Unexpected Arrival

Unexpected Arrival is the debut studio album by American rapper Diggy Simmons. It was released on March 20, 2012, by Atlantic Records. Recording sessions took place from 2010 to 2011, at various locations, while the production on the album was handled by Da Internz, Osinachi Nwaneri, Pop & Oak, Happy Perez, and Soundz, among others.

Unexpected Arrival
Studio album by Diggy Simmons
Released	March 20, 2012 (2012-03-20)
Recorded	2010–11 Various recording locations
Genre	Hip hop R&B
Length	43:34
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Diggy Simmons (exec.) D'Mile (also exec.) Da Internz Osinachi Nwaneri Pop & Oak Soundz The Rockstars
Diggy Simmons chronology
Unexpected Arrival (2012) Lighten Up (2018)
Singles from Unexpected Arrival
"Copy, Paste" Released: May 29, 2011 "Do It Like You" Released: October 24, 2011 "4 Letter Word" Released: May 8, 2012

Unexpected Arrival was supported by five singles; including three official ("Copy, Paste", "Do It Like You" and "4 Letter Word") and two promotional singles ("88" and "Two Up").

Upon the release, the album received generally positive reviews from music critics. The album debuted at number 13 on the US Billboard 200. On June 22, 2013, the album has sold 89,750 copies in the United States.[1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
HipHopDX	[3]
XXL	[4]

Upon its release, Unexpected Arrival received generally positive reviews from music critics. Christian Mordi of XXL praised the album's production and Diggy's lyrical skills for coming off more like a seasoned veteran saying, "Unlike many young artists, Diggy stays away from a lot of catchy, jingle-esque hooks and songs about trends on this project. Clearly the young MC wants to be taken seriously by casual and hardcore fans alike."[4] AllMusic editor David Jeffries also praised the album for its production and Diggy's accessibility as a rapper concluding that, "Kid-tested and parent-approved, this well-done debut makes hating on Diggy as ridiculous as it sounds."[2] Edwin Ortiz of HipHopDX was mixed about Diggy's talent as an emcee, singling out his age and limited view on the world for the subpar content. He concluded that, "To Diggy's credit, Unexpected Arrival plays to his adolescent strengths without hindering his opportunity to build upon his brand as an adult."[3]

Brandon Soderberg of Spin gave credit to some of the tracks, singling out "Unforgivable Blackness" for being "a sophisticated song that actually tries to confront [Diggy] Simmons’ lack of street cred," but found the rest of the album hollow and generic and followed a formula to market an underdog rapper, saying that, "Unexpected Arrival feels like the end of the rap album. The musical narrative is executed so effectively, hitting all the requisite marks, but it doesn’t matter in the least."[5]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"The Arrival (Intro)"	Diggy Simmons Michael Jackson Dernst Emile II	D'Mile	1:15
2.	"Hello World"	Simmons Brandon Green John "D.O.E." Maultsby M. Jackson Nathan "Happy" Pérez	Happy Perez	3:11
3.	"I Need to Know"	Simmons Emile II Clarence Coffee, Jr. Alexander Izquierdo Maultsby Matthew Samuels	D'Mile	3:34
4.	"88" (featuring Jadakiss)	Simmons Keith James Jason Phillips Shawn Carter Lonnie Liston Smith Nasir Jones Peter Phillips David Willis Ernest Clark Marcos Palacios	Da Internz	3:05
5.	"Two Up"	Simmons Emile II Coffee, Jr. Izquierdo Maultsby	D'Mile	3:30
6.	"Unforgivable Blackness"	Simmons Coffee, Jr. Maultsby Osinachi Nwaneri	Nwaneri	4:15
7.	"Special Occasion" (featuring Tank)	Simmons Carlos Battey Steven Battey Emile II Perry Jones Maultsby Durell Babbs	D'Mile	3:52
8.	"Glow in the Dark"	Simmons C. Battey S. Battey Emile II Maultsby	D'Mile	5:59
9.	"4 Letter Word"	Aubrey Graham Kenneth Coby Brian "The Rockstars" Cohen Jacob Lutrell Chase Lett Chris "The Rockstars" Llewellyn Maultsby	Soundz	3:39
10.	"Do It Like You" (featuring Jeremih)	Simmons Jeremih Felton Maultsby McGee Andrew "Pop" Wansel Dexter Wansel Warren "Oak" Felder	Pop & Oak	3:53
11.	"Tom Edison"	Simmons Emile II Izquierdo Maultsby	D'Mile	3:32
12.	"The Reign"	Simmons Cynthia Biggs Sam Hook Maultsby A. Wansel D. Wansel Felder	Pop & Oak	3:59
Total length:				43:34

iTunes Store bonus track[6]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
13.	"Copy, Paste"	Simmons Felder Maultsby A. Wansel	Pop & Oak	2:55

