The Million Dollar Backpack
The Million Dollar Backpack is the fourth solo studio album by American rapper and record producer Skillz. It was released on July 22, 2008 via Big Kidz Music and Koch Records. Recording sessions took place at Homecookin Studios, Larry Gold's The Studio and The Boom Room in Philadelphia, at Portside Sound, at Donland Studios, at Chung King Studios in New York, at K1 Laboratories, at The House That Quest Built. Production was handled by Bink!, Fusion Unlimited, Khari Ferrari, Carvin & Ivan, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Jake One, James Poyser, Jimmy "Slim" Rose, Kwamé, ?uestlove, Usef Dinero, and Skillz himself. It features guest appearances from Black Thought, Common and Freeway.
| The Million Dollar Backpack | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 22, 2008 | |||
| Recorded | 2006–08 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 52:53 | |||
| Label |
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| Producer |
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| Skillz chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| HipHopDX | 3.5/5[1] |
| PopMatters | 7/10[2] |
| RapReviews | 8.5/10[3] |
The first single off the album was "So Far So Good" featuring Common on the album version and Talib Kweli on the video version. It is the follow-up to Skillz 2005 album Confessions of a Ghostwriter.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Million Dollar Backpack (Intro)" |
|
| 2:38 |
| 2. | "Where I Been" |
| Jake One | 3:39 |
| 3. | "Don't Act Like You Don't Know" (featuring Freeway) | Carvin & Ivan | 3:38 | |
| 4. | "So Far So Good" (featuring Common) |
| Usef Dinero | 4:06 |
| 5. | "Sick" |
| Kwamé | 3:05 |
| 6. | "(For Real) He Don't Owe Me" |
| Bink! | 3:21 |
| 7. | "My Phone" |
|
| 4:37 |
| 8. | "Yeah Ya Know It" |
|
| 3:50 |
| 9. | "Hold Tight" (featuring Black Thought) | 4:05 | ||
| 10. | "Crazy World" |
|
| 3:25 |
| 11. | "I'm Gon Make It" |
| Bink! | 3:31 |
| 12. | "Be Alright" |
|
| 4:10 |
| 13. | "Hip Hop Died" |
|
| 4:51 |
| 14. | "Preachin to the Choir" |
| Jimmy "Slim" Rose | 3:57 |
| Total length: | 52:53 | |||
Personnel
- Donnie "Mad Skillz" Lewis – vocals, producer & recording (track 10), co-producer (tracks: 8, 13), executive producer
- Duane Fowlkes – additional vocals (track 2)
- Leslie "Freeway" Pridgen – rap vocals (track 3)
- Lonnie "Common" Lynn – rap vocals (track 4)
- Kwamé "K1 Mil" Holland – additional vocals & producer (track 5)
- Jamal "Truck North" Miller – additional vocals (track 8)
- Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter – rap vocals (track 9)
- Maimouna Youssef – additional vocals (track 10)
- Durrell "Bishop" Scott – vocals (track 11)
- Kenny Wray – vocals (track 11)
- Aaries – vocals (track 12)
- Cornbread – vocals (track 12)
- Maurice "DJ Aktive" Deloach – scratches (track 4)
- Leonard "E-Flat" Stephens – guitar (track 7), co-producer (tracks: 7, 12)
- James Poyser – keyboards (track 13), producer (track 9)
- Jeffrey "DJ Jazzy Jeff" Townes – producer & recording (track 1)
- Jacob "Jake One" Dutton – producer (track 2)
- Carvin "Ransum" Haggins – producer (track 3), recording (track 4), co-executive producer
- Ivan "Orthodox" Barias – producer (track 3), mixing (tracks: 1-4, 6, 7, 12), recording (tracks: 2-4, ), co-executive producer
- Joseph "Usef Dinero"/"Joe Money" Pritchard – producer (track 4)
- Roosevelt "Bink!" Harrell III – producer (tracks: 6, 11)
- Tyrone D. Tellington – producer (tracks: 7, 12)
- Khari Abdul Mateen – producer & recording (tracks: 8, 10, 13)
- Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson – producer (track 9)
- Jimmy "Slim" Rose – producer & recording (track 14)
- Johnnie "Smurf" Smith – co-producer (track 1)
- Karl "Dice Raw" Jenkins – vocal producer (track 13), co-executive producer
- Andre Dandridge – recording (tracks: 1, 7, 12)
- Gary Herd – recording (tracks: 2, 6, 9, 11)
- Chris "Tek" O'Ryan – mixing (track 4), recording (track 11)
- A Kid Called Cus – recording & mixing (track 5)
- Kristal Oliver – recording (track 6)
- Jon Smeltz – mixing (tracks: 8-10, 13, 14)
- Steven Mandel – recording (track 9)
- Montez Roberts – recording (track 9)
- Jerome Hipps – executive producer
- Michael McArthur – executive producer
- Mahfuzur "Shomi" Patwary – design, layout
- Paul Grosso – design
- Laurel Dann – A&R
References
- Pitts, Brandon (July 23, 2008). "Skillz - Million Dollar Backpack". HipHopDX. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
- Henriques, Anthony (September 18, 2008). "Skillz: The Million Dollar Backpack, PopMatters". PopMatters. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
- Juon, Steve 'Flash' (July 29, 2008). "Skillz :: The Million Dollar Backpack – RapReviews". www.rapreviews.com. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
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