The Love & War MasterPeace

The Love & War MasterPeace is the third studio album by American recording artist Raheem DeVaughn, released on March 2, 2010 through Jive Records. It was also released as a deluxe edition with an additional disc of bonus material. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2008 to 2009 and production was handled primarily by Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez.

The Love & War MasterPeace
Studio album by Raheem DeVaughn
Released	March 2, 2010
Recorded	2008–2009
Genre	R&B, soul, neo soul
Length	66:47
Label	Jive, Zomba
Producer	Raheem DeVaughn (exec.), Ivan "Orthodox" Barias, Big Bob Terry, Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez, Carvin "Ransum" Haggins, Lil' Ronnie, Ne-Yo, Stereotypes, Symfonikz
Raheem DeVaughn chronology
Love Behind the Melody (2008) The Love & War MasterPeace (2010) A Place Called Love Land (2013)
Singles from The Love & War MasterPeace
"Bulletproof" Released: September 22, 2009 "I Don't Care" Released: January 25, 2010 "B.O.B." Released: June 20, 2010

The album debuted at number nine on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 45,000 copies in its first week. Upon its release, The Love & War MasterPeace was well received by music critics.

Background

Production for the album was handled primarily by Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez, with contributions from Ne-Yo, Stereotypes, and Lil' Ronnie, among others.[1] In a press release for the album, DeVaughn explained its title, stating "I named the album The Love & War MasterPeace because I feel that where I am as a person and where we are as a people, we are all trying to master that internal peace and happiness in a very strange time."[1] In an interview for Vibe, he described the album as "half socially conscious, half love".[2] In an interview with Pete Lewis of Blues & Soul, DeVaughn discussed his intentions for the album, stating "The plan from the gate was to have the two vibes - social conscience and love/romance. And, with that being definitely something that Marvin Gaye was known for I think that's why I get those comparisons with him."[3]

Singles

The album's lead single, "Bulletproof", was released on September 22, 2009, and features rapper Ludacris. The single charted at number 46 on the U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, number 64 on the European Hot 100 Singles, and number 48 on the Canadian Hot 100.[4] "Lyin to Myself" was released promotionally on December 1, 2009. Prefixmag reviewed the song praising Raheem for his "lyrics, voice and style."[5] "I Don't Care" was released as the album's second single on January 25, 2010.[1] It spent 20 weeks and peaked at number 36 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.[4] The album's third single "B.O.B." was released June 20, 2010.[6] The single peaked at number 79 and spent five weeks on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[4]

Reception

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number nine on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 45,000 copies in the United States.[7] It also entered at number three on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Albums,[8] and it reached number 11 on Billboard's Digital Albums chart.[9] It ultimately spent 10 weeks on the Billboard 200 and 36 weeks on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.[10][11] As of August 2013, the album has sold 179,000 copies in the United States.[12]

Critical response

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[13]
Detroit Free Press	[14]
The Philadelphia Inquirer	[15]
Toronto Star	[16]

The Love & War MasterPeace was well received by music critics. Billboard writer Gail Mitchell praised the album's themes and music, writing "Drawing from a palette rich in R&B, hip-hop and jazz, DeVaughn has crafted a powerful, thought-provoking album".[17] Giving it 4½ out of 5 stars, Allmusic writer Andy Kellman cited The Love & War MasterPeace as "one of the most grippingly conscious major-label R&B albums of the last 30 years", viewing its love-themed songs as "imaginative and excellent" and praising its socially conscious material.[13] The Washington Post's Sarah Godfrey called it "a masterpiece" and compared DeVaughn to soul musician Marvin Gaye, writing "like Gaye, he can deliver songs for both babymaking and movement-building".[18] Ken Capobianco of The Boston Globe praised DeVaughn's vocals and called the album a "smartly executed set".[19] Toronto Star writer Ashante Infantry gave it 3½ out of 4 stars and called it "a grooving, unconventional and utterly compelling album".[16]

