Crown Royal (album)

Crown Royal is the seventh and final studio album by hip hop group Run–D.M.C., released on April 3, 2001 by Arista Records.

Crown Royal
Studio album by
Run–D.M.C.
ReleasedApril 3, 2001
Recorded1998-1999
GenreHip hop, rap rock
Length43:49
LabelArista
ProducerRun-D.M.C., Jam Master Jay, Randy Allen, LaMarquis "ReMarqable" Jefferson, DJ Lethal, Kid Rock, Dante Ross, John Gamble, John Carmer, Stephan Jenkins, Jermaine Dupri, Run (co-producer), DJ Homicide (co-producer)
Run–D.M.C. chronology
Down With the King
(1993)		 Crown Royal
(2001)		 Greatest Hits
(2002)
Singles from Crown Royal
  1. "The Beginning (No Further Delay)"
    Released: March 6, 1998
  2. "Simmons Incorporated"
    Released: October 12, 1999
  3. "Crown Royal / Queens Day"
    Released: October 30, 1999
  4. "It's Over"
    Released: April 13, 2000
  5. "Rock Show"
    Released: February 13, 2001
  6. "Let's Stay Together (Together Forever)"
    Released: April 2, 2001
Music video
"Let's Stay Together (Together Forever)" on YouTube
Music video
"Rock Show" on YouTube

It's the first and only Run–D.M.C. album with a Parental Advisory label, though previous Run-D.M.C albums, such as the 1986 Raising Hell, had included explicit lyrics. All songs but the title track featured guest artists, including Fred Durst, Stephan Jenkins, Sugar Ray, Everlast, Kid Rock, Nas, Prodigy, Fat Joe and Method Man.

Crown Royal peaked at number 37 on the US Billboard 200, and number 22 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart.

The album was the last in the history of the group. After the murder of DJ Jam Master Jay, on October 30, 2002, the other group members, Joseph Simmons and Darryl McDaniels, announced the group's official disbanding at a press conference called to unveil the formation of a coalition of music industry artists and a fund intended to financially assist Mizell's family. This event took place on November 6, 2002.[1]

Release

The release of the new album called Crown Royal was originally scheduled for October 12, 1999,[2] but was later postponed for the summer of 2000.[3] Representatives of the label said that the release of the album was postponed after managers of Kid Rock and Fred Durst refused to release their tracks as singles. These tracks were originally intended to be used as lead singles of the album. And so the release of the album was postponed to February 13, 2001,[4] and then to March 6,[5] and as a result the album was released on April 3, 2001.[6][7]

Critical response
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic43/100[8]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[9]
HipHopDX.com[10]
NME[11]
Rolling Stone[12]

Crown Royal received mixed critical reviews. However, many critics have expressed their frustration at the lack of DMC participation. Some positive reviews have been published. Entertainment Weekly (4/6/01, p. 120) note that "on this hip-hop roast, new schoolers Nas and Fat Joe pay their respects with sparkling grooves... Run's rhymes are still limber." - Rating: B-[13]

Rolling Stone (3/15/01, p. 78) said "Crown Royal uses the same musical strategy as their minor 1993 comeback, Down with the King: guest artists, guest artists and more guest artists... But as on Down With the King, Run-DMC prove their old-school mastery without adding anything new to it; the tracks sink or swim depending on what the guest artist felt like bringing to the studio that day."[14]

HipHopDX gave Crown Royal three and a half stars out of five, saying "Crown Royal is definitely not a classic but it does provide a few jams that many will really love."[15]

NME gave Crown Royal a 6 out of 10 rating: "Proves the emperors' new clothes can look just as solid as their old threads."[16] However, AllMusic rated the album only one and a half stars out of five: "Crown Royal spirals so recklessly into contrasting segments that it's easy to forget you are even listening to a Run-D.M.C. record. Lacking any discernible sense of direction or continuity, the once cutting-edge trio has seemingly lost touch with its original fan base."[17]

Track listing

The information about samples was taken from WhoSampled.[18]

