The Sneak Attack
The Sneak Attack | ||||
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Koch Records | ||||
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Singles from The Sneak Attack | ||||
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The Sneak Attack is the fourth solo studio album by American musician
In the United States, the album peaked at number 43 on the Billboard 200, number 9 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and topped the Independent Albums chart.
The song "Hush" appeared in the video game Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3.
Critical reception
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 69/100[2] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [3] |
Entertainment Weekly | C+[4] |
NME | [5] |
RapReviews | 6.5/10[6] |
Rolling Stone | [7] |
Vibe | [8] |
The Sneak Attack was met with generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 69 based on eight reviews.[2]
Sonicnet reviewer praised the artist, saying that KRS-One "delivers all this with passion and booming authority: the teacher is back in front of the classroom, where he belongs".[2] Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club stated: "as unmistakably old-school as a fat gold chain and a pair of unlaced Adidas sneakers.... He delivers a raw, grimy set of anthems as noncommercial as anything he's done".[9] NME reviewer wrote: "as a sort of lyrical sermon from the mount with uptempo beats to crush the weak-hearted, The Sneak Attack raises the stakes on the microphone skills front as KRS-One lectures, hectors, drops streetwise politics, and laments the state of the world".[5]
In mixed reviews, Alternative Press critic found out that the album "proves this pioneer and innovator's run is far from over".[2] Writing for Rolling Stone, Neil Drumming said that the artist "still commands attention, but his booming voice and confidence now deliver warmer, fuzzier messages".[7] Blender reviewer stated: "Sadly, Sneak Attack also reflects the influence of Professor One's recent ubiquity on the college-lecture circuit; windy speechifying interludes take up a third of the record. Too bad -- when he does rap, he shows twice the gusto of many rappers half his age".[2] David Bry of Vibe claimed that "KRS-One sounds as hungry and passionate as ever.... Unfortunately, a barrage of rigid, same-sounding beats and canned choruses detracts from Attack's effectiveness".[8] Evan Serpick of Entertainment Weekly wrote: "the most compelling lectures can't obscure KRS' drab old-school beats and samples".[4]
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Intro" | KRS-One | 0:19 | |
2. | "Ghetto Lifestyles" |
| Kenny Parker | 1:59 |
3. | "Attendance" | L. Parker | KRS-One | 3:27 |
4. | "Hot" | L. Parker | 3:00 | |
5. | "Why" | L. Parker | KRS-One | 2:38 |
6. | "Doth Thou Know" | L. Parker | KRS-One | 0:51 |
7. | "The Lessin" |
| Kenny Parker | 4:32 |
8. | "The Mind" | L. Parker | KRS-One | 3:53 |
9. | "Hiphop Knowledge" | L. Parker | Domingo | 5:09 |
10. | "What Kinda World" |
| Domingo | 3:24 |
11. | "I Will Make It" | L. Parker | Kenny Parker | 2:25 |
12. | "B-Side" (Intro) | L. Parker | KRS-One | 0:16 |
13. | "Get Your Self Up" | L. Parker | KRS-One | 4:45 |
14. | "Krush Them" | L. Parker | Domingo | 3:37 |
15. | "Hush" |
| BJ Wheeler | 3:55 |
16. | "The Sneak Attack" |
| Kenny Parker | 4:18 |
17. | "Shutupayouface" | L. Parker | Fredwreck | 3:44 |
18. | "False Pride" | L. Parker | KRS-One | 2:39 |
19. | "The Raptizm" | L. Parker | Mad Lion | 2:58 |
Total length: | 57:49 |
Personnel
- Lawrence "KRS-One" Parker – main artist, scratches (track 4), producer (tracks: 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 12, 13, 18), mixing (tracks: 3, 5, 6, 8, 12-14, 16, 18), songwriter (tracks: 2-19)
- Harold English – backing vocals (track 1), co-producer, engineering (tracks: 1, 12, 14), editing (tracks: 2-6, 8-11, 13-16), engineering assistant (tracks: 17, 19)
- Nyce of the Breeze Team – additional vocals (tracks: 5, 15), songwriter (track 15)
- April S. Williams – additional vocals & songwriter (tracks: 7, 16), mixing (track 16)
- Hezekiah Walker Choir – additional vocals (tracks: 11, 19)
- William "Willie D." Broady – songwriter (tracks: 2, 10)
- Kenny Parker – producer (tracks: 2, 7, 11, 16), mixing (tracks: 7, 16)
- Ayyub Cave – producer (track 4)
- Jeffrey Miree – producer (track 4)
- Domingo Padilla – producer (tracks: 9, 10, 14), mixing (tracks: 9, 10), additional mixing (track 4)
- Bruno J. Wheeler – producer & mixing (track 15)
- Farid "Fredwreck" Nassar – producer (track 17)
- Oswald "Mad Lion" Priest – producer (track 19)
- Matt Hathaway – engineering (tracks: 2, 5, 9, 11, 14, 18), mixing (tracks: 2, 11, 18), editing (track 18)
- John Anderson – engineering (tracks: 3, 4, 6-10, 13, 15, 16), mixing (tracks: 4, 7, 15)
- "Filthy Rich" Richard Ahee – engineering (track 10)
- Milton Chan – engineering & mixing (tracks: 17, 19)
- Kaori Kinoshita – engineering assistant (tracks: 2, 5, 9, 14, 18)
- Lys – engineering assistant (tracks: 2, 11)
- Max Velez – engineering assistant (tracks: 3, 4, 13)
- Doug Robertson II – engineering assistant (tracks: 7, 8)
- Mike "Music Rocka" McCalla – engineering assistant (tracks: 8, 9, 15)
- Aaron K. – engineering assistant (track 10)
- Mike D. – engineering assistant (track 10)
- Makery Pacius – engineering assistant (track 14)
- Jowan – engineering assistant (track 16)
- Simone Parker – executive producer
- George DelGiorno – design
- Benoît Peverelli – photography
- Adam Jaynes – A&R
- Cliff Cultreri – A&R
- Dee Sonaram – marketing
- Duncan Stanbury – lacquer cut
- Scott "DJ Scott La Rock" Monroe Sterling – overseen by
Charts
Chart (2001) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Billboard 200[10] | 43 |
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[11] | 9 |
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[12] | 1 |
References
- ^ "The Sneak Attack by KRS ONE". Amazon.
- ^ a b c d e "Critic Revires for Sneak Attack - Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
- ^ Conaway, Matt. "The Sneak Attack - KRS-One | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
- ^ a b Serpick, Evan (April 27, 2001). "The Sneak Attack". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on September 15, 2017. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
- ^ a b "KRS-One : The Sneak Attack | NME". NME. September 12, 2005. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
- ^ Juon, Steve 'Flash' (April 24, 2001). "RapReviews.com Feature for April 24, 2001 - KRS-One's "The Sneak Attack"". www.rapreviews.com. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
- ^ a b Drumming, Neil (May 14, 2001). "The Sneak Attack". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
- ^ ISSN 1070-4701.)
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: date and year (link - ^ Rabin, Nathan. "KRS-One: The Sneak Attack". The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
- ^ "KRS-One Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
- ^ "KRS-One Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
- ^ "KRS-One Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
External links
- KRS One – The Sneak Attack at Discogs (list of releases)