''Jeanius'' is the third

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by American rapper

Jean Grae Tsidi Ibrahim (born November 26, 1976), known professionally as Jean Grae, is a multidisciplinary artist and writer. She emerged in New York City's underground hip-hop scene and developed an international following. Throughout her music career, ...

. She worked on it with hip hop producer

9th Wonder Patrick Denard Douthit (born January 15, 1975),
better known as 9th Wonder, is an American record producer, record ...

and intended to release it in 2004, but the album Music leak, leaked prematurely and spawned various pirated versions of the unfinished project. After Grae's record deal with the label, ''Jeanius'' was released on July 8, 2008, by

Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He first earned recognition through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def (now known as Yasiin Bey) in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's music ...

Blacksmith Records Blacksmith is a music management company and record label founded by Harlem-born Corey Smyth and Talib Kweli of Black Star in 2005. Signees include Jean Grae, Strong Arm Steady, Vince Staples and Idle Warship. Kweli has stated he hopes to sig ...

Background

Scheduled for release as early as 2004, the album was delayed for unknown reasons and has since been heavily bootlegged on the

internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

. The album was released on July 8, 2008, on

's Blacksmith music label. The booklet for the album contains faithful recreations of classic Hip Hop album covers, featuring images of Grae and 9th Wonder superimposed onto covers of

Public Enemy Public Enemy is an American Hip-hop, hip hop group formed in Roosevelt, New York, in 1985 by Chuck D and Flavor Flav. The group rose to prominence for their political messages including subjects such as Racism in the United States, American r ...

's ''

It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back ''It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back'' is the second studio album by American Hip hop music, hip hop group Public Enemy, released on June 28, 1988, by Def Jam Recordings and Columbia Records. It was recorded from 1987 to 1988 in sessio ...

'',

Das EFX Das EFX is an American hip hop duo. It consists of emcees Dray (also known as Krazy Drayz, born Andre Weston, September 9, 1970) and Skoob (also known as Books and Boogie Bang, born William "Willie" Hines, November 27, 1970). They named them ...

's '' Dead Serious'',

Raekwon Corey Woods (born January 12, 1970), better known by his stage name Raekwon ( ), is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as a founding member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, which achieved mainstream success following the release of the ...

's '' Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...'', and

Black Sheep In the English language, black sheep is an idiom that describes a member of a group who is different from the rest, especially a family member who does not fit in. The term stems from sheep whose fleece is colored black rather than the more comm ...

's '' A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing''.

Critical reception

Andre Barnes of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

called the album "a definitive body of work for both 9th Wonder and Jean Grae — Grae's wit and peculiar charisma are paired with 9th's soulful, sample-heavy production." Alexander F. Remington of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' felt that 9th Wonder is "not at his best, and as a result the album is merely great rather than classic", but concluded that Grae "proves that she's one of the best MCs alive" with ''Jeanius''. '' XXL'' said that she connects with listeners on "an intimate level" with her honesty and "willingness to recount vivid details of painful, haunting past experiences".

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music magazine founded in 1996 by Ryan Schreiber in Minneapolis. It originally covered Alternative rock, alternative and independent music, and expanded to cover genres includin ...

's Nate Patrin wrote that Grae's flow "sounds like a laser-focused, clear-spoken declaration of strength and perseverance", and praised 9th Wonder for tying together all of her "emotional facets" with a "solid, consistent sound". Although he found its official release "a bit anticlimactic", Mosi Reeves of ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' felt that Grae's "sweet-and-sour lyricism ... still sounds remarkably vibrant", and found 9th Wonder to be "in top form, flipping

Phoebe Snow Phoebe Snow (born Phoebe Ann Laub; July 17, 1950 – April 26, 2011) was an American roots music singer-songwriter and guitarist, known for her hit 1974 and 1975 songs "Poetry Man" and "Harpo's Blues", and her credited guest vocals on Paul Simo ...

and other soulful '70s samples with emotional fervor."

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

MSN Music ''MSN Music'' was a part of MSN's web services. It delivered music news, music videos, spotlights on new music, artist information, and live performances of artists. The website also served as a digital music store from 2004 to 2008. History ...

found her rhymes "jam-packed" and "infinitely smarter about her 'insecurities' and 'moodiness' than her shoegazer counterparts", and gave ''Jeanius'' an "A−". Christgau's colleague, Tom Hull, was somewhat less receptive. "Reacting more to the overall vibe", he said Grade is "smart and tight, although this lbumis a bit overwound ndplagued with guests, who start to get on my nerves."

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from

. * Jean Grae – primary artist * Edgar Allen Floe – featured artist * Median – featured artist * Joe Scudda – featured artist * 9th Wonder – featured artist, producer * Phonte – featured artist * Daily Planet – featured artist * Berman Fenelus – photography

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2008 collaborative albums Jean Grae albums Albums produced by 9th Wonder Albums produced by Khrysis Blacksmith Records albums