Best Buy bonus tracks[7]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
13.	"Knowing Me, Knowing You"
14.	"What's Going On"
15.	"MSG"	Simmons Maultsby Izquierdo Coby Llewellyn Cohen	Soundz The Rockstars	3:45

Sample credits

• "88" contains a sample from "Dance (A$$)" performed by Big Sean.
• "Do It Like You" contains a sample from "Theme From the Planets", written and performed by Dexter Wansel.

Personnel

Credits for Unexpected Arrival adapted from AllMusic.[8]

John Armstrong – engineer Paul Bailey – engineer Shawn Barron – A&R Carlos Centel Battey – composer Steven Andre Battey – composer Cynthia Biggs – composer Nick Bilardello – art direction, design The Jackie Boyz – vocals Tanisha Broadwater – production coordination Mike Caren – A&R Shawn Carter – composer Kenneth Coby – composer Clarence Coffee, Jr. – composer, vocals Brian Cohen – composer Da Internz – producer Dernst "D'Mile" Emile – additional production, composer, executive producer, producer Laurie Dobbins – management Lanre Gaba – A&R Chris Galland – assistant Jesus Garnica – assistant Chris Gehringer – mastering Dionne Harper – marketing Patrick Hoelck – photography Sam Hook – composer, vocals Israel – engineer Alexander Izquierdo – composer Keith James – composer Jaycen Joshua – mixing Brandon Jones – keyboards

Eben "Critical" Jones – engineer Nasir Jones – composer Perry Jones – composer John "J-Banga" Kercy – mixing Cara Lewis – booking Chris Lighty – management Chris Llewellyn – composer Daniel Luttrell – vocals Jacob Luttrell – composer Bei Maejor – composer Connie Makita – illustrations Manny Marroquin – mixing John Maultsby – composer Donnie Meadows – production coordination Latoya Murray-Berry – stylist Nathan Perez – composer Osinachi Nwaneri – composer, producer Happy Perez – Producer Jayson Phillips – composer Peter O. Phillips – composer The Rockstars – guitar, keyboards, producer Matthew Samuels – composer Diggy Simmons – executive producer, composer Skylar – engineer Lonnie Liston Smith – composer Soundz – producer Dexter Wansel – composer Pop Wansel – composer, instrumentation, producer David A. Willis – Composer

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2012)	Peak position
US Billboard 200[9]	13
US R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[10]	3
US Rap Albums (Billboard)[11]	2

Year-end charts

Chart (2012)	Position
US R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[12]	80

References

1. Jacobs, Allen (April 25, 2012). "Hip-Hop Album Sales the Week Ending 0422/2012". HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group. Archived from the original on May 28, 2013. Retrieved April 25, 2012.
2. Jeffries, David. "Unexpected Arrival – Diggy". AllMusic. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
3. Ortiz, Edwin (March 30, 2012). "Diggy Simmons - Unexpected Arrival". HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group. Archived from the original on June 22, 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
4. Mordi, Christian (March 20, 2012). "Diggy, Unexpected Arrival". XXL. Townsquare Media. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
5. Soderberg, Brandon (March 20, 2012). "Diggy Simmons' 'Unexpected Arrival': Could This Be the End of the Rap Album?". Spin. SpinMedia. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
6. "Unexpected Arrival (Deluxe Edition) by Diggy". iTunes Store (US). Apple. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
7. "Unexpected Arrival [Best Buy Exclusive] – Diggy > Overview". AllMusic. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
8. "Unexpected Arrival – Diggy > Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
9. "Diggy Album & Song Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
10. "Diggy Album & Song Chart History: R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
11. "Diggy Album & Song Chart History: Rap Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
12. "2012 Year-End Charts: R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on January 30, 2016. Retrieved December 19, 2018.