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Certified (David Banner album)

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Certified
The cover features David Banner wearing a grey tuxedo against a grey background. Both the artist's name and album title appear on the top right, colored in black.
Studio album by
David Banner
ReleasedSeptember 20, 2005 (2005-09-20)
Recorded2004–2005
Studio
Genre
Length1:08:35
Label
Producer
David Banner chronology
MTA2: Baptized in Dirty Water
(2003) 		Certified
(2005) 		The Greatest Story Ever Told
(2008)
Singles from Certified
  1. "Play"
    Released: July 7, 2005
  2. "Touching"
    Released: January 10, 2006

Certified is the fourth studio album by American rapper and record producer David Banner. It was released on September 20, 2005 through Street Records Corporation and Universal Records.

Recording sessions took place at Stankonia Recording and PatchWerk Recording Studios and The Zone in Atlanta, Sony Music Studios, Warrior Studios and The Cutting Room Studios in New York and Chi-Roc Studios in Chicago.

Production was handled by Chris Flame, Cyber Sapp, Downbeat Production Collective, Get Cool, Jazze Pha, Lil' Jon, Maestro, Mr. Collipark, and David Banner himself, with Billy Hume, Craig Love, Jake Arnold, Kevin Rudolf and Mike Hartnett serving as co-producers.

It features guest appearances from Jazze Pha, Mr. Marcus, Skyy, 8Ball & MJG, B.G., Bun B, Case, dead prez, Grout, Jadakiss, Jagged Edge, Lil' Boosie, Magic, Talib Kweli, Three 6 Mafia, Too $hort and Twista, as well as his Crooked Lettaz cohort Kamikaze.

In the United States, the album debuted at number six on the Billboard 200, number three on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and number two on the Top Rap Albums charts. Its only single "Play" peaked at number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 96 on the UK singles chart. Music videos were released for "Play"[1] and "Ain't Got Nothin'".[2]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic71/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Entertainment WeeklyB−[5]
musicOMH[6]
Okayplayer[7]
Pitchfork8.4/10[8]
PopMatters[9]
RapReviews9/10[10]
Stylus MagazineB−[11]
USA Today[12]
Vibe[13]

Certified garnered positive reviews from music critics who praised Banner's approach to over-the-top hip-hop stories and insightful political tracks. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 71, based on 13 reviews.[3]

Pedro Hernandez of RapReviews gave high praise to Banner for building upon his previous material and delivered an album with solid production, balanced themes and capable guest artists, concluding that "Certified treads a fine line between keeping it real and selling units, but Banner treads that line very well. Though it is his best album to date, hopefully this is only the beginning for the game's most conscious rapper."[10] AllMusic's Andy Kellman said that despite the cluttered list of guest artists, the record delivers on Banner's established material with higher production values and gusto conviction, saying that "Certified certifies that Banner is as crucial to hip-hop in the early 2000s as any other MC."[4] Dan Nishimoto of PopMatters admired Banner's approach of crafting a mainstream hip-hop album that over-exaggerates tropes while delivering serious topics in disguise, saying that "Certified's appeal lies in this tightrope act. Fully aware of his captive audience, Banner goes for broke to bring in as wide a swath as possible."[9]

Steve Jones of USA Today praised the album's balance of both political and sex-filled tracks, saying that "It's a mix that is certified to both educate and entertain."[12] Evan McGarvey of Stylus Magazine was lukewarm on the record, finding the production and guest artists not at the level of Banner's vision at times but said that its still able to deliver its twisted empathy, saying that, "Certified is mostly a frightening album because it’s so clearly not up to Banner’s full potential but still a dramatic cut above almost everything else."[11] Azeem Ahmad of musicOMH felt that the album was over-bloated with numerous songs that told the same inane stories over similar beats found in Lil Jon's discography, concluding that "There's little familiarity, too little to relate to on Certified, and I for one would rather give airtime to British talent than to try and push the likes of David Banner, whose music may be groundbreaking, but is alien to our ears."[6]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Lost Souls"
3:13
2."Treat Me Like" (featuring Jadakiss)
Lil' Jon3:53
3."Gangster Walk" (featuring Three 6 Mafia, Marcus, 8Ball & MJG)
Cyber Sapp4:28
4."2 Fingers" (featuring Jagged Edge)
David Banner3:29
5."Play"
Mr. Collipark3:50
6."Fucking" (featuring Jazze Pha)
Jazze Pha3:51
7."Thinking of You" (featuring Case)
5:02
8."On Everything" (featuring Twista)
Get Cool4:09
9."Certified" (featuring Marcus)
  • Crump
  • Williams
  • Alexander
David Banner4:11
10."Ain't Got Nothing" (featuring Magic & Lil' Boosie)
David Banner3:52
11."Bloody War" (featuring B.G.)
David Banner4:30
12."Westside"
Maestro3:32
13."Take Your" (featuring Too $hort, Bun B & Jazze Pha)
  • Chris Flame
  • David Banner
4:42
14."My Life" (featuring Skyy)
  • Crump
  • Keeton
  • David Banner
  • Mike Hartnett (co.)
3:54
15."Ridin'" (featuring Talib Kweli & dead prez)
Downbeat Production Collective4:33
16."X-Ed" (featuring Kamikaze)
  • Crump
  • Brad Franklin
David Banner3:41
17."Crossroads" (featuring Grout)
  • Crump
  • William Whedbee
  • Jake Arnold
  • David Banner
  • Billy Hume (co.)
  • Jake Arnold (co.)
3:45
Total length:1:08:35
Bonus track[14]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
18."Shake That Booty (Krumpa Remix)" (featuring Elephant Man)
3:06
Sample credits

Charts

[edit]
Chart (2005) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[15] 6
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[16] 3
US Top Rap Albums (Billboard)[17] 2

References

[edit]
  1. ^ DavidBannerVEVO (October 7, 2009). "David Banner - Play (Official Music Video)". Retrieved September 22, 2024 – via YouTube.
  2. ^ DavidBannerVEVO (October 7, 2009). "David Banner - Ain't Got Nothing ft. Magic, Lil Boosie (Official Music Video)". Retrieved September 22, 2024 – via YouTube.
  3. ^ a b "Reviews for Certified by David Banner". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on September 18, 2021. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  4. ^ a b Kellman, Andy. "Certified - David Banner". AllMusic. Archived from the original on November 27, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2011.
  5. ^ Sinclair, Tom (September 16, 2005). "Certified". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Archived from the original on January 25, 2008. Retrieved December 20, 2011.
  6. ^ a b Ahmad, Azeem (February 13, 2006). "David Banner - Certified". MusicOMH. Archived from the original on April 13, 2007. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  7. ^ Ruhi, Adrian (September 2005). "David Banner - Certified". Archived from the original on October 17, 2006. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
  8. ^ Shepherd, Julianne (September 20, 2005). "David Banner: Certified". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on June 12, 2021. Retrieved December 20, 2011.
  9. ^ a b Nishimoto, Dan (September 28, 2005). "David Banner: Certified". PopMatters. Archived from the original on September 18, 2021. Retrieved September 18, 2021.
  10. ^ a b Hernandez, Pedro (September 27, 2005). "David Banner :: Certified :: Universal Records". RapReviews. Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved December 20, 2011.
  11. ^ a b McGarvey, Evan (September 26, 2005). "David Banner - Certified - Review". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on July 25, 2009. Retrieved December 20, 2011.
  12. ^ a b Jones, Steve (September 19, 2005). "Bon Jovi rocks; Streisand rolