Born to Reign

''Born to Reign'' is the third studio album released by American actor and rapper Will Smith. The album was released on Columbia Records in the United States on June 25, 2002 and was considered a drop from his previous level of success, having only reached Gold status by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), whereas ''Big Willie Style'' and '' Willennium'' both reached multi-platinum status. This album includes "Black Suits Comin, which was also the lead single from the original motion picture soundtrack of ''Men in Black II''. The album also spawned the European hit single "1000 Kisses", which features vocals from Smith's wife Jada Pinkett Smith.

Reception

Critical

AllMusic gave the album a four-star rating, claiming:

"It'd be inaccurate to call Will Smith's third album the musical equivalent of Ali -- a bid for artistic credibility from an artist so assured and smooth, it's been easy to pigeonhole him as merely a pop artist -- but given the range and harder edge on Born to Reign, it's hard not to think of it at first. Make no mistake, this is not as serious as Ali, nor is it a record whose first intent is to enlighten and educate. It's a fun, pop-leaning record, much like his first two records, and never is it afraid to return to the sounds and styles that brought the former Fresh Prince big hits, but among comfortably familiar jams, Smith stretches his legs. Some of the hip-hop hits harder; there's a touch of reggae; he even appropriates a bit of a Ricky Martin vibe on "I Can't Stop.

It's a small but significant change, and while it doesn't result in a record that flows as effortlessly, or giddily, as Willennium, it's easy to appreciate the effort to stretch, because even if all the experiments aren't necessarily successful, however, sometimes, the idea is better than the execution, it does reinvigorate the Smith signature pop-rap sound, apart, oddly, from the theme for Men in Black 2, "Black Suits Comin'," the only cut in this vein to fall flat, and results in another solid record from Smith. Maybe not as consistent as its predecessors, but still enjoyable in its familiar turf, while provoking admiration for its ambition, even when it's not always satisfying. Not a bad way to stretch."

Commercial

''Born to Reign'' debuted at number 13 on the US ''Billboard'' 200, selling 60,000 copies in its first week. On July 26, 2002 the album has been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). As of April 2005, the album sold 237,000 copies in the US.

Controversy

The album was released as a copy-protected disc, which reportedly not only prevented the contents of the disc from being copied, but froze users' computers after they attempted to listen to it via their CD-ROM drives. This resulted in complaints of lost computer files due to the album's protection element.

Track listing

;Notes
* signifies a co-producer.
* signifies an additional producer.
* signifies a vocal producer.

;Sample credits
*"Act Like You Know" - Contains a sample of " Trans-Europe Express" by Kraftwerk
*"I Can't Stop" - Contains a sample of "A Tu Vera" by Manitas de Plata
*"1,000 Kisses" - Contains samples of " Never Too Much" by Luther Vandross and "Future Now" by Pleasure
*"Willow Is a Player" - Contains a sample of "Love Gonna Pack Up (and Walk Out)" by The Persuaders
*"How da Beat Goes" - Contains a sample of "Jam on It" by Newcleus
*"Block Party" - Contains samples of "Family Affair" by Sly and the Family Stone and " It Takes Two" by Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock
*"Give Me Tonite" - Contains a sample of "Classical Gas" by Mason Williams

Personnel

Personnel credits adapted from liner notes.

*Annas Allaf – guitar , Rhodes , Pro Tools engineer
*Jerry Allen – additional production
*Rico Anderson – producer and programming
*Chandler Bridges – engineer , Pro Tools engineer
* David Campbell – string arrangements
*Rob Chiarelli – producer , additional production , bass , guitar , engineer , mixing
*Luis Conte – percussion
*Steve Churchyard – strings engineer , percussion engineer
*Tony Dofat – producer
*Brandon Duncan – engineer , Pro Tools engineer
* Ron Feemster – additional production
*Dominique Fillan – steel drums engineer
*Bryan Golder – engineer , Pro Tools engineer
* Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein – DJ scratches
*Andy Haller – engineer
*Jerry Hey – horn arrangements
* Bryon Jones – vocal producer
*John Kaplan – engineer
*Tim Kelley – producer, vocal producer, and engineer
*Mar'Laina Kemp – background vocals
*Knowledge – additional vocals
* Abe Laboriel, Jr. – drums
* L.E.S. – producer
*Manny Marroquin – mixing
*Herb Middleton – producer
*Jamie Muhoberac – keyboards
*Derek Nakamoto – string arrangements
*Andy Narell – steel drums
*Jimane Nelson – co-producer
*Gregg Pagani – producer
*Nora Payne – background vocals
*Poke & Tone – producers
*Herb Powers Jr. – mastering
*O.Banga – vocal producer , additional vocals , executive producer
*Rick Rock – producer
* Bob Robinson – producer
*Sauce – producer , vocal producer
*Dexter Simmons – mixing
* Jada Pinkett-Smith – featured vocals
*Will Smith – vocals, producer , executive producer
*Mark Sparks – producer
*Kel Spencer – additional vocals
*Trā-Knox – vocals
*Christina Vidal – featured vocals
*Erick Walls – additional production

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

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Will Smith albums
2002 albums
Albums produced by Tim & Bob
Albums produced by L.E.S. (record producer)
Albums produced by Rick Rock
Columbia Records albums