The Darkside Vol. 1

The Darkside Vol. 1 is the tenth studio album by American rapper Fat Joe. The album was released July 27, 2010 by Terror Squad Entertainment and E1 Music. The album's production was handled by Cool & Dre, Streetrunner, DJ Infamous, Just Blaze, Scram Jones, DJ Premier, Raw Uncut, and Scoop DeVille, among others. The album also featured guest appearances came from Trey Songz, Too Short, R. Kelly, Cam'ron, Clipse, Lil Wayne and Young Jeezy.[3]

The Darkside Vol. 1
Studio album by
Fat Joe
ReleasedJuly 27, 2010[1]
Recorded2009–2010
Genre
Length49:11
LabelTerror Squad, E1
ProducerCool & Dre (also exec.), Macho TS (exec.), Zeferiah (also exec.), DJ Premier, Dope Boyz, I.L.O., Infamous, Just Blaze, Laurent "Slick" Cohen, Raw Uncut, Scram Jones, Scoop DeVille, Streetrunner
Fat Joe chronology
Jealous Ones Still Envy 2 (J.O.S.E. 2)
(2009)		 The Darkside Vol. 1
(2010)		 The Darkside Vol. 2
(2011)
Singles from The Darkside Vol. 1
  1. "(Ha Ha) Slow Down"
    Released: April 13, 2010
  2. "If It Ain't About Money"
    Released: June 30, 2010

Background

The album was announced in January 2010 by Fat Joe saying that "he was working on a new album, The Darkside: Volume 1". MTV News reported that Fat Joe intended "all the material...to be much harsher" than his previous album. On March 28, 2010, Fat Joe signed a record deal with E1 Music and announced that he would release The Darkside Vol. 1 through the label in July.[4] Fat Joe stated The Darkside Vol. 1 is all about: showin' the world that I'm a legend, and just furtherin' the legacy."[2] Fat Joe stated that he returned to his hardcore hip hop roots and considers this album to be a classic.[2]

Singles

The first single from The Darkside is "(Ha Ha) Slow Down", which features rapper Young Jeezy. The song peaked at number 54 on US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and number 23 on their Hot Rap Songs chart.[5] The second single is "If It Ain't About Money" featuring Trey Songz.[6] The song charted on US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, peaking at number 57,[7] and also charted at 25 on the US Hot Rap Songs chart.[8]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic70/100[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllHipHop8/10[10]
Allmusic[11]
DJBooth[12]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[13]
Now[14]
The Phoenix[15]
RapReviews7/10[16]
Spin7/10[17]
USA Today[18]
XXL (XL)[19]

The Darkside Vol. 1 received positive reviews from music critics. On Metacritic, the album has a score of 70 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[9] Allmusic gave it 3½ out of 5 stars, stating "instead of sounding uninspired on topics he's visited, revisited, and then some, he sounds on fire, as if this were his grand debut."[11] HipHopDX gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, praising its "Hardcore lyricism backed by the conviction that has been lacking since the '90s," also calling it his "best-produced album in over a decade."[20] RapReviews gave it a 7/10 rating, writing "Reputation now restored, Joe finds himself comfortably back in the role of narrator to the streets."[16] ThaCorner gave it 3½ out of 5 stars, noting "at the end of the thirteen track album you'll find that Joe impresses more with his skill to put together a hot album than his actual skills as a rapper."[21]

Commercial performance

The Darkside Vol. 1 debuted at number 27 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 12,300 copies in the first week.[22][23] The album also debuted number nine on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and number seven on US Top Rap Albums charts respectively.[24][25] The album made it to number two on the US Top Independent Albums chart.[26]

Track listing

This complete track list was published by Amazon.[27]

