1st Born Second

1st Born Second is the debut album of American singer Bilal, released July 17, 2001 on Interscope Records. Production for the album was handled primarily by Bilal and Aaron Comess.[3] Bilal's stage name also serves as an acronym for "Beloved, Intelligent, Lustful and Livin' It".[4] Bilal was trained in jazz and classical music before recording and joining the Soulquarians collective, which contributed in producing the album.[5] 1st Born Second features an eclectic sound incorporates musical elements of jazz, hip hop, scat, reggae, and rock music.[6][7][8]

1st Born Second
Studio album by Bilal
Released	July 17, 2001
Genre	Neo soul[1] R&B[2]
Length	75:55
Label	Interscope
Producer	Bilal, Mike City, Aaron Comess, Dahoud Darien, Megahertz, Dr. Dre, Dre & Vidal, J Dilla, Andres Levin, Mel-Man, James Poyser, Questlove, Raphael Saadiq, Soulquarians
Bilal chronology
1st Born Second (2001) Love for Sale (2006)

The album charted at number 31 on the U.S. Billboard 200, eventually selling 319,000 copies.[9] It was also a critical success.

Background

Bilal began to familiarize himself with the music scene in New York City, meeting big talents such as Common, The Roots, and Erykah Badu. Eventually, he was discovered by Aaron Comess from the Spin Doctors during an after-school jam session. It was with him that Bilal recorded his demo that landed him a record deal with Interscope.[10]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[11]
Blender	[12]
Chicago Sun-Times	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	A−[13]
Los Angeles Times	[14]
NME	8/10[15]
Q	[16]
Rolling Stone	[17]
Spin	7/10[18]
USA Today	[19]

1st Born Second was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album has an average score of 82, based on 17 reviews.[20]

The album received rave reviews from The Village Voice, Chicago Sun-Times, and USA Today,[1][19][21] and it also received comparisons to the music of Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Sly & the Family Stone, Prince, and Curtis Mayfield.[20][22][23][24] Music writer Mark Anthony Neal of PopMatters cited the album as "one of the most significant debuts in black pop during the past 25 years".[25] Vibe's Tamika Andeson called it "one of the best R&B albums of the year".[2]

Some reviewers were less impressed. Spin magazine's Tony Green said that the album is musically expansive but lacking "that killer tune or two that would bring it all home, that one memorable melody that would make the album more than the sum of its incense 'n' dreads textures".[18] In his essay accompanying the Pazz & Jop critics poll, in which 1st Born Second finished in the top 100, Robert Christgau named it among the "profusion of R&B also-rans" that he hopes "will develop material nobody can deny".[26]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro"	Dubble, Richie Rich	Bilal	1:47
2.	"For You"	Bilal Oliver	Megahertz	3:47
3.	"Fast Lane"	Oliver, Damu Mtume, Fa Mtume, Michael Flowers	Dr. Dre	4:37
4.	"Reminisce" (feat. Mos Def & Common)	Oliver, Dante Smith, James Yancey, Lonnie Lynn	J Dilla	4:35
5.	"All That I Am (Somethin' for the People)"	Oliver, Dahoud Darien, Lynn	Dahoud Darien	3:56
6.	"Sally"	Oliver, Ronald Shannon Jackson, Richard Serrell	Dr. Dre	3:41
7.	"Sometimes"	Ahmir Khalib Thompson, Oliver, James Poyser	James Poyser	7:12
8.	"Love It"	Mike City	Mike City	3:48
9.	"C'mere (Skit)"		Andres Levin	2:12
10.	"Soul Sista"	Oliver, James Mtume	Raphael Saadiq	5:21
11.	"When Will You Call"	Oliver	Aaron Comess	4:47
12.	"Queen of Sanity"	Oliver	Aaron Comess	5:21
13.	"Love Poems"	Oliver, Keisha Whatley	Aaron Comess	5:25
14.	"You Are"	Marsha Ambrosius, Natalie Stewart	Dre & Vidal	4:17
15.	"Home"	Oliver	Bilal	5:23
16.	"Slyde"	Oliver, Darien	Dahoud Darien	4:07
17.	"Second Child"	Oliver	Bilal	6:49

Charts

Charts (2001)	Peak position
US Billboard 200[27]	31
US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[28]	10

Personnel

Credits for 1st Born Second adapted from Allmusic.[29]