# Title Featuring Producer(s) Samples Length
1 "It's Over" LaMarquis "ReMarqable" Jefferson
Jermaine Dupri (co-producer)		 3:40
2 "Queens Day" Jam Master Jay
Randy Allen
  • Run-D.M.C. - "Peter Piper" (1986)
  • Mary J. Blige - "Round and Round" (1997)
 4:18
3 "Crown Royal"
    		Jam Master Jay
    Randy Allen
    Run (co-producer)    		 3:13
    4 "Them Girls" Jam Master Jay
    Randy Allen
    DJ Lethal
    • Crash Crew - "High Power Rap" (1980)
    		 3:33
    5 "The School Of Old" Kid Rock
    • Santana - "Open Invitation" (1978)
    • Run-D.M.C. - "King Of Rock" (1985)
    • Run-D.M.C. - "Dumb Girl" (1986)
    		 3:20
    6 "Take the Money and Run" Dante Ross
    John Gamble
    • Steve Miller Band - "Take the Money and Run" (1976)
    • Run-D.M.C. - "Rock Box" (1984)
    • Run-D.M.C. - "Jam Master Jay" (1984)
    		 3:48
    7 "Rock Show" John Carmer
    Stephan Jenkins
    • Run-D.M.C. - "Rock Box" (1984)
    • Run-D.M.C. - "Hit It Run" (1986)
    • Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock - 'It Takes Two" (1988)
    		 3:06
    8 "Here We Go 2001" Jam Master Jay
    DJ Homicide (co-producer)    		 3:21
    9 "Ahhh" Jam Master Jay
    Randy Allen    		 4:21
    10 "Let's Stay Together (Together Forever)" Jermaine Dupri
    LaMarquis "ReMarqable" Jefferson (co-producer)    		 3:19
    11 "Ay Papi"
    • Fat Joe
    • Bo Skaggs Nitty (backing vocals)
    • Karmine Wilson (backing vocals)
    		 Jam Master Jay
    Randy Allen
    Jermaine Dupri
    • Stan Kenton and His Orchestra - "Francesca" (1951)
    		 3:16
    12 "Simmons Incorporated"
    • Method Man
    • Big Dash
    • Donald McFarland
    • Jamel Simmons
    • Kenny Cash
    • Mike Ransom
    		 Jam Master Jay
    Randy Allen
    Run (co-producer)    		 3:52
    13 "Walk This Way" Run-D.M.C. vs. Jason Nevins 3:58

    Singles

    The song recorded together with Method Man, "Simmons Incorporated", was released on the single in 1998 under the name "The Beginning (No Further Delay)".[19] The songs "Crown Royal" and "Queens Day" were released on the promo single in 1999.[20] But the main singles for the album were "Rock Show" and "Let's Stay Together (Together Forever)", released in early 2001.

    Charts

    Weekly charts
    Chart (2001) Peak
    position
    US Billboard 200[21] 37
    US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[22] 22
    Australian ARIA Album Chart[23] 48

    References
    1. "Surviving Run-DMC members retire group (November 6, 2002)". cnn.com. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
    2. "Billboard Magazine (September 18, 1999)" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
    3. "Billboard Magazine (May 13, 2000)" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
    4. "STAR-PACKED RUN-D.M.C. ALBUM DUE IN FEBRUARY". mtv.com. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
    5. "Billboard Magazine (December 9, 2000)" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
    6. "Gavin Report Magazine (March 2, 2001)" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
    7. "Album "Crown Royal" (Posted on 03. April 2001)". rundmc.de. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
    8. "Crown Royal by Run-D.M.C." Retrieved 3 April 2019.
    9. Allmusic review
    10. http://hiphopdx.com, HipHopDX -. "Run DMC - Crown Royal". Archived from the original on 21 July 2009. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
    11. NME.COM. "Run DMC : Crown Royal - NME.COM". Retrieved 3 April 2019.
    12. Rolling Stone review
    13. "Entertainment Weekly: Crown Royal by David Browne (April 06, 2001)". ew.com. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
    14. "Rolling Stone. Run-D.M.C. - Crown Royal - Album review by Rob Sheffield (February 20, 2001) - page 78". rollingstone.com. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
    15. "Run DMC - Crown Royal - Album review by DX Staff (March 6, 2001)". rollingstone.com. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
    16. "Run DMC : Crown Royal (April 5, 2001) - page 43". nme.com. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
    17. "Run DMC : Crown Royal - Album Review by Matt Conaway". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
    18. "Run-D.M.C. - Crown Royal (2001) - Samples on WhoSampled". whosampled.com. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
    19. "Run-D.M.C. Feat. Method Man – The Beginning (No Further Delay) (1998)". discogs.com. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
    20. "Run-D.M.C. - Crown Royal / Queens Day (1999)". discogs.com. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
    21. "Run-DMC Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
    22. "Run-DMC Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
    23. "Australian Charts". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
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