''Desire'' is the second solo album from

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

artist

Pharoahe Monch Troy Donald Jamerson (born October 31, 1972), better known by his stage name Pharoahe Monch, is an American rapper known for his complex lyrics, intricate delivery, and internal and multisyllabic rhyme schemes.Edwards, Paul, 2009, ''How to Rap: ...

, released on June 26, 2007. The album comes eight years after the rapper's critically acclaimed solo debut, '' Internal Affairs'', which followed the break-up of Monch's former group

Organized Konfusion Organized Konfusion (OK) is an alternative hip hop duo from Queens, New York, composed of Prince Po and Pharoahe Monch. History Recording career Group members Prince Po and Pharoahe Monch began their career under the name Simply II Positive ...

. After a short stint on

Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...

, a number of labels began a bidding war for the rapper, including

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...

Shady Records Shady Records is an American record label founded by rapper Eminem and his manager Paul Rosenberg in 1999, following the commercially successful release of '' The Slim Shady LP'' that same year. The label's name comes from the last name of Eminem ...

Denaun Porter Denaun Montez Porter (born December 7, 1978), also known by the stage names Mr. Porter, Kon Artis, or Denaun, is an American rapper and record producer. He was a member of Detroit hip hop group D12. He has a close association with rapper Emi ...

's Runyon Ave. Records,

Bad Boy Records Bad Boy Entertainment, doing business as Bad Boy Records, is an American independent record label. The label was founded in 1993 by rapper and record producer Sean Combs. During the mid-1990s, the label signed hip-hop and contemporary R&B, R&B a ...

and

Sony Records Sony Records was a record label founded by R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner in 1963. It was not affiliated with Sony Group Corporation. Ike Turner produced singles by members of the Kings of Rhythm and the Ikettes on Sony Records. Records on the la ...

. In early 2006, it was announced that Pharoahe had signed a deal with Steve Rifkind's Street Records Corporation for the release of his second album.

Release

Push Push may refer to: * A type of force applied to an object Music * Mike Dierickx (born 1973), a Belgian producer also known as Push Albums * ''Push'' (Bros album), 1988 * ''Push'' (Gruntruck album), 1992 * ''Push'' (Jacky Terrasson album), 201 ...

" is the first single taken from ''Desire''. It was released on 11 September 2006, with the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

single "Let's Go". A music video for "Push" was also released in late September 2006, and has received play on MTV Base. The video is set in the

New York City blackout of 1977 The New York City blackout of 1977 was an electricity blackout that affected most of New York City on July 13–14, 1977. The only unaffected neighborhoods in the city were in southern Queens (including neighborhoods of the Rockaways), which ...

. A ten-minute internet-only video for the track "When the Gun Draws" was released exclusively to AllHipHop.com on January 3, 2007. ''Desire'' features production from Monch, longtime collaborator Lee Stone,

The Alchemist An alchemist is a person who practices alchemy. Alchemist or Alchemyst may also refer to: Books and stories * ''The Alchemist'' (novel), the translated title of a 1988 allegorical novel by Paulo Coelho * ''The Alchemist'' (play), a play by Ben ...

Black Milk Curtis Eugene Cross (born August 14, 1983), better known by his stage name Black Milk, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Career In addition to Slum Village, Black Milk has worked with J Dilla, Elzhi, Phat Kat, Frank-N-D ...

and Sean C. Album guests include

Erykah Badu Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu, is an American singer and songwriter. Influenced by rhythm and blues, R&B, Soul music, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut al ...

and Denaun Porter. The single Desire is featured in the video game

Madden 08 ''Madden NFL 08'' is a 2007 American football video game based on the National Football League that was published by EA Sports and developed by EA Tiburon. It is the 19th installment in the '' Madden NFL'' video game franchise. It features Ten ...

. The second single, "Let's Go", was released on 15 September and produced by

. It features singing by MeLa Machinko, a fast-paced guitar-led beat produced by

, scratches provided by Boogie Blind, and two verses rapped by Pharoahe Monch.

Reception

The album received critical acclaim, just like ''Internal Affairs''. As of July 11, 2007, the album has sold 17,026 copies in the US.

Track listing

;Notes * On the song "Fuck You" the explicit version is 12 seconds longer than the edited version. ;Samples *"Free" contains elements from the composition "I'm Free" performed by

Millie Jackson Mildred Virginia Jackson (born July 15, 1944) is an American R&B and soul recording artist. Beginning her career in the early 1960s, three of Jackson's albums have been certified gold by the RIAA for over 500,000 copies sold. Jackson's songs o ...

. *"Desire" contains elements from the composition "The Picture Never Changes" written by Holland-Dozier-Holland. The track also samples "Ante Up" performed by

M.O.P. M.O.P. (short for Mash Out Posse) is an American hip-hop duo composed of rappers Billy Danze and Lil' Fame, best known for their song " Ante Up." The group has frequently collaborated with DJ Premier. The group is part of the Gang Starr Fou ...

*"Push" contains interpolations from the composition "Country Preacher" written by

Josef Zawinul Josef Erich Zawinul ( '; 7 July 1932 – 11 September 2007) was an Austrian jazz and jazz fusion keyboardist and composer. First coming to prominence with saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, Zawinul went on to play with Miles Davis and to bec ...

. *"Welcome To The Terrordome" contains elements from the compositions "Welcome to the Terrordome" written by

Public Enemy Public Enemy is an American Hip-hop, hip hop group formed in Roosevelt, New York, in 1985 by Chuck D and Flavor Flav. The group rose to prominence for their political messages including subjects such as Racism in the United States, American r ...

and "Come On and Get It" written by H.D. Rogers. *"Hold On" contains elements from the composition "I'll Get By Without You" performed by

Wah Wah Watson Melvin M. Ragin (December 8, 1950 – October 24, 2018), known professionally as Wah Wah Watson, was an American guitarist who was a member of the Funk Brothers, the studio band for Motown Records. He also worked extensively as a session musician ...

. *"So Good" contains elements from the composition "My Place" written by Tweet. *"Bar Tap" contains elements from the composition "Deliver the Word" performed by

War (U.S. band) War (originally called Eric Burdon and War) is an American rhythm and blues, R&B and progressive soul band from Long Beach, California, formed in 1969. The band is known for several hit songs in the 1970s (including "Spill the Wine", "The Wo ...

Album singles

Charts

References

External links

Pharoahe Monch website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Desire (Pharoahe Monch Album) 2007 albums Pharoahe Monch albums Albums produced by the Alchemist (musician) Albums produced by Mr. Porter Albums produced by Black Milk