''The Slickness'' is the first solo studio album by Prince Po, one half of American hip hop duo Organized Konfusion. It was released on

Lex Records Lex Records is a British independent record label. Most releases on the label are alternative hip hop, alternative rock or electronic music.Nicola Slade, "Life Blood: Lex Records," (Record Of The Day, 11 June 2009) Dazed described Lex as a lab ...

in 2004. It peaked at number 53 on the

CMJ CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events, online media company and a distributor of up and coming music CDs, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music ...

Top 200 chart.

Production

80 percent of the album was written at

Danger Mouse Danger Mouse is a British action cartoon which has had two incarnations: * ''Danger Mouse'' (1981 TV series), a 1981 British animated television series * ''Danger Mouse'' (2015 TV series), a 2015 reboot of the British animated television series ...

's house in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. The album's production was handled by Jel,

Madlib Otis Lee Jackson Jr. (born October 24, 1973), known professionally as Madlib, is an American record producer, DJ, multi-instrumentalist, and rapper. Critically acclaimed for his eclectic, music sample, sample-heavy production style, he is rega ...

, Danger Mouse,

Richard X Richard Philips, better known by his stage name Richard X, is a British songwriter and music producer. Gaining attention as a pioneer of the bootleg craze, Richard X has earned success as a producer and remixer. He has helmed hit singles for art ...

, J-Zone, and Prince Po himself. In a 2005 interview, Prince Po stated that his favorite song on the album was "Be Easy". The song was dedicated to the late Matt Doo, who drew the cover art for Organized Konfusion's '' Stress: The Extinction Agenda'' and committed suicide years afterwards.

Critical reception

David Jeffries 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 ...

called the album "a victory for all involved." He added: "It's rough and rugged, real and approachable, and you'll have to make plenty of room on your mixtapes for all the highlights within."

Jamin Warren Jamin Warren (born 1983) is co-founder and chief executive of Kill Screen, a video game arts and culture company that ''The New Yorker'' called "the McSweeney's of interactive media". He was formerly the host of the PBS webseries Game/Show (2013 ...

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 ...

'' wrote: "Despite a handful of occasional blunders, Po helms an excellent release." DJ Anna of ''

XLR8R ''XLR8R'' (pronounced "accelerator") is a website that covers music, culture, style, and technology. It was originally also a print magazine. History and profile ''XLR8R'' was founded as a newsprint zine in 1993 by publisher Andrew Smith in S ...

'' commented that "Madlib, Danger Mouse and J-Zone create the background for Po's mesmerizing delivery here, and each track drips with heart and soul as a classic voice collaborates with the best of today's talent." Meanwhile, Dom Passantino of ''

Stylus Magazine ''Stylus Magazine'' was an American online music and film magazine, launched in 2002 and co-founded by Todd L. Burns. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog. Addi ...

'' wrote: "You just can't help but wonder what it'd be like if he put everything of himself into it." A single from the album, "Hold Dat", received a favorable review from

DJ Shadow Joshua Paul Davis (born June 29, 1972 in San Jose, California, San Jose, California), better known by his stage name DJ Shadow, is an American DJ and record producer. His debut studio album, ''Endtroducing.....,'' was released in 1996. He uses l ...

. Writing for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', DJ Shadow said: "Underground rap is finally emerging from its own conservatism and embracing the present, evidenced by the adventurous production on this single from Richard X." ''

CMJ New Music Monthly CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events, online media company and a distributor of up and coming music CDs, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music ...

'' placed the album at number 19 on the "20 for 04" list. Tom Dunmore of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' placed it at number 7 on the "Most Beautiful Sleeves of 2004" list.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from the CD edition's liner notes. * Prince Po – vocals, production (8, 12), mixing (8, 12) * Jel – production (1) * Marty Delafongio – mixing (1–3, 7, 9–11), guitar (3) *

– production (2, 7, 9) * Carla Holden – extra vocals (3) *

– production (3, 6, 11), mixing (6), executive production * Jemini – vocals (4, 11, 13), co-executive production * Rell – vocals (4, 13) *

– production (4, 13), mixing (4, 13), remix (13) * Stone – vocals (5) * J-Zone – production (5, 10), mixing (5), vocals (10) * MF Doom – vocals (6) *

Raekwon Corey Woods (born January 12, 1970), better known by his stage name Raekwon ( ), is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as a founding member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, which achieved mainstream success following the release of the ...

– vocals (9) *

J-Ro Tha Alkaholiks, also known as Tha Liks, is an American hip hop trio from Los Angeles. Since the early 1990s they have produced party music with a hardcore hip hop edge, powered by the beats of DJ and producer E-Swift (he was born Eric Brooks ...

– vocals (10) * Cairo – vocals (11) * Ehquestionmark – artwork * Maya Hayuk – photography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Slickness, The 2004 debut albums Prince Po albums Lex Records albums Albums produced by Danger Mouse (musician) Albums produced by Jel (music producer) Albums produced by J-Zone Albums produced by Madlib Albums produced by Richard X