''Crowns Down'' (stylized as ''CrownsDown'') is the third studio album by American hip hop duo

Themselves Themselves, previously known as Them, is an American hip hop duo based in Oakland, California. It consists of Doseone and Jel. They are also part of Subtle and 13 & God. The duo's first studio album, '' Them'', was included on ''Fact''s "100 ...

. It was released on

Anticon Anticon (often styled as anticon.) was an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1998 by seven musicians and manager Baillie Parker. It was collectively owned among six musicians, co-founder Parker, and manag ...

in 2009. A remix version of the album, '' Crowns Down & Company'', was released in 2010.

Critical reception

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 72% based on 7 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Brian Howe of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' gave the album a 6.7 out of 10 and described it as "a back-to-basics album from a group who probably needs one, having ventured so far afield." Thomas Quinlan of ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

'' said, "Themselves may not have snatched the crown but they've certainly thrown down the gauntlet with ''CrownsDown'', their confident and comfortable return to the royal rap court."

BBC Music BBC Music is the arm of the BBC responsible for the music played across its services. The current director of music is Lorna Clarke. Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio operational division; however, its remit also includes music used i ...

named it one of the best albums of 2009.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes. Themselves *

Doseone Adam Kidd Drucker (born April 21, 1977), better known by his stage name Doseone, is an American rapper, producer, poet and artist. He is a co-founder of the indie hip hop record label Anticon. He has also been a member of numerous groups in ...

– vocals, production * Jel – vocals, production Additional musicians *

D-Styles Dave Cuasito better known by his stage name D-Styles, is a hip hop producer and DJ. He has been a member of Invisibl Skratch Piklz, Beat Junkies, and Third Sight. He has also been a resident DJ of Low End Theory. D-styles is an instructor at th ...

– turntables (3) *

Jordan Dalrymple Antonionian (born Jordan Dalrymple) is a multi-instrumentalist based in California. History Jordan Dalrymple has been a member of Subtle and 13 & God. He released the debut album, ''Antonionian'', under the alias Antonionian on Anticon in 2011. ...

– vocals (5) *

Markus Acher The Notwist are a German indie rock band. Formed in 1989, the band moved through several musical incarnations, despite maintaining a relatively stable line-up. While their early records moved through heavy metal into dark indie rock, their re ...

– vocals (5) *

Dax Pierson Dax Wentworth Pierson (August 2, 1970 – December 30, 2024) was an American musician from Oakland, California. He had been a member of Subtle (band), Subtle and 13 & God. Life and career Pierson was born on August 2, 1970. He worked at Amoeba M ...

– vocals (6) Technical personnel *

Odd Nosdam David P. Madson (born 1976), better known by his stage name Odd Nosdam, is an American underground hip hop producer, DJ and visual artist. He is co-founder of the record label Anticon. He has remixed tracks by a variety of bands and artists in ...

– mixing *

Yoni Wolf Jonathan Avram "Yoni" Wolf (born April 30, 1979) is an American alternative hip hop and indie rock musician and co-founder of the record label Anticon. From 1997 until 2004, Wolf released music under the stage name Why?. In 2004 he transferred ...

– mixing * Mike Wells – mastering * Doseone – photography * Matthew Scott – photography * K Photo – photography

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2009 albums Themselves albums Anticon albums