''Ardipithecus'' (stylized in

all caps In typography, text or font in all caps (short for "all capitals") contains capital letters without any lowercase letters. For example: All-caps text can be seen in legal documents, advertisements, newspaper headlines, and the titles on book co ...

) is the debut studio album by American singer

Willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

. It was released on December 11, 2015 through

Roc Nation Roc Nation is an American entertainment company founded by Jay-Z in 2008. Headquartered in New York City, the company is a successor to his previous Roc-A-Fella Records label, with additional offices in Los Angeles and London. It serves as a re ...

and

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...

. Smith is credited as sole songwriter on 11 tracks, and sole producer on 10 of them. The album also features contributions from Smith's brother Trey Smith, under the moniker AcE, and frequent collaborator Jabs. The track "F Q-C #7" was released on May 7, 2015, with an accompanying music video. A video to the track "Why Don't You Cry" was also released on September 17. The album takes its name from the genus of an extinct

hominine Homininae (the hominines) is a subfamily of the family Hominidae (hominids). (The Homininae——encompass humans, and are also called "African hominids" or "African apes".) This subfamily includes two tribes, Hominini and Gorillini, both having ...

of the same name.

Background

In an e-mail interview with Fader, Smith explained the name choice:

Critical reception

The album received mixed reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 51, which indicates "mixed or average reviews", based on 5 reviews. Among these reviews, none were positive. ''

Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. History ''Consequence of Sound'' was founded in Septem ...

'' critic Adam Kivel described the album as "impenetrable, even distancing." Kivel further wrote: "The album is a headscratcher, one that shows plenty of promise but also a personality abstruse to the point of mystification." Criticizing the album's musical simplicity and lyrics, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' Ben Ratliff called the album as "essentially a

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...

record released by Roc Nation." ''

Now Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * Na ...

'' critic Kevin Ritchie regarded that ''Ardipithecus'' "undercooked production" as "a serious limitation." Ritchie further stated that the record "could've been distinctive but instead lacks depth or the transporting quality of her imaginative lyrics." Frank Farisi of ''

Tiny Mix Tapes ''Tiny Mix Tapes'' (also ''TMT'' or ''tinymixtapes'') is an online music and film webzine that focuses primarily on new music and related news. In addition to its reviews, it is noted for its subversive, political, and sometimes surreal news, ...

'' thought: "So much of listening to ''Ardipithecus'' feels immeasurable by good or bad." and concluded that the album "fails as a

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

record, because it's barely aware that it's a part of that conversation."

Track listing

Notes * "Drugz" is stylized "dRuGz". * "Randomsong" is stylized in

. * "Ur Town" is stylized "UR Town".

Personnel

– vocals, production * Jabs – vocals, production * AcE – production * Mel "Chaos" Lewis – production * James Chul Rim – production, recording, mixing

Charts

References

External links

Willow Smith
on

{{Authority control 2015 debut albums Roc Nation albums Willow Smith albums Experimental pop albums Neo soul albums