Yeeeah Baby

Yeeeah Baby is the second and final studio album by rapper Big Pun and the first album to be released posthumously in the wake of Big Pun's death in February 2000. It was released in April of the same year as planned, peaking at number 3 on the Billboard 200, and selling 179,000 units during the week it was released.[1] It was subsequently certified Gold in July three months later and would go on to be certified Platinum on October 31, 2017[2] and has sold over 1,100,000 copies in the United States. Fat Joe, Pun's close friend and mentor, is the executive producer of the album.

Yeeeah Baby
Studio album by Big Pun
Released	April 4, 2000
Recorded	1999–2000
Genre	Hardcore hip hop East Coast hip hop Latin hip hop
Length	52:08
Label	Terror Squad Loud
Producer	Fat Joe (exec.) Just Blaze Buckwild L.E.S. Sean C DJ Shok Richard "Younglord" Frierson Knobody O.Gee Mahogany Minnesota Guy Boogie KNS The Infinite Arkatechz
Big Pun chronology
Capital Punishment (1998) Yeeeah Baby (2000) Endangered Species (2001)
Singles from Yeeeah Baby
"It's So Hard" Released: March 30, 2000 "100%" Released: June 5, 2000

Struggling with morbid obesity, Pun experienced breathing problems throughout the album’s recording process, slowing down his signature flow. He died at 28 years of age, just two months before the album’s release.

Background

The album consists of two of Big Pun's biggest hits, the first single "It's So Hard" and the Puerto Rican anthem "100%". In the former song, he exclaims: "It's hard work, baby. I just lost 100 pounds. I'm trying to live. I ain't going nowhere."

In his last magazine interview, conducted by Industry Insider only a week before his death, Pun detailed that his approach on Yeeeah Baby was not as "hardcore" as his previous album Capital Punishment, in an attempt to reach out to an even wider fanbase than his debut album already had.[3]

Tracks

Terror Squad members and affiliates such as Sunkiss, Tony Sunshine, Prospect, Cuban Link, Remy Ma, and Fat Joe were featured on the album.

The album featured lighthearted songs like "100%" and "It's So Hard". It opens with an introduction "The Creation", likening Big Pun to Frankenstein. The first song "Watch Those" is a rock-oriented rap song with the beat derived from the theme song of Starsky and Hutch. With Tony Sunshine, there were also jokey R&B ballads like "My Dick" and "Laughing at You", an interpretation of Notorious B.I.G.'s "Juicy" with lyrics like "It was all a scheme / I used to load the tech with the magazine". The track "Nigga Shit" is a two-minute skit where Pun jokes about indulging in African-American stereotypes. There were also hardcore revenge-fantasy songs with a dark sinister sound like "Off With His Head", "LeatherFace" and "Wrong Ones". In the song "My Turn", Big Pun made a jab at a then up-and-coming rapper 50 Cent in response to the remark 50 made about Pun in his song "How to Rob".

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[4]
Billboard	(Favorable)[5]
Entertainment Weekly	C[6]
NME	(7/10)[7]
Q	[8]
RapReviews	(8.5/10)[9]
Robert Christgau	[10]
Rolling Stone	[11]
The Source	[8]
Vibe	(Favorable)[12]

Commercial

Yeeeah Baby posted a strong debut on the Billboard 200, the album sold more than 179,000 copies in its first week in stores to take the third slot on the chart. It reached Gold status within three months.

Critical

Yeeeah Baby received favorable reviews from music critics.

