The Elephant in the Room (album)

The Elephant in the Room is the eighth studio album by American rapper Fat Joe. The album was released on March 11, 2008, by Terror Squad, Virgin Records, and Imperial Records. Production for the album was done by Scott Storch, Cool and Dre, Danja, DJ Khaled, DJ Premier, Swizz Beatz, The Alchemist, Streetrunner, and The Hitmen, and guest contributions came from artists like Beatz, Plies, Lil Wayne, J. Holiday, and KRS-One.

For other uses, see Elephant in the room (disambiguation).

The Elephant in the Room
An image of a man wearing sunglasses, holding a cigar with his left hand that displays a pinkie ring. The artist's name and album title are placed below the ring and colored in yellow.
Studio album by
Fat Joe
ReleasedMarch 11, 2008
Recorded2007
GenreHip hop
Length42:47
LabelTerror Squad, EMI, Imperial
ProducerFat Joe (Executive Producer) , Scott Storch, Cool and Dre, Danja, DJ Khaled, DJ Premier, Swizz Beatz, The Alchemist, The Individualz, Streetrunner, The Hitmen (Including LV, Sean C, & Mario Winans)
Fat Joe chronology
Me, Myself & I
(2006)		 The Elephant in the Room
(2008)		 Jealous Ones Still Envy 2
(2009)
Singles from The Elephant in the Room
  1. "I Won't Tell"
    Released: November 8, 2007
  2. "Ain't Sayin' Nothin'"
    Released: May 5, 2008

The album received a generally positive reception but critics felt it was inconsistent in its mixture of production and lyricism. The Elephant in the Room spawned two singles: "I Won't Tell" and "Ain't Sayin' Nothin'". The album debuted at number six on the US Billboard 200, selling 47,000 copies in its first week.[1]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllHipHop[2]
AllMusic[3]
Billboard(favorable)[4]
DJBooth[5]
HipHopDX[6]
The Phoenix[7]
RapReviews(5.5/10)[8]
Vibe(favorable)[9]

The Elephant in the Room garnered positive reviews but music critics were divided by the production and lyrical content. Nathan Slavik of DJBooth praised the album's varied production for allowing Joe to deliver different topics through various regional flows, saying that, "While Joe has never produced a truly classic album, Elephant In The Room proves that his contributions to the game have been significant and long-lasting."[5] AllMusic editor David Jeffries also praised Joe for changing his flow when switching from street tracks to radio singles, despite finding the drug talk monotonous and a lack of cohesion between him and the producers, concluding with, "Still, Joe warns the listener right at the beginning that he's more Eazy-E than Ice Cube -- and for three-fourths of the album, he's spot on."[3] Latifah Muhammad of AllHipHop found a lack of cohesion between Joe and the producers on the record but felt that he managed to deliver tracks both commercially and artistically, saying that it "manages to show off Joes'’ clever mixture of street anthems and radio shiny tunes."[2]

HipHopDX staff writer Mcooper found a lack of consistency throughout the album, praising some tracks for its mixture of new-school production and lyrics reminiscent of old-school hip-hop but found the rest of it weak and hollow, saying that "Joe has the talent to put out a classic caliber album, but as long as he wants to stay current with the downloads and ringtones, that vision may not come to pass."[6] Ben Westhoff of The Phoenix was mixed about the record, finding the lyrical content generic but felt that Joe added some needed empathy in his material, saying that "What makes it work is his vulnerability, a rare commodity in hip-hop. Unlike associate Rick Ross, who keeps letting you know that he’s the “boss,” Joe just wants to entertain you."[7] Jesal Padania of RapReviews felt that Joe copied the formula from Me, Myself & I for the album, criticizing the production for being mediocre at best and not allowing him to make good use of them, saying that "In other words, can I really recommend you purchasing this album? Not really - and I would class myself as a Fat Joe fan. I will recommend that you purchase a few of the songs from iTunes, but that is the best I can do."[8]

Commercial performance

The Elephant in the Room debuted at number six on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 47,125 copies in its first week.[1] This became Joe's third US top-ten debut.[1] The album also debuted at number three on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, becoming Joe's sixth top-ten album on this chart.[10] In its second week, the album dropped to number 56 on the chart.[11] In its third week, the album dropped to number 74 on the chart and left the chart the following week.[12][13]

Track listing
No.TitleProducer(s)Length
1."The Fugitive"Streetrunner3:58
2."Ain't Sayin' Nothin'" (featuring Dre and Plies)Cool & Dre3:38
3."The Crackhouse" (featuring Lil Wayne)Steve Morales3:33
4."Cocababy" (featuring Jackie Rubio)Danja3:26
5."Get It for Life" (featuring Poo Bear)DJ Khaled3:28
6."Drop" (featuring Jackie Rubio and Swizz Beatz)Swizz Beatz3:00
7."I Won't Tell" (featuring J. Holiday)LV, Sean C, Mario Winans3:47
8."K.A.R. (Kill All Rats)"Streetrunner4:00
9."300 Brolic" (featuring Opera Steve)LV, Sean C3:11
10."Preacher on a Sunday Morning" (featuring Poo Bear)Scott Storch3:28
11."My Conscience" (featuring KRS-One)The Alchemist4:11
12."That White"DJ Premier3:12
iTunes bonus track
No.TitleProducer(s)Length
12."Whatchuu Got" (featuring Rick Ross and Oz Fox)The Runners4:20

Personnel

Credits for The Elephant in the Room adapted from AllMusic.[14]

Charts

References
  1. Cohen, Jonathan (March 19, 2008). "Ross Zooms By 'NOW,' Snoop To Debut At No. 1". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  2. Muhammad, Latifah (March 12, 2008). "Fat Joe: The Elephant In The Room". AllHipHop. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  3. Jeffries, David. "The Elephant in the Room - Fat Joe". AllMusic. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  4. Concepcion, Mariel (March 10, 2008). "The Elephant in the Room". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on March 10, 2008. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
  5. Slavik, Nathan (March 14, 2008). "Fat Joe - The Elephant In The Room". DJBooth. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  6. Mcooper (March 10, 2008). "Fat Joe - Elephant In The Room". HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group. Archived from the original on May 8, 2011. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  7. Westhoff, Ben (April 2, 2008). "Fat Joe - CD Reviews". The Phoenix. Phoenix Media/Communications Group. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  8. Padania, Jesal (March 18, 2008). "Feature for March 18, 2008 - Fat Joe's "The Elephant in the Room"". RapReviews. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  9. Detrick, Ben (April 15, 2008). "Fat Joe, "The Elephant in the Room" : VIBE.com". Archived from the original on April 20, 2008. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  10. "TRBHH - 2008-03-29". Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  11. "Billboard 200 - 2008-04-05". Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  12. "Billboard 200 - 2008-04-12". Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  13. "The Elephant In The Room by Fat Joe". aCharts.co. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  14. "The Elephant in the Room - Fat Joe | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  15. "Fat Joe Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
  16. "Fat Joe Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
  17. "2008 Year-End: R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 13, 2015. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
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