''Somethin' Serious'' is the debut solo studio album by American rapper

Big Mike Big Mike is a nickname of: People with the nickname * Mike Abrams (criminal) (died 1898), American underworld criminal * Michael Clemente (1908–1987), American mobster * Michael Clarke Duncan (1957–2012), American actor sometimes credited a ...

of the

Geto Boys Geto Boys (originally spelled Ghetto Boys) were an American hip hop group originally formed in Houston, Texas. They saw commercial success in the 1990s with the lineup consisting of Bushwick Bill, Scarface and Willie D. The group became best ...

. It was released on June 28, 1994, by Rap-A-Lot Records and

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, ...

. It was produced by

N.O. Joe Joseph Johnson (born March 31, 1975), known by his stage name N.O. Joe, is an American musician, hip hop record producer and songwriter. N.O. Joe was a pioneer of the Southern Hip Hop sound Golden age hip hop, during the 1990s. He operates a p ...

, Troy Clark,

Pimp C Chad Lamont Butler (December 29, 1973 – December 4, 2007), better known by his stage name Pimp C, was an American rapper and record producer. He was best known for his work with Bun B as one half of the hip-hop duo Underground Kingz (UGK). ...

, John Bido, Mike Dean, Crazy C, and Mike B. It features guest appearances from

UGK UGK (short for Underground Kingz) was an American hip-hop duo from Port Arthur, Texas, formed in 1987, by Mitchell "Big Mitch" Queen who would eventually leave the group to pursue a football career and Chad "Pimp C" Butler with Bernard "Bun B" ...

Scarface Scarface may refer to: Gangster-related * Scarface, nickname for Al Capone (1899–1947), an American gangster and a businessman. * ''Scarface'' (novel), a novel by Armitage Trail, loosely based on Capone's rise to power ** ''Scarface'' (1932 ...

, and Mr. 3-2. The album peaked at number 40 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart and at number 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, ...

chart. It launched the charting single "World of Mind", which peaked at number 45 on the

Hot Rap Songs Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by '' Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stat ...

chart. ''Somethin' Serious'' was certified Gold four months after release, the LP remains Big Mike's only RIAA certification.

Critical reception

The ''

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region, in the United States. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by pare ...

'' opined that Big Mike's "solo spinoff is good in doses, but he doesn't seem to have enough ideas to spread over the course of an entire album."

Track listing

Sample credits

Fire *"

Fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...

" by

Ohio Players Ohio Players are an American funk band, most popular in the 1970s. They are best known for their songs "Fire" and " Love Rollercoaster", and for their erotic album covers that featured nude or nearly nude women. Many of the women were models f ...

Havin' Thangs *"Good Old Music" by

Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. As one of the two flagship groups of George Clinton's P-Funk collective, they helped pioneer the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, ...

Playa Playa *"What a Wonderful Thing Love Is" by

Al Green Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), known professionally as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer. He is best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Tired of ...

Smoke 'Em & Choke 'Em *"Goodbye, So Long" by Funk, Inc. Somethin' Serious *"Outstanding" by

The Gap Band The Gap Band was an American Contemporary R&B, R&B and funk band that rose to fame during the 1970s and 1980s. The band consisted of three brothers: Charlie Wilson (musician), Charlie, Ronnie, and Robert Wilson, along with other members; it wa ...

Get Over That *"Funkin' for Jamaica (N.Y.)" by Tom Browne Southern Thang *"People Say" by

The Meters The Meters (later The Funky Meters) are an American funk band formed in 1965 in New Orleans by Zigaboo Modeliste (drums), George Porter Jr. (bass), Leo Nocentelli (guitar) and Art Neville (keyboards). The band performed and recorded their o ...

Personnel

* Michael Barnett – main artist, producer (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 12, 14), mixing, assistant engineering * Chad Lamont Butler – featured artist & producer (tracks: 6, 14) * Christopher Juel Barriere – featured artist (track 12) * Brad Terrence Jordan – featured artist (track 13) * Bernard Freeman – featured artist (track 14) * Michael "DJ Domination" Poye – scratches * Joseph Johnson – producer (tracks: 1–3, 8, 11, 13), mixing * Troy Clark – producer (tracks: 9, 12), mixing * Michael George Dean – producer (track 4), mixing, engineering, mastering * John Okuribido – producer (track 7), mixing * Simon Cullins – producer (track 5) * Michael Banks – producer (track 10) * James A. Smith – executive producer * John Moran – mastering * Patrick Nixon – art direction * Sheila Pree – photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

Big Mike albums 1994 debut albums Rap-A-Lot Records albums Albums produced by N.O. Joe Albums produced by Mike Dean (record producer) {{1990s-hiphop-album-stub