718 (album)

718
Studio album by
Theodore Unit
ReleasedAugust 3, 2004 (2004-08-03)
Recorded2003–04
Studio
  • Audiovision Studios (Miami, FL)
  • Circle House Studios (Miami, FL)
  • Redline Studios (Staten Island, NY)
  • Sound on Sound Studios (New York, NY)
GenreHip-hop
Length46:56
Label
Producer
Ghostface Killah chronology
The Pretty Toney Album
(2004) 		718
(2004) 		Put It on the Line
(2005)
Trife Da God chronology
718
(2004) 		Put It on the Line
(2005)
Singles from 718
  1. "Guerilla Hood"
    Released: 2003

718 is the only studio album by American hip-hop group Theodore Unit. It was released on August 3, 2004, through Sure Shot Recordings. Recording sessions took place at Audiovision Studios and Circle House Studios in Miami, and Redline Studios and Sound On Sound Studios in New York from the same sessions for The Pretty Toney Album. Production was handled by K-Def, Emile Haynie, Anthony Acid, Cilvaringz, Dirty Dean, D. Prosper, Milestone, Nexus, Self, the Smith Bros., and DJ Skillspinz, with CL, Ghostface Killah and Mike Caruso serving as executive producers. Composed of Ghostface Killah, Trife Da God, Solomon Childs, Shawn Wigs, Kryme Life, Cappadonna and Du-Lilz, it features guest appearances from Bone Crusher, Kline, Method Man and Streetlife.

The album debuted at number 66 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and number 38 on the Independent Albums chart in the United States.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Pitchfork7/10[2]
Prefix7/10[3]
RapReviews8/10[4]

AllMusic's David Jeffries felt the record was more than "a scattershot bunch of leftovers surrounded by lesser rappers", praising the 1986 "over-the-top excitement" throughout the track listing while also displaying the "so fresh, so now, so underground sound". He also praised Ghostface, Trife and Method Man for their performances, but felt the other crew members did not distinguish themselves with their contributions. Jeffries concluded that "the album bounces between the raw and polished, and half of it is leftovers, but too many highlights to mention make it flow just fine."[1] William Ketchum III of RapReviews praised Trife's "raw, authoritative flow and exceptional punchline prowess" on "Punch In Punch Out", "Paychecks", "88 Freestyle" and "Who Are We?", but was mixed on the other members, singaling out Solomon Childs' "slow, dragging flow" not being ideal for solo outings.[4] Pitchfork contributor Sam Ubl called it "a nice, if unnecessary, accessory" to The Pretty Toney Album, praising Ghostface's "tic-addled vehemence" in his lyrics while delivering more introspection and a "touching vulnerability" on "Mama Can You Hear Me" and "Who Are We?", and critiqued that Trife was Ghostface's "closest competitor" on the album when delivering quality verses, concluding that: "Commercially feasible or not, 718 features enough stylish production and idiosyncratic rapping to service Ghostface's reputation while providing the Theodore Unit stable with a cornerstone for its own."[2]

Track listing

No.TitleProducer(s)Length
1."Guerilla Hood" (performed by Ghostface Killah)Cilvaringz3:19
2."Punch In Punch Out" (performed by Trife Da God) 2:44
3."88 Freestyle" (performed by Ghostface Killah and Trife Da God) 2:10
4."The Drummer" (performed by Ghostface Killah and Trife Da God featuring Method Man and Streetlife)Self2:47
5."Gatz" (performed by Shawn Wiggs, Ghostface Killah and Solomon Childs)Anthony Acid2:21
6."Who Are We?" (performed by Ghostface Killah and Trife Da God featuring Bone Crusher)Dirty Dean3:38
7."Smith Brothers" (performed by Ghostface Killah and Trife Da God)The Smith Brothers3:18
8."Mama Can You Hear Me" (performed by Solomon Childs)Nexus3:49
9."Paychecks" (performed by Ghostface Killah and Trife Da God)
2:57
10."Wicked With Lead" (performed by Ghostface Killah and Trife Da God)K-Def2:45
11."Daily Routine" (performed by Shawn Wigs)Emile1:58
12."Right Back" (performed by Trife Da God and Kryme Life) 2:49
13."Pass the Mic" (performed by Du-Lilz, Shawn Wigs, Trife Da God, Solomon Childs, Ghostface Killah and Cappadonna)K-Def2:58
14."Work" (performed by Solomon Childs)DJ Skillspinz2:57
15."It's the Unit" (performed by Shawn Wigs, Cappadonna and Ghostface Killah featuring Kline)Emile2:42
16."Be My Girl" (performed by Solomon Childs)Milestone3:44
Total length:46:56

Personnel

  • Dennis "Ghostface Killah" Coles – main artist, vocals (tracks: 1, 3–7, 9, 10, 13, 15), executive producer
  • Theo "Trife" Bailey – main artist, vocals (tracks: 2–4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13)
  • Walbert "Solomon Childs" Dale – main artist, vocals (tracks: 5, 8, 13, 14, 16)
  • Shawn "Wiggs" Simons – main artist, vocals (tracks: 5, 11, 13, 15)
  • Anthony "Kryme Life" Jones – main artist, vocals (tracks: 12, 13)
  • Darryl "Cappadonna" Hill – main artist, vocals (tracks: 13, 15)
  • Du-Lilz – main artist, vocals (track 13)
  • Clifford "Method Man" Smith – featured artist, vocals (track 4)
  • Patrick "Streetlife" Charles – featured artist, vocals (track 4)
  • Wayne "Bone Crusher" Hardnett – featured artist, vocals (track 6)
  • Kline – featured artist, vocals (track 15)
  • Tarik "Cilvaringz" Azzougarh – producer (track 1)
  • Self – producer (track 4)
  • Anthony "Acid" Caputo – producer (track 5), mixing & recording (tracks: 2, 5, 8, 10, 12–14, 16)
  • Dirty Dean – producer (track 6)
  • Smith Bros. – producer (track 7)
  • Nexus – producer (track 8)
  • Derick "Mastermind" Prosper – producer (track 9)
  • Kevin "K-Def" Hansford – producer (tracks: 10, 13), co-producer (track 9)
  • Emile Haynie – producer & mixing (tracks: 11, 15)
  • Antonio "DJ Skillspinz" Biggers – producer (track 14)
  • Milestone – producer (track 16)
  • Stephen "Spidey" Glicken – mixing & recording (tracks: 1, 7)
  • Mike Caruso – executive producer, management
  • CL – executive producer
  • Mario Caruso – associate producer
  • Rok One – art direction
  • Kaysh Shinn – photography
  • DJ Phantom – A&R
  • Jonathan Kaslow – A&R
  • Walter Free – project coordinator

Charts

Chart (2004) Peak
position
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[5] 66
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[6] 38

References

  1. ^ a b Jeffries, David. "718 - Theodore Unit". AllMusic. Archived from the original on March 10, 2013. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Ubl, Sam (December 1, 2004). "Theodore Unit: 718". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on March 18, 2009. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  3. ^ Martinez, Rafael. "718". Prefixmag. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  4. ^ a b Ketchum III, William (August 10, 2004). "Theodore Unit :: 718 :: Sure Shot Recordings". RapReviews. Archived from the original on August 16, 2004. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  5. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart: Week of August 21, 2004". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 7, 2022. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  6. ^ "Independent Albums Chart: Week of August 21, 2004". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 28, 2018. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.