''World Ultimate'' is the first studio album by American hip hop group

the Nonce The Nonce was a hip-hop duo from Los Angeles, California, that was active in the 1990s, releasing material from 1992 to 1999. As part of the Project Blowed collective, working with Aceyalone, among others, the duo developed a reputation fo ...

. It was released by American Recordings and Wild West Records on February 28, 1995. "Bus Stops" peaked at number 44 on the ''

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 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.

Critical reception

Glen Sansone of ''

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 ...

'' stated that "''World Ultimate'' tips its cap to both

L.L. 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-hop ...

and

MC Shan Shawn Moltke (born September 6, 1965), better known by his stage name MC Shan, is an American rapper, singer and record producer from New York City. He is best known for his guest appearance and production on Canadian singer Snow's 1992 single " ...

, while joining loose, outgoing B-Boy posturing with old-school beats jacketed in an ethereal coating, as on 'Mix Tapes.'" ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

'' called "Keep It On" "perfect, passages of cool jazz chording blending into flat noise and movement." Steve Huey 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 ...

wrote, "Occasionally, the duo can get a little too relaxed, but on the whole it's an engaging alternative to the standard West Coast gangsta fare." Matt Welty 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 ...

'' commented that "MCs Nouka Basetype (who would later go by Sach) and Yusef Afloat came together with their conscious perspectives to rap over jazzy instrumentation about everything from taking the bus to the issues plaguing hip-hop." In 2012, ''

Fact A fact is a truth, true data, datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance. Standard reference works are often used to Fact-checking, check facts. Science, Scientific facts are verified by repeatable careful observation or measurement by ...

'' included the album on the "Most Overlooked Hip-Hop LPs of the 90s" list.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.

The Nonce The Nonce was a hip-hop duo from Los Angeles, California, that was active in the 1990s, releasing material from 1992 to 1999. As part of the Project Blowed collective, working with Aceyalone, among others, the duo developed a reputation fo ...

* Nouka Basetype – vocals, production, cover concept * Yusef Afloat – vocals, production, cover concept Additional personnel *

Aceyalone Edwin Maximilian "Eddie" Hayes, Jr. (born September 30, 1970), better known by his stage name Aceyalone, is an American rapper from Los Angeles, California, United States. He is a member of Freestyle Fellowship, Haiku D'Etat and The A-Team. He is ...

– additional vocals (3) * Butta B. – additional vocals (4) * Meen Green – additional vocals (4) *

Figures of Speech A figure of speech or rhetorical figure is a word or phrase that intentionally deviates from straightforward language use or literal meaning to produce a rhetorical or intensified effect (emotionally, aesthetically, intellectually, etc.). In the ...

– background vocals (9) * Sean Freehill – recording *

Tom Coyne Tom Coyne may refer to: * Tom Coyne (writer), American writer and professor * Tom Coyne (broadcaster) (1930–2015), British television presenter * Tom Coyne (music engineer) (1954–2017), American mastering engineer * Thomas Coyne (cricketer) (18 ...

– mastering * Morris "Mo" Taft – executive production, cover concept * Aldo Sampieri – art direction * Susan Goines – cover photography * Dorothy Low – inside folder photography

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1995 debut albums The Nonce albums American Recordings (record label) albums