Urban Rapsody
| Urban Rapsody | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 14, 1997 | |||
| Genre | Funk | |||
| Length | 72:28 | |||
| Label | Private-I/Mercury/PolyGram[1] | |||
| Producers | Rick James, Daniel LeMelle | |||
| Rick James chronology | ||||
| ||||
Urban Rapsody is the twelfth studio album by the American funk singer Rick James.[2][3] It was released through Mercury Records and Private-I Records in 1997, and was the final album released in his lifetime. The album combines rap and funk.
Urban Rapsody received a Parental Advisory sticker, James's only album with one. It was his first release since 1988's Wonderful, due to substance abuse problems and an extended period of incarceration.
Critical reception
[edit]| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [5] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [6] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B−[7] |
(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide gave the album 1.5 stars (out of 5), writing that it is a "cannily conservative attempt to recapture the R&B portion of his audience, but it lacks the fire of his early hits."[8]
Track listing
[edit]All tracks composed by Rick James, except where noted.
- "Urban Rapsody" (James, LeMelle, Rappin' 4-Tay)
- "West Coast Thing" (James, Shepherd)
- "Somebody's Watching You" (James, Shepherd)
- "Back in You Again"
- "Turn It Out"
- "Good Ol' Days"
- "Player's Way" (James, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Shepherd)
- "Never Say You Love Me"
- "It's Time" (James, Shepherd, Neb Love)
- "So Soft So Wet" (James, Shepherd)
- "Bring On the Love"
- "Mama's Eyes" (James, Shepherd)
- "Soul Sista"
- "Favorite Flava" (James, Shepherd, Neb Love)
- "Urban Rapsody (Reprise)" (James, LeMelle)
References
[edit]- ↑ Conner, Thomas [in German]. "Freak Out! Rick James Leaves Prison a New Man". Tulsa World.
- ↑ "Freedom Funk : A Liberated Rick James Isn't Singing Any Folsom Prison Blues". Los Angeles Times. September 27, 1997.
- ↑ Catlin, Roger. "Rick James Reaches Deep into His Past for Show at the Palace". Hartford Courant.
- ↑ "Rick James". Billboard.
- ↑ "Urban Rapsody: Rick James". AllMusic. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
- ↑ Larkin, Colin (May 27, 2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857125958.
- ↑ "Album Review: 'Urban Rapsody'". Entertainment Weekly. October 24, 1997. Archived from the original on November 6, 2015.
- ↑ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (July 11, 2004). (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9780743201698.
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