• Rolling Stone (4/13/00, p. 128) – 3.5 stars out of 5 – "... [Pun] has gone out with a bang. He attacked standard hip-hop topics with witty, unpredictable elasticity. ... Pun is at his habanero hottest ..."[11]
• Q (7/00, p. 111) – 3 stars out of 5 – "... Would have established [him] as both a radio-friendly commercial force and rebellious icon ..."
• CMJ (4/24/00, p. 30) – "... Beams the spotlight on the Boricua bomber's unparalleled breath control and hilarious jaw-dropping wordplay."
• Vibe (6/00, p. 214) – "... A triumphant final effort for one of the Boogie Down Bronx's favorite super-lyrical sons....[It] showcases Pun's matured artistic vision and newly mastered flows but never ceases to move bodies and minds ..."
• The Source (5/00, p. 186) – 4 mics out of 5 – "... An even more in-depth peep inside the heart and soul of a man in constant struggle with himself. ... a backstage pass to the all-out jam that was Pun's personality: street-wise, intellectually sharp, sex-crazed – and funny as hell ..."
• NME (4/29/00, p. 35) – 7 out of 10 – "... [A] raucous final musical statement. ... like a library of every cool contemporary hip-hop sound squeezed onto one compact disc. ... One for delinquent work experience boys everywhere."[7]

Track listing

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[13]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"The Creation" (intro)			1:29
2.	"Watch Those"	Christopher Rios Jerome Foster Tom Scott	Knobody	3:20
3.	"Off Wit His Head" (featuring Prospect)	Rios Justin Smith	Just Blaze	4:06
4.	"It's So Hard" (featuring Donell Jones)	Rios Richard Frierson Jay Garfield	Younglord Jay Garfield^[a]	2:52
5.	"We Don't Care" (featuring Cuban Link)	Rios Frierson Colin Blunstone David Jones	Younglord	3:12
6.	"New York Giants" (featuring M.O.P.)	Rios Mark Richardson Jamal Grinnage Eric Murray Anne Dudley Malcolm McLaren	Minnesota Mahogany	3:30
7.	"My Dick" (featuring Tony Sunshine)	Rios K. Streaks G. Rodriguez Eric Smith Eric McCaine Gino Vannelli	KNS Guy Boogie	3:19
8.	"Leatherface"	Rios Michael Dewar Collin Dewar Bill Conti Earl Simmons Sean Jacobs Jason Phillips Mason Betha David Styles Damon Blackman	The Infinite Arkatechz	3:25
9.	"Air Pun" (skit)			0:51
10.	"100%" (featuring Tony Sunshine)	Rios Deleno Matthews Lalo Schifrin	Sean Cane	3:51
11.	"Wrong Ones" (featuring Sunkiss)	Rios DeShawn Barzey J. Smith	Just Blaze	4:07
12.	"Laughing at You" (featuring Tony Sunshine)	Rios Gary Scott Steve Schiff Keith Forsey	Ogee	4:26
13.	"Nigga Shit"	Rios Anthony Best	Buckwild	1:45
14.	"Ms. Martin" (featuring Remi Martin)	Rios Michael Gomez	DJ Shok	4:16
15.	"My Turn"	Rios Leshan Lewis Al West	L.E.S. Al West^[a]	3:48
16.	"You Was Wrong" (featuring Drag-On, Fat Joe, & Remi Martin)	Rios Gomez Melvin Smalls	DJ Shok	3:51

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies a co-producer

Album chart positions

Weekly charts Chart (2000) Peak position US Billboard 200[14] 3 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[15] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2000) Position US Billboard 200[16] 123 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[17] 45

Singles chart positions

Year	Song	Chart positions
		Hot 100	Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs	Hot Rap Singles	Rhythmic Top 40
2000	"It's So Hard"	#75	#19	#11	#39
2000	"100%"	#84	#53	#16	-

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[18]	Platinum	1,000,000
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

References

1. https://articles.latimes.com/2000/apr/13/entertainment/ca-18923
2. "Gold & Platinum". riaa.com. Recording Industry Association Of America. Retrieved 2017-11-26.
3. News - Articles - 1425716 - 20000315
4. Allmusic review
5. Billboard review
6. Entertainment Weekly review
7. NME review
8. Album Reviews at CD Universe
9. RapReviews review
10. Robert Christgau Consumer Guide
11. Rolling Stone review
12. Vibe review
13. Yeeeah Baby (booklet). Terror Squad, Loud. 2000.
14. "Big Punisher Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
15. "Big Punisher Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
16. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2000". Billboard. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
17. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2000". Billboard. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
18. "American album certifications – Big Punisher – Yeeeah Baby". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.