''Tha Connect'' is the debut studio album by American rapper

Willy Northpole William Kenneth Adams (born February 22, 1980), professionally known as Willy Northpole, is an American rapper who was signed to Disturbing Tha Peace Records.Davis, Todd (2007)Willy Northpole: Raising Arizona, HipHopElements, September 10, 2007, ...

from

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

. It was released on June 23, 2009 via

Disturbing tha Peace Disturbing tha Peace Records (or DTP) is an American record label founded by rapper Ludacris, Ludacris' manager Chaka Zulu, and Chaka Zulu's brother Jeff Dixon in 1998. History Beginnings Disturbing tha Peace was founded in 1998 by Christ ...

. Production was handled by several record producers, including Reefa,

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

Blac Elvis Elvis Williams (born April 12, 1981), better known as Blac Elvis, is an American record producer, musician, and songwriter. Career He rose to fame in 2005 co-producing alongside Polow da Don, producing hits for Ludacris, Ciara, Kelly Rowland, F ...

, LT Moe,

Nard & B Nard & B are an American record production team, composed of record producers James "Nard" Bernard Rosser Jr. and Brandon "B" Rackley, from Atlanta, Georgia. In 2007, the duo signed a deal with American recording artist T.I.'s Grand Hustle Recor ...

and

Tha Bizness Tha Bizness is an American record production and songwriting duo from Seattle, Washington, composed of Justin "Henny" Henderson and Christopher John "Dow Jones" Whitacre. Tha Bizness have produced songs for several prominent artists, including ...

. It features guest appearances from B.o.B.,

Bobby V Robert Marcel Wilson (born February 27, 1980), better known by his stage name Bobby V (formerly known as Bobby Valentino), is an American R&B singer. Born in Jackson, Mississippi and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, he first joined the R&B group Mi ...

and

Ne-Yo Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo ( ), is an American singer and songwriter. Regarded as a leading figure of Contemporary R&B#2000s, 2000s R&B music, he is the recipient of numerous accolades, includi ...

. The album's first week sales were 80,000. As of October 18, 2009 the album has 250,000 record sales.

Background

The album concept is the connecting hip hop listeners to a new state, Arizona. The album was in the works for several years and was originally slated for a release of winter 2008, but a conflict with fellow member of DTP

Ludacris Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, spoken as "ludicrous" in American English), is an American rapper and songwriter. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludacris moved to Atlanta, Georgia, at age ...

set the album back to June 2, 2009. Later the album was pushed to June 23, 2009. The album had 50 songs that were slimmed down to 12 songs, taking nearly 6 months. The album had several big hits that were "Too Big" for his first album. The album promotion was set up to be big with commercials during the

BET Awards The BET Awards are an American award show that was established in 2001 by the BET, Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate Black person, Black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which ...

and billboards of the album but once the

death of Michael Jackson On June 25, 2009, the American singer Michael Jackson died of acute propofol intoxication in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 50. His personal physician, Conrad Murray, said that he found Jackson in his bedroom at his North Carolwood Dr ...

all the promotion was dropped and the buzz for the album was gone.

Track listing

;Sample credits *Track 5 contains samples from "

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", performed by

Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final lineup comprised Beyoncé, Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams (singer), Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Hou ...

featuring

T.I. Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. (born September 25, 1980), known professionally as T.I. or Tip, is an American rapper and singer raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Harris is credited as a pioneer of the hip hop subgenre trap music, along with fellow Georgi ...

and

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...

Music videos

* Hood Dreamer - (April 13, 2009) * Body Marked Up - (May 9, 2009) * Ghetto Tour Guide - (May 11, 2009) * 1 Side Chick - (July 1, 2009)

Chart positions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Connect, Tha 2009 debut albums Albums produced by Reefa Albums produced by Nard & B Disturbing tha Peace albums Albums produced by Tha Bizness Albums produced by Bangladesh (record producer) Albums produced by JellyRoll Albums produced by LT Moe