Bilal – vocals, drums, clavier, producer Dr. Dre – producer Greg Burns – assistant engineer, mixing Larry Chatman – project coordinator Mike City – multi instruments, producer Aaron Comess – bass, drums, producer, engineer, mixing engineer Tom Coster, Jr. – keyboards Jim Danis – assistant engineer, mixing Dahoud Darien – producer Vidal Davis – producer, engineer Russell Elevado – mixing Mike Elizondo – guitar, keyboards Todd Farrell – assistant engineer Drew FitzGerald – art direction Serban Ghenea – guitar, mixing Robert Glasper – keyboards, keyboard accordion James Hurt – string arrangements Jay Dee – producer Gintas Janusonis - drums, percussion Andres Levin – engineer, mixing

Steve Mandel – mixing Artemio Villeda Martín – executive producer Alan Mason – mixing Sid McCoy – narrator Mel-Man – keyboards, producer Peter Mokran – mixing engineer Mike Moreno – guitar Mos Def – rap Damu Mtume – executive producer Neil Pogue – mixing engineer James Poyser – organ, producer, Fender Rhodes Raphael Saadiq – producer Jon Smeltz – engineer Soulquarians – producer Mike Starr – guitar Kendal Stubbs – engineer John Tyree – assistant engineer, mixing

References

1. Columnist. "Review: 1st Born Second". Chicago Sun-Times: August 12, 2001. Archived from the original on 2009-08-12. (Transcription of original review at talk page)
2. Anderson, Tamika. "Review: 1st Born Second". Vibe: 242. September 2001.
3. Track listing and credits as per liner notes for 1st Born Second album
4. Needham, Alex. Review: 1st Born Second. NME. Retrieved on 2009-08-12.
5. Columnist. "Review: 1st Born Second". The Washington Post: T.14. October 12, 2001.
6. Kot, Greg. "Review: 1st Born Second". Chicago Tribune: 23. September 28, 2001.
7. Farley, Christopher John. Review: 1st Born Second. Time. Retrieved on 2009-08-12.
8. Phipps, Keith. Review: 1st Born Second. The A.V. Club. Retrieved on 2009-08-26. Archived 2009-09-04.
9. Herrera, Monica. Bilal To Release Electro-Jazz Rock Album In 2010. Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-01-03.
10. "Bilal". Ontheroxentertainment.com. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
11. Conaway, Matt. Review: 1st Born Second. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2009-08-12.
12. "Review". Blender. No. August/September 2001. p. 121.
13. Sinclair, Tom. Review: 1st Born Second. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2009-08-12.
14. Nichols, Natalie. Review: 1st Born Second. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 2009-08-12.
15. Odell, Michael. "Review: 1st Born Second". NME: July 25, 2001. Archived from the original on 2010-08-22.
16. "Review". Q. No. Summer 2001. p. 96.
17. DeCurtis, Anthony. "Review: 1st Born Second". Rolling Stone: 64. August 2, 2001. Note: Rating archived
18. Green, Tony. "Review: 1st Born Second". Spin: 158. September 2001.
19. Jones, Steve. "Review: 1st Born Second". USA Today: D.08. July 31, 2001.
20. 1st Born Second (2001): Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2009-08-12. Archived 2009-08-16.
21. Cepeda, Raquel. Review: 1st Born Second Archived 2012-10-17 at the Wayback Machine. The Village Voice. Retrieved on 2009-08-12.
22. Columnist. Review: 1st Born Second. The Independent. Retrieved on 2009-08-12.
23. Product Page: 1st Born Second. Muze. Retrieved on 2009-08-26.
24. Caramanica, Jon. Review: 1st Born Second. Blender. Retrieved on 2010-03-29.
25. Neal, Mark Anthony. Review: 1st Born Second. PopMatters. Retrieved on 2009-08-12.
26. Christgau, Robert (February 12, 2002). "Pazz & Jop 2001: Not Just Your Old Man's Takeover". The Village Voice. Retrieved July 25, 2020 – via robertchristgau.com.
27. 1st Born Second - Bilal Billboard.com, August 18, 2001
28. Songs In A Minor, Alicia Keys Billboard.com
29. Credits: 1st Born Second. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2010-03-28.

External links

• 1st Born Second at Discogs
• 1st Born Second at Metacritic