Despite viewing its thematic concept as flawed, Washington City Paper writer Ben Westhoff praised its "wild ambition" and musical quality, stating "it instead works in the realm of the lush, the dark, and the dramatic, striving for a chiseled-in-granite sound. There’s not a note out of place here; the music is at times sweeping and blustery, at other times cautious and foreboding".[20] Detroit Free Press writer Brian McCollum gave the album 3 out of 4 stars and wrote that it "dances a careful line between oldfangled soul and commercial R&B".[14] Jon Pareles of The New York Times wrote that The Love & War Masterpeace is "destined to be split into separate love and war playlists", but ultimately praised DeVaughn's themes of "social consciousness and seduction", writing "at least Mr. DeVaughn has more than one thing on his mind".[21] The Philadelphia Inquirer's A.D. Amorosi viewed its skits by Dr. Cornel West as "confident and paternal", and wrote that the album "finds DeVaughn embracing his political side with a sociocultural vision that's subtle, sharp, and never loses track of its contagious songcraft".[15]

The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Album, presented at the 53rd Grammy Awards in 2011.[22]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Dr. Cornel West Intro"	DeVaughn, Gonzalez	1:41
2.	"Bulletproof" (featuring Ludacris)	Bridges, DeVaughn, Gonzalez, Mayfield	4:43
3.	"The Greatness" (featuring Wale)	Akintimehin, DeVaughn, Gonzalez, Preston	4:10
4.	"I Don't Care"	Reeves, Romulus, Smith, Yip	4:14
5.	"Black & Blue"	Cornish, DeVaughn, Hayes, Jackson	3:34
6.	"Mr. Right"	Barias, DeVaughn, Haggins, Oliver, Stephens	3:29
7.	"Dr. Cornel West Interlude"	DeVaughn, Gonzalez	1:59
8.	"Fragile" (featuring Malik Yusef)	DeVaughn, Gonzalez, Preston, Yusef	4:27
9.	"My Wife"	DeVaughn, Gonzalez	4:11
10.	"B.O.B."	DeVaughn, Terry, Vines	4:37
11.	"Bedroom"	DeVaughn, Gonzalez, Preston	3:20
12.	"Microphone"	DeVaughn, Hayes, Jackson	4:41
13.	"Garden of Love"	DeVaughn, Gonzalez, Preston	6:37
14.	"Dr. Cornel West P.S.A."	DeVaughn, Gonzalez	2:02
15.	"Nobody Wins a War" (featuring Jill Scott, Bilal, Anthony Hamilton, Algebra, Chrisette Michele, Shelby Johnson, Ledisi, Citizen Cope, Dwele, Chico DeBarge, Rudy Currence, Guile, & Norman Lutz)	Ciro, DeVaughn, Gonzalez, Scott	7:41
16.	"Revelations 2010" (featuring Damian Marley)	Bacharach, Carter, David, DeVaughn, Gonzalez, Johnson, Lorenzo, Marley, Muchita	5:21

Deluxe edition bonus disc

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Dr. Cornel West Intro"	DeVaughn, Gonzalez, Preston, Yusef	1:38
2.	"Wing & a Prayer" (featuring Bun B)	Benson, Benson, DeVaughn, Freeman	4:50
3.	"Dr. Cornel West Interlude"	DeVaughn, Gonzalez	1:52
4.	"Super Hero"	Alexander, Bynum, DeVaughn, Higginbotham, Martin, McDonald, Ross	5:38
5.	"Soldier Story"	DeVaughn, Gonzalez, Preston	6:14
6.	"Dr. Cornel West P.S.A."	DeVaughn, Gonzalez	1:39
7.	"Hopeless Romantic"	DeVaughn, Gonzalez, Preston	5:07
8.	"Lose Control" (featuring Phil Adé)	DeVaughn, Gonzalez, Preston	11:08
9.	"Calling Me"	DeVaughn, Shaifer	4:36
10.	"XOXO"	DeVaughn, Hayes, Jackson	3:51
11.	"Dr. Cornel West Outro"	DeVaughn, Gonzalez, Preston	0:56
12.	"Toes Curl" (iTunes pre-order)	DeVaughn	4:21

Personnel

Credits for The Love & War MasterPeace adapted from Allmusic.[23]

Musicians

Algebra – vocals Eugenia "Chinablac" Bess – background vocals Bilal – vocals Mike Ciro – bass, guitar, sitar Citizen Cope – vocals Phil Cornish – keyboards Rudy Currence – vocals Dave Darlington – keyboards Alfredo de la Fé – strings Chico DeBarge – vocals Raheem DeVaughn – executive producer, vocal arrangement, vocals Dwele – vocal arrangement, vocals Anthony Hamilton – vocals Patrick Hayes – guitar

