''How Ya Like Me Now'' is the second solo studio album by American rapper

Kool Moe Dee Mohandas Dewese (born August 8, 1962), better known by his stage name Kool Moe Dee, is an American rapper, songwriter and actor. Considered one of the forerunners of the new jack swing sound in hip hop, he gained fame in the 1980s as a member of ...

from the

Treacherous Three The Treacherous Three was a pioneering American hip hop group that was formed in 1978 and consisted of DJ Easy Lee, Kool Moe Dee, L.A. Sunshine, Special K and Spoonie Gee (who left in the late 1970s), with occasional contributions from DJ D ...

. It was recorded at

Battery Studios Battery Studios is an independent recording studio complex in Willesden in northwest London originally established in 1980 when Zomba Group acquired Morgan Studios 3 and 4. The studios were later purchased by Flood (producer) and Alan Moulder an ...

London, England London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and released on November 3, 1987, via

Jive Records Jive Records (later stylized as JIVE Records) was a British-American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary of the Zomba Group of Companies, Zomba Group. In the US, the label had offices in New York City and Chic ...

. The album was produced by

Teddy Riley Edward Theodore Riley (born October 8, 1967) is an American record producer, singer, and songwriter credited with the creation of the R&B and hip-hop fusion genre, new jack swing. Musical artists who utilized Riley's production and songwri ...

, Bryan "Chuck" New, LaVaba Mallison, Pete Q. Harris, and Kool Moe Dee. It peaked at No. 35 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and No. 4 on 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, ...

. It is his best-selling album to date, achieving

platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

certification by the

RIAA 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 ...

. The album spawned three

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

: " How Ya Like Me Now", "

Wild Wild West ''Wild Wild West'' is a 1999 American steampunk Western film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and written by S. S. Wilson and Brent Maddock alongside Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman, based on a story conceived by Jim and John Thomas. Loosely ...

" and "No Respect".

Recording and production

Mixing and recording for ''How Ya Like Me Now'' took place in London at Battery Studios. Alongside Kool Moe Dee, audio production was shared with and handled by

, Bryan "Chuck" New, LaVaba Mallison and Pete Q. Harris, with whom he worked on his previous self-titled album. On the front cover made by Doug Rowell, Moe Dee takes musical aim at rival rapper

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip ho ...

, by crushing a red

Kangol Kangol is a British clothing corporation, company famous for its headwear. The name Kangol reflects the original materials for production, the K coming from the word 'silK' (a recent attribution to 'Knitting' is incorrect), the ANG from 'ANGor ...

hat under a front wheel of the

Jeep Wrangler The Jeep Wrangler is a series of compact and mid-size four-wheel drive off-road SUVs manufactured by Jeep since 1986, and currently in its fourth generation. The Wrangler JL, the most recent generation, was unveiled in late 2017 and is produced ...

in the backdrop. The long running feud began when Kool Moe Dee claimed that LL had stolen his rap style. He also felt that LL was disrespecting rap pioneers like

Melle Mel Melvin Glover (born May 15, 1961), better known by his stage name Grandmaster Melle Mel or simply Melle Mel (), is an American rapper who was the lead vocalist and songwriter of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Career Glover began per ...

and Grandmaster Caz, by proclaiming that he was "rap's new grandmaster" without paying due respect to those who came before him. The feud persisted into the mid-1990s with more songs, and ended with both MCs proclaiming themselves the victor. The photograph was taken on 4th St in Manhattan between Avenues C and D in Alphabet City, in an empty lot across from the San Isidoro y San Leandro Western Orthodox Catholic Church of the Hispanic Mozarabic Rite. Moe Dee references aspects the neighborhood in lyrics on the album.

Release and promotion

Following ''

'', ''How Ya Like Me Now'' was released through

with distribution by

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

, making it Kool Moe Dee's second album on the label. It was dropped on November 3, 1987, and was supported by three singles: " How Ya Like Me Now", "

" and "No Respect", and its music videos. Its self-titled single peaked at #22 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

and #86 on the UK Singles Chart. "Wild Wild West" peaked at #62 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #4 on the US ''

. The single "No Respect" did not get into any major music chart.

Reception

Commercial

Reaching a peak position of number thirty-five on the US ''Billboard'' 200, ''How Ya Like Me Now'' remained on the chart for a total of 50 weeks. The album has been certified gold 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 April 14, 1988, and then went

on November 14, 1988, indicating US sales of over one million units.

Critical

In a contemporary review, the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' compared the album to work by hip hop artists Schooly D and

, stating that Kool Moe Dee "comes across like a hip guidance couselor" and that the album was a "def aural collage:

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

beats on the title cut,

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

on "Rock You" even

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...

on "50 Ways". The production is sophisticated without sacrificing the improvisational swagger that is central to rap's appeal." American music journalist

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

described the album as "out-of-kilter swing generated by his electronic percussion ..- trick rhymes, variable lengths, filters, double tracks, sung refrains, and the occasional extra instrument all work to shift the beat without undercutting its dominance". Alex Henderson of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

said that Kool Moe Dee "had a major hit with his sophomore effort" and that "it definitely has its share of classics".

Accolades

In 2017, the album was ranked #35 on ''

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 ...

'' Top 50 Albums of 1987, and #41 of ''

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

'' 50 Greatest Rap Albums 1980s.

Legacy

In 2008, the title track "How Ya Like Me Now" was ranked #31 on

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

's 100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs. In 2017, the song "How Ya Like Me Now" was used in the ''

Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

'' episode "Strange Bedfellows".

Track listing

Personnel

* Mohandes Dewese – vocals, producer *Bryan Chuck New – mixing, engineer, producer * Edward Theodore Riley – producer *Peter Brian Harris – producer *LaVaba Mallison – producer *Doug Rowell – photography *Kofi Tuda – grooming

Charts

Album Singles

Certifications

References

External links

{{Authority control 1987 albums Albums produced by Teddy Riley Jive Records albums Kool Moe Dee albums New jack swing albums RCA Records albums