''The County Hound EP'' is the debut

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

(EP) by American

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

Cashis Ramone Johnson (born October 10, 1982), better known by his stage name Cashis (stylized as Ca$his), is an American rapper who was born and raised in Chicago, but moved to Irvine, California. He was most notably featured on the Shady Records ...

. It was released on May 22, 2007, by

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 ...

, G's Up and

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...

. The EP was released to promote his planned album, ''Loose Cannon'' (which was subsequently shelved), and to bring attention to him as an artist.

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 ...

produced or co-produced the whole album except for a single song, which he also serves as the executive producer. It sold 6,700 copies its first week of release and debuted on the ''Billboard'' 200 at number 106. Cashis's second studio album entitled as '' The County Hound 2'', was released independently on October 15, 2013 through Bogish Boy Entertainment, as a sequel.

Release and promotion

Cashis first made his mark appearing on the single " You Don't Know" on

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

, '' Eminem Presents: The Re-Up'' (2006), performing solo on the songs "Everything Is Shady" and "Talkin' All That". His solo track "Talkin' All That" was praised by

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 ...

as an album standout. In May 2007, Cashis released the eight-track The County Hound EP in an attempt to have people "fiend" for his music, or garner interest in it. The album was released as a limited edition EP.RealTalk with Ca$his: New EP The County Hound Drops Today
. Real Talk NY (May 2, 2007). Accessed January 19, 2008. Cashis first solo video "'Lac Motion" gained MTV airplay, with no promotion, which prepared the way for Cashis's debut album, ''Loose Cannon''.

Music and songs

On ''The County Hound EP'', Cashis hits listeners with vignettes from the life of a hustler ("That Nigga's Gangsta," "Gun Rule," and "Pistol Poppin"), remorseful self-examination ("Ms. Jenkins"), and reflections on life and death in the rap industry ("Thought of Suicide"). Eminem produces five of ''The County Hound EP's'' eight cuts and spits a guest verse alongside Cashis on "Pistol Poppin". Rikanatti, Keno, Luis Resto,

Mike Elizondo Michael A. Elizondo Jr. (born October 22, 1972) is an American producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. A protégé of Dr. Dre, Elizondo has worked with 50 Cent, Eminem, Linkin Park, Carrie Underwood, Fiona Apple, Mastodon, Ry Cooder ...

and

Ron Browz Rondell Edwin Turner (born December 6, 1982), better known by his stage name Ron Browz (), is an American rapper, singer, and record producer from Harlem, New York. He gained major recognition for his production work on fellow New York rapp ...

round out the production team.

Critical reception

The EP was met with mixed reviews upon its release from

music critic '' The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of m ...

s. Some critics praised it as a solid introduction to Cashis, however others put down the gangster themes of the album's tracks. Hip-hop magazine

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

gave the album a 7/10 (Stars) rating, saying "First appearing on last year’s release, Eminem Presents: The Re-Up, this new addition to the Shady Records roster is now formally introduced with a throwback to the full-length EP format. Eminem’s hands at production for five of The County Hound EP’s eight total tracks are very obvious though he appears vocally only for a guest verse on “Pistol Poppin’”, and production from the likes of up-and-comers like Rikanatti make this less of an Eminem show than we’re accustomed to. Lyrics of reflection and self-examination on tracks like “Thoughts of Suicide” and “Ms. Jenkins” suggest that Cashis may actually be able to talk his way out of the traditional trap of the superstar's shadow. It's a solid introduction".

Commercial performance

''The County Hound EP'' debuted at number 106 on the US ''Billboard'' 200, with 6,700 copies sold in its first week. The EP peaked at number one on the

Top Heatseekers The Heatseekers charts were "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales b ...

, at number 14 on the

Top Rap 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, ...

, and at number 37 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, ...

Track listing

;Notes * signifies an additional producer. *"County Hound" (Intro) contains additional vocals by Stevion "Big Box" Boyd. ;Sample credits *"Ms. Jenkins" contains elements of "

Bohemian Rhapsody "Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock music, rock band Queen (band), Queen, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, ''A Night at the Opera (Queen album), A Night at the Opera'' (1975). Written by Queen's lead si ...

", written by

Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter who achieved global fame as the lead vocalist and pianist of the rock band Queen (band), Queen. Regarded as one of the gre ...

and performed by

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 ...

Personnel

Credits for ''The County Hound EP'' adapted from

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 ...

. * Jeff Bass – bass, guitar, keyboards * Jules Bass – composer * Ron Browz – producer * Tony Campana –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

* Cashis – primary artist * DJ Arcane – engineer * Mike Elizondo – producer * Eminem –

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

, guest artist, mixing, primary artist, producer * Steve King – bass, guitar * Dart Parker – A&R * Luis Resto – keyboards, producer

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:County Hound Ep 2007 EPs Cashis albums Albums produced by Eminem Albums produced by Ron Browz Shady Records EPs Gangsta rap EPs