1st Born Second

1st Born Second is the debut album by the American singer-songwriter Bilal, released on July 27, 2001, by Interscope Records.[3] Bilal recorded the album at Electric Lady Studios in New York with a host of record producers, including Aaron Comess, Dr. Dre, Mike City, Megahertz, Raphael Saadiq, and J Dilla. It was a critical success and charted at number 31 on the U.S. Billboard 200, eventually selling 319,000 copies.[4] According to AllMusic biographer Andy Kellman, the album was an "exemplary" release of the retro-inspired neo soul genre, although Bilal's subsequent work would become increasingly distinctive and modern.[5]

1st Born Second
Studio album by Bilal
Released	July 27, 2001
Recorded	c. 1999–2000
Studio	Electric Lady Studios (New York)
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)

Background

In 1999, Bilal went to New York City to train at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music[6] and began to familiarize himself with the local music scene, meeting professional musicians such as Common, The Roots, and Erykah Badu – then-members of the Soulquarians musical collective. 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 led to a record deal with Interscope.[7] Bilal was trained in jazz and classical music before recording and joining the Soulquarians, who contributed in producing the album.[8]

Aaron Comess (pictured in 2014), a producer and instrumentalist on the album who originally demoed with Bilal

After signing to Interscope in 1999, Bilal wrote songs and improvised with a band at a warehouse in New Jersey in preparation for the album's recording,[9] which took place at Electric Lady Studios in New York around 1999 and 2000.[10] In December 1999, while reviewing Bilal's Prince tribute performance at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Village Voice reported that the album was expected by Spring of next year.[11] However, the release encountered delays as Interscope pressured the singer into collaborating with more popular record producers,[6] including Dr. Dre and J Dilla, who helped refine Bilal's stylistically-varied and free-form approach into more structurally-defined songs to the label's liking. This process extended the recording for approximately another year.[9]

1st Born Second features an eclectic sound with elements of jazz, hip hop, scat, reggae, and rock music.[12][13][14] According to Mark Anthony Neal, its title originates from the idea that Bilal is the "first born prodigal son of the second generation of contemporary soul stirrers", referring to the group of artists associated with the neo soul movement.[3] The singer's name also serves as an acronym for "Beloved, Intelligent, Lustful and Livin' It".[15]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[16]
Blender	[17]
Chicago Sun-Times	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	A−[18]
Los Angeles Times	[19]
NME	8/10[20]
Q	[21]
Rolling Stone	[22]
Spin	7/10[23]
USA Today	[24]

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.[25]

The album received rave reviews from The Village Voice, Chicago Sun-Times, and USA Today,[1][24][26] and it also received comparisons to the music of Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Sly & the Family Stone, Prince, and Curtis Mayfield.[25][27][28][29] Reviewing for PopMatters, Neal hailed the album as "one of the most significant debuts in black pop during the past 25 years".[3] Vibe's Tamika Andeson called it "one of the best R&B albums of the year".[2] According to AllMusic's Andy Kellman, "at that point, the closest points of comparison were D'Angelo and Maxwell, yet Bilal was more dynamic than the former and less mannered than the latter. 1st Born Second carried an energy that neither one of those singers, as hot as they were at the time, could boast."[5]

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".[23] In an essay accompanying the Pazz & Jop critics poll, in which 1st Born Second finished in the top 100, Robert Christgau named Bilal among the "profusion of R&B also-rans" that he hopes "will develop material nobody can deny".[30]

Track listing

Information is taken from the album's liner notes.[31]

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[32]	31
US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[33]	10

Personnel

Credits are taken from AllMusic.[34]

• 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. Neal, Mark Anthony. Review: 1st Born Second. PopMatters. Retrieved on 2021-01-02.
4. Herrera, Monica. Bilal To Release Electro-Jazz Rock Album In 2010. Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-01-03.
5. Kellman, Andy (2013). "Bilal". AllMusic. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
6. Reyes, Andres (Autumn 2010). "Cool on the Outside". Shook. No. 9. Retrieved August 19, 2020 – via Issuu.
7. "Bilal". Ontheroxentertainment.com. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
8. Columnist. "Review: 1st Born Second". The Washington Post: T.14. October 12, 2001.
9. Foege, Alec (October 14, 2001). "History's on His Side". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
10. Hammer, Elliot (n.d.). "Bold as brass". Thomas Mason. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
11. "Music". The Village Voice. December 14, 1999. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
12. Kot, Greg. "Review: 1st Born Second". Chicago Tribune: 23. September 28, 2001.
13. Farley, Christopher John. Review: 1st Born Second. Time. Retrieved on 2009-08-12.
14. Phipps, Keith. Review: 1st Born Second. The A.V. Club. Retrieved on 2009-08-26. Archived 2009-09-04.
15. Needham, Alex. Review: 1st Born Second. NME. Retrieved on 2009-08-12.
16. Conaway, Matt. Review: 1st Born Second. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2009-08-12.
17. "Review". Blender. No. August/September 2001. p. 121.
18. Sinclair, Tom. Review: 1st Born Second. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2009-08-12.
19. Nichols, Natalie. Review: 1st Born Second. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 2009-08-12.
20. Odell, Michael. "Review: 1st Born Second". NME: July 25, 2001. Archived from the original on 2010-08-22.
21. "Review". Q. No. Summer 2001. p. 96.
22. DeCurtis, Anthony. "Review: 1st Born Second". Rolling Stone: 64. August 2, 2001. Note: Rating archived
23. Green, Tony. "Review: 1st Born Second". Spin: 158. September 2001.
24. Jones, Steve. "Review: 1st Born Second". USA Today: D.08. July 31, 2001.
25. 1st Born Second (2001): Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2009-08-12. Archived 2009-08-16.
26. Cepeda, Raquel. Review: 1st Born Second Archived 2012-10-17 at the Wayback Machine. The Village Voice. Retrieved on 2009-08-12.
27. Columnist. Review: 1st Born Second. The Independent. Retrieved on 2009-08-12.
28. Product Page: 1st Born Second. Muze. Retrieved on 2009-08-26.
29. Caramanica, Jon. Review: 1st Born Second. Blender. Retrieved on 2010-03-29.
30. 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.
31. Track listing and credits as per liner notes for 1st Born Second album
32. 1st Born Second - Bilal Billboard.com, August 18, 2001
33. Songs In A Minor, Alicia Keys Billboard.com
34. Credits: 1st Born Second. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2010-03-28.

External links

• 1st Born Second at Discogs (list of releases)