No.TitleProducer(s)Length
1."Intro"Scram Jones2:24
2."Valley of Death"Cool & Dre, Zeferiah3:39
3."I Am Crack"Just Blaze3:43
4."Kilo" (featuring Clipse & Cam'ron)Infamous, Laurent "Slick" Cohen (co.)4:01
5."Rappers Are in Danger"Infamous3:16
6."(Ha Ha) Slow Down" (featuring Young Jeezy)Scoop DeVille3:25
7."If It Ain't About Money" (featuring Trey Songz)Cool & Dre, Zeferiah3:53
8."No Problems" (featuring Rico Love)Scoop DeVille2:57
9."How Did We Get Here" (featuring R. Kelly)Raw Uncut4:20
10."Money Over Bitches" (featuring Too Short & TA)Raw Uncut3:59
11."Heavenly Father" (featuring Lil Wayne)Streetrunner, I.L.O. (add.)4:05
12."I'm Gone"DJ Premier6:21
13."At Last Supremacy" (featuring Busta Rhymes) (Bonus Track)Cool & Dre, Dope Boyz, Zeferiah3:54
Sample credits
  • "Intro" – Contains a sample of "Just a Memory" by The Notorious B.I.G. featuring Clipse
  • "Valley of Death" – Contains a sample of "Do I Stand a Chance" by The Montclairs
  • "Kilo" – Contains a sample of "I Weigh With Kilos" by Jimmy Van & Richard Hieronymus
  • "Rappers Are in Danger" – Contains a sample of "Time's Up" by O.C.
  • "(Ha Ha) Slow Down" – Contains a sample of "Back to Life (A cappella)" by Soul II Soul
  • "No Problems" – Contains samples of "Flash's Theme" by Queen[28] and "Terminator X to the Edge of Panic" by Public Enemy
  • "Heavenly Father" – Contains a sample of "Pray to the Lord" by Lil Wayne

Charts
Chart (2010) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[29] 27
US Top Independent Albums (Billboard)[29] 2
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[29] 9
US Top Rap Albums (Billboard)[29] 7

References
  1. Paine, Jake (June 16, 2010). "Fat Joe's "Darkside Volume 1" Tracklisting Revealed". HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group.
  2. Paine, Jake (June 25, 2010). "Fat Joe Talks "I Am Crack" With Just Blaze, Return To Hardcore Roots". HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
  3. Reid, Shaheem (January 8, 2010). "Fat Joe Is Ready To Head To The Darkside With Young Jeezy". Mixtape Daily. MTV News. Retrieved January 9, 2010.
  4. Paine, Jake (March 29, 2010). "Fat Joe Heads To E1, Readies "The Dark Side"". HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group.
  5. "iTunes - Music - (Ha Ha) Slow Down [feat. Young Jeezy] - Single by Fat Joe". Itunes.apple.com. 2010-04-13. Retrieved 2012-02-12.
  6. Cool and Dre. "Fat Joe Feat: Trey Songz New Single Teaser On Vimeo". Vimeo.com. Archived from the original on 2010-05-27. Retrieved 2012-02-12.
  7. "Fat Joe Album & Song Chart History: R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
  8. "Fat Joe Album & Song Chart History: Rap Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
  9. "Critic Reviews for The Darkside Vol. 1". Metacritic. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
  10. Rem, Charlie (July 28, 2010). "Review: Fat Joe: The Darkside Vol. 1". AllHipHop. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
  11. Jeffries, David. "The Darkside Vol. 1 - Fat Joe". Allmusic. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
  12. Nathan S. "Fat Joe - The Darkside Vol. 1". DJBooth. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
  13. Vozick-Levinson, Simon (July 30, 2010). "The Darkside Volume 1". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  14. Richards, Jason (August 5–12, 2010). "Fat Joe: The Darkside Vol. 1 (Terror Squad/E1)". Now. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
  15. Faraone, Chris (August 4, 2010). "Fat Joe: The Dark Side - CD Reviews". The Phoenix. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
  16. Juon, Steve 'Flash' (July 27, 2010). "RapReviews.com Feature for July 27, 2010 - Fat Joe's 'The Darkside'". RapReviews. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
  17. Detrick, Ben (July 13, 2010). "Fat Joe, 'The Darkside Vol. 1' (Terror Squad/E1)". Spin. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
  18. Jones, Steve (July 27, 2010). "Throwback Gangster". USA Today. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
  19. Blanco, Alvin. X-Rated: The Darkside Vol. 1 (September 2010 ed.). XXL. p. 146.
  20. Kuperstein, Slava (July 27, 2010). "Fat Joe - The Darkside Vol. 1". HipHopDX. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
  21. Superfluous (July 27, 2010). "Dark Side Album Review - Is Fat Joe's Dark Side His Best Side?". ThaCorner. Archived from the original on July 31, 2010. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
  22. Allen Jacobs (August 4, 2010). "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 8/1/2010". HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
  23. "BB200 - 2010-08-14". Billboard. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  24. "TRBHH - 2010-08-14". Billboard. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  25. "TRA - 2010-08-14". Billboard. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  26. "TIA - 2010-08-14". Billboard. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  27. "Darkside Vol. Tracklist". Amazon. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
  28. "Fat Joe feat. Rico Love's No Problems sample of Queen's Flash's Theme | WhoSampled". WhoSampled. Archived from the original on December 16, 2010. Retrieved September 5, 2010.
  29. "Fat Joe Album & Song Chart History: Billboard 200" (Click in white space around album name to see peaks on other charts). Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
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