Shelby Johnson – vocals Debbie Knapper – guitar Ledisi – vocals Ludacris – vocals Damian Marley – vocals Chrisette Michele – vocals James Preston – keyboards Luisito Quintero – percussion Jill Scott – vocal arrangement, vocals Jerard Snell – drums Leonard "E-Flat" Stephens – keyboards Wale – vocals Shawn Whitley – bass, keyboards Malik Yusef – vocals

Production

Ivan "Orthodox" Barias – engineer, keyboards, producer, programming Leslie Brathwaite – mixing DJ Wayne Williams – A&R Kenny Dope – producer John Drye – mixing Jeff Fenster – A&R John Frye – mixing Carvin "Ransum" Haggins – engineer, producer Yas Inoue – engineer Ronnie "Lil Ronnie" Jackson – producer Jaycen Joshua – mixing Jamil "Face" Johnson – engineer Larry "Rock" Campbell – A&R Chris "Symfonikz" Lewis – programming Giancarlo Lino – assistant

Joyal McNeil – make-up Jackie Murphy – art direction Ne-Yo – producer Richie Owings – prop stylist Herb Powers – mastering Mike Pratt – assistant Tennyson Richards – groomer Nick Roache – engineer Brea Stinson – stylist Randee St. Nicholas – photography Stereotypes – producer Symfonikz – producer Big Bob Terry – producer, programming Denise Trotman – art direction, design Jerry Vines – executive producer, management, producer

Charts

Chart (2010)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard 200[7]	9
U.S. Billboard Digital Albums[9]	11
U.S. Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[8]	3

References

1. Columnist. Singer/Songwriter Raheem DeVaughn Returns With New Album 'The Love and War Masterpeace' On March 2nd. PR Newswire. Retrieved on 2010-03-05.
2. Wete, Brad. Raheem DeVaughn: 'MasterPeace' Is 'On The Last Poets Vibe'. Vibe. Retrieved on 2010-03-05.
3. Raheem DeVaughn interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' May 2010
4. Raheem DeVaughn Album & Song Chart History – R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-12-04.
5. Martin, Andrew. Review: Lyin To Myself, prefixmag.com, December 1, 2009
6. Ballerific Music - Raheem DeVaughn's 2nd Single: B.O.B "Man vs. Machine". Baller Alert. Retrieved on 2010-07-10.
7. Greenblatt, Leah. Lady Antebellum Returns to the Top of the Charts. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2010-03-10.
8. R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Week of March 20, 2010). Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-04-01.
9. Billboard Albums: The Love & War MasterPeace. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2010-04-01.
10. Raheem DeVaughn Album & Song Chart History – Billboard 200. Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-12-04.
11. Raheem DeVaughn Album & Song Chart History – R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-12-04.
12. http://www.hitsdailydouble.com/sales/sales_ur.cgi
13. Kellman, Andy. Review: The Love & War MasterPeace. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2010-03-05.
14. McCollum, Brian. Review: The Love & War MasterPeace. Detroit Free Press. Retrieved on 2010-03-05.
15. Amorosi, A.D. Review: The Love & War MasterPeace. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved on 2010-03-07.
16. Infantry, Ashante. Review: The Love & War MasterPeace. Toronto Star. Retrieved on 2010-04-01.
17. Mitchell, Gail. Review: The Love & War MasterPeace. Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-03-11.
18. Godfrey, Sarah. Review: The Love & War MasterPeace. The Washington Post. Retrieved on 2010-03-05.
19. Capobianco, Ken. Review: The Love & War MasterPeace. The Boston Globe. Retrieved on 2010-03-05.
20. Westhoff, Ben. Review: The Love & War MasterPeace. Washington City Paper. Retrieved on 2010-03-05.
21. Pareles, Jon. Review: The Love & War MasterPeace. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2010-04-10.
22. Nominees: 2010 - 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards. Grammy.com. Retrieved on 2010-12-02.
23. Credits: The Love & War MasterPeace. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2010-03-05.

External links

• Official website
• Raheem DeVaughn: Class Act at Blues & Soul
• R&B's Raheem DeVaughn... 'Masterpeace' at The Washington Post