[10]

In the United Kingdom, He Got Game peaked at number 50 on the UK Albums Chart, while the title track reached number 16 on the singles chart; it did not chart on the US Hot 100.[3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[11]
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution	A–[12]
Chicago Sun-Times	[13]
Christgau's Consumer Guide	A[8]
Detroit Free Press	[5]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[14]
Los Angeles Times	[15]
Rolling Stone	[16]
Spin	8/10[7]

He Got Game was well received by music critics.[17] In his review for Rolling Stone magazine, Scott Poulson-Bryant called the album "dense and eclectic, brilliant at moments but sometimes confusing," and found Chuck D to be "inspired again, coming up with blues poetry for the hoops age."[16] Keith Phipps of The A.V. Club felt that, despite occasionally uninformed "lyrical snippets", most of the album has "the sense of urgency and menace that characterized PE's best work ... and the reformed Bomb Squad's sound has expanded in some interesting directions."[18]

In his review for the Chicago Sun-Times, Jim DeRogatis called He Got Game "as hard-hitting as anything PE has done" and said that the group "nods to current tastes with more melodic hooks and less white noise than it has offered in the past."[13] Music critic Robert Christgau credited Chuck D for realizing "the soundtrack concept" and viewed that, although only the Danny Saber and Jack Dangers-produced "Go Cat Go" resembles "the stressful speed of classic PE", the hooks are appropriated "subtly" and "brilliantly".[19] Christgau named it the eighth best album of the year in his list for The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop critics' poll.[20]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Resurrection" (featuring Masta Killa)	Chuck D, Masta Killa DR Period Hank Shocklee Keith Shocklee	D. R. Period Hank Shocklee Keith Shocklee	4:20
2.	"He Got Game" (featuring Stephen Stills) (incorporates elements of Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth")	Chuck D Stephen Stills	D. R. Period Hank Shocklee Keith Shocklee	4:46
3.	"Unstoppable" (featuring KRS-One)	Chuck D Gary G-Wiz KRS-One	Gary G-Wiz	3:14
4.	"Shake Your Booty"	Leon Huff Ron McNair	D. R. Period Hank Shocklee Keith Shocklee	3:45
5.	"Is Your God a Dog"	Corey Brewer Chuck D Abnes Dubose	Corey Brewer Abnes (Abnormal) Dubose	5:08
6.	"House of the Rising Son"	Chuck D Pete Townshend Kerwin Young	Kerwin Young Gary G-Wiz	3:16
7.	"Revelation 33​^1⁄3 Revolutions"	Chuck D	Minnesota Hank Shocklee Keith Shocklee	4:11
8.	"Game Face" (featuring Smoothe da Hustler)	Smoothe Da Hustler Monty Norman	D. R. Period Hank Shocklee Keith Shocklee	3:17
9.	"Politics of the Sneaker Pimps"	Chuck D Gary G-Wiz	Gary G-Wiz	3:16
10.	"What You Need Is Jesus"	Chuck D Gary G-Wiz	Gary G-Wiz	3:29
11.	"Super Agent"	Chuck D Abnes Dubose	Abnes (Abnormal) Dubose	3:35
12.	"Go Cat Go"	Chuck D Jack Dangers Danny Saber	Jack Dangers Danny Saber	3:48
13.	"Sudden Death (Interlude)"	Kerwin Young	Kerwin Young	2:04

Personnel

Credits for He Got Game adapted from Allmusic.[21]

4Kast – backing vocals Leonard Bernstein – conductor Corey Brewer – associate producer Alice Butts – design Chris Champion – engineer Aaron Copland – conductor Jack Dangers – scratching, programming, producer, emax Dolo – engineer Abnes Dubose – producer (Ex) Cat Heads – executive producer Paul Falcone – engineer Gary G-Wiz – producer Reeves Gabrels – guitar Ben Garrison – engineer Gerard Gashkin – photography Rawle Gittens – engineer Rasheed Goodlowe – engineer Bill Green – executive in charge of music Charles Harbutt – engineer Chris Haynes – engineer David Lee – photography Spike Lee – liner notes, executive producer Ken Lewis – mixing

Paul Logus – guitar, engineer, mixing London Symphony Orchestra – performer Ricco Lumpkins – engineer Jonathan Mannion – photography Kathy Nelson – executive producer, executive in charge of music New York Philharmonic – performer Joseph M. Palmaccio – mastering Gordon Parks – photography John Penn II – engineer David Phelps – guitar Philharmonia Orchestra – performer Tony Prendatt – engineer, mixing Mario Rodriguez – mixing Johnny Juice Rosado – scratching Danny Saber – programming, producer Eric "Vietnam" Sadler – production consultant Gary Schultz – producer Shabach Community Choir – choir, chorus Hank Shocklee – producer, executive producer Keith Shocklee – producer Alex Steyermark – music supervisor Ted Wohlsen – engineer Kerwin Young – bass, keyboards, producer

Charts

Chart (1998)	Peak position
UK Albums Chart[3]	50
US Billboard 200[22]	26
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[22]	10

References

1. AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine at AllMusic. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
2. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "He Got Game". Allmusic. Archived from the original on June 11, 2013. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
3. Strong 2004, p. 1227.
4. "He Got Game: The Music of Aaron Copland (Motion Picture Soundtrack)". Allmusic. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
5. Floyd, Mike (May 1, 1998). "Sound Check". Detroit Free Press.
6. Harrington, Richard (April 29, 1998). "It's a Rap: Soundtracks From the 'Hood". The Washington Post. Style section, p. D.05. Retrieved June 11, 2013. (subscription required)
7. White, Armond (August 1998). "Reviews". Spin. New York: 137–8. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
8. Christgau 2000, p. 255.
9. Farber, Jim. The Next Wave at No.1 'Titanic' Soundtrack Yields to Top Berth to Dave Matthews. New York Daily News. Retrieved on 2010-01-08.
10. Hilburn, Robert (July 5, 1998). "Is Anyone Out There Really Listening?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
11. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Review: He Got Game. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2010-01-08.
12. "Sound Shopping". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. April 28, 1998. Thursday Living section, p. C02. Retrieved June 11, 2013. (subscription required)
13. DeRogatis, Jim (May 10, 1998). "Spin Control". Chicago Sun-Times.
14. Diehl, Matt (1998-05-01). Review: He Got Game. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2010-01-08.
15. Johnson, Brett. Review: He Got Game. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 2010-01-08.
16. Poulson-Bryant, Scott (1998-05-07). "Public Enemy: He Got Game : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2007-10-01. Retrieved 2012-06-14.
17. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Biography: Public Enemy. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2010-01-08.
18. Phipps, Keith. Review: He Got Game. The A.V. Club. Retrieved on 2010-01-08.
19. Christgau 2000, p. 256.
20. "Pazz & Jop 1998: Dean's List". The Village Voice. New York. March 2, 1999. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
21. Credits: He Got Game. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2010-01-08.
22. Billboard Albums: He Got Game. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2010-01-08.

Bibliography

• Christgau, Robert (2000). Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. Macmillan. ISBN 0312245602.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Strong, Martin C. (2004). The Great Rock Discography (7th ed.). Canongate U.S. ISBN 1841956155.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

External links

• He Got Game at Discogs (list of releases)
• "Dancing With Mistah D" by Robert Christgau