''Bow Down'' is the debut studio album by American

West Coast hip hop West Coast hip-hop is a regional genre of Hip-hop, hip-hop music that encompasses any artists or music that originated in the West Coast of the United States. West Coast hip-hop began to dominate from a radio play and sales standpoint during th ...

supergroup

Westside Connection Westside Connection was an American hip-hop Supergroup (music), supergroup formed by Ice Cube, Mack 10, and WC (rapper), WC. The group's debut album, ''Bow Down'', reached the number two position on the Billboard 200, ''Billboard'' 200 in 1996 ...

. It was released on October 22, 1996, through

Priority Records Priority Records is an American distribution company and record label known for artists including N.W.A, Ice Cube, MC Ren, Eazy-E, Master P, Snoop Dogg, Mos Def, Silkk the Shocker, Jay-Z, Paris, Mack 10, 504 Boyz, Brotha Lynch Hung, ...

. The recording sessions took place at

Ice Cube O'Shea Jackson Sr. (born June 15, 1969), known professionally as Ice Cube, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, and film producer. His lyrics on N.W.A's 1989 album '' Straight Outta Compton'' contributed to gangsta rap's widespread popu ...

's house studio, Westsiiiiide Studios, in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, except for the song "

Gangstas Make the World Go Round "Gangstas Make the World Go Round" is the second single by Westside Connection Westside Connection was an American hip-hop Supergroup (music), supergroup formed by Ice Cube, Mack 10, and WC (rapper), WC. The group's debut album, ''Bow Down'', ...

", which was recorded at Treehouse Studios in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. The

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

was handled by Bud'da,

Quincy Jones III Quincy Delight Jones III (born 23 December 1968), better known as QDIII, QD3 and Snoopy, is a Swedish-American music producer, composer and documentary film producer. Family Jones was born in Wimbledon, London, the only son of American musicia ...

, Binky Mack, and Ice Cube, who also served as executive producer. It features guest appearances from Allfrumtha I and

the Comrads The Comrads was American gangsta rap duo from Lynwood, California, composed of Kelly "K-Mac" Garmon and Terrell "Gangsta" Anderson. The pair made a major splash in the Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is ...

. The album peaked at number two on the ''Billboard'' 200 and topped the

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip-hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...

, shipping 145,000 units. It went on to sell 1.7 million copies in the United States receiving Platinum certification status by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

on January 10, 1997. It was also certified Gold by

Canadian Recording Industry Association Music Canada is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 in Toronto to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It also offers benefits to some of Canada's leadin ...

for selling 50,000 units in Canada. Its singles, the title track and "Gangstas Make the World Go Round", made it to the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, landing at number 21 and 40, respectively. The songs "King of the Hill", "Cross 'Em out and Put a 'K" and "Hoo Bangin' (WSCG Style)" are diss tracks towards hip hop group

Cypress Hill Cypress Hill is an American Hip hop music, hip hop group formed in South Gate, California in 1988. One of the first Latin groups to gain mainstream recognition in hip hop, they have sold over 20 million albums worldwide, and have obtained multi ...

Q-Tip Cotton swabs (American English) or cotton buds (British English), also Q-tips ( proprietary eponym), are wads of cotton wrapped around a short rod made of wood, rolled paper, or plastic. They are most commonly used for ear cleaning, although th ...

and rapper

Common Common may refer to: As an Irish surname, it is anglicised from Irish Gaelic surname Ó Comáin. Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Com ...

Critical reception

The Indianapolis Star } ''The Indianapolis Star'' (also known as ''IndyStar'') is a morning daily newspaper that began publishing on June 6, 1903, in Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It has been the only major daily paper in the city since 1999, whe ...

'' called the album "one of the strongest gauntlet-throw-downs on disc, but it may well be a last gasp from the gangsta style that is suffering from Tupac Shakur's murder."

Track listing

;Sample credits *Track 3 contains an interpolation of " People Make the World Go Round" written by

Thom Bell Thomas Randolph Bell (January 26, 1943 – December 22, 2022) was an American record producer, arranger, and songwriter known as one of the creators of Philadelphia soul in the 1970s. Hailed as one of the most prolific R&B songwriters and prod ...

and

Linda Creed Linda Diane Creed (December 6, 1948 – April 10, 1986), also known by her married name Linda Epstein, was an American songwriter, lyricist, background singer and record producer who teamed up with Thom Bell to produce some of the most successfu ...

*Track 7 contains a sample from " Hurt" written by

Trent Reznor Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and composer. He came to prominence as the founder, lead singer, multi-instrumentalist, and primary songwriter of the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails. T ...

as recorded by

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN (stylized as NIИ), is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1988. Its members are the singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Trent Reznor and his frequent col ...

*Track 10 contains an interpolation of "

With a Little Help from My Friends "With a Little Help from My Friends" is a song recorded by English rock band the Beatles for their 1967 album '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. It was written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon, and is sung by drummer Ringo Starr (a ...

" written by Lennon-McCartney

Personnel

*O'Shea "

" Jackson – main performer, producer (tracks: 3, 13), co-producer (track 4), engineering, mixing, executive producer *Dedrick "

Mack 10 Dedrick D'Mon Rolison (born August 9, 1971), better known by his stage name Mack 10, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and record executive. He was a member of hip hop supergroup Westside Connection along with WC and Ice C ...

" Rolison – main performer *William " WC" Calhoun Jr. – main performer *Kelly " K-Mac" Garmon – featured artist (tracks: 5, 13) *Terrell "Gangsta" Anderson – featured artist (track 13) *Ryan " Binky Mack" Garner – featured artist (track 13), producer (track 4) *Marcus " Squeak Ru" Moore – featured artist (track 13) *

Jonathan Hyde Jonathan Stephen Geoffrey King (born 21 May 1948), known professionally as Jonathan Hyde, is an Australian actor. Hyde is perhaps best known for roles as Herbert Arthur Runcible Cadbury in the comedy film '' Richie Rich'' (1994), Samuel Parrish ...

– vocals (track 1) *Stephen " Bud'da" Anderson – producer (tracks: 2, 5, 7, 8, 10) * Quincy Delight Jones III – producer (tracks: 9, 11) *Cedric Samson – co-producer (track 3) *Keston Wright – engineering *Art Shoji – art direction, design *Manuel J. Donayre – art direction, design *Michael Miller – photography *Steven Wills – logo artwork *Marvin Watkins – A&R

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{Authority control Westside Connection albums 1996 debut albums Priority Records albums G-funk albums Albums produced by Bud'da Albums produced by Quincy Jones III Albums produced by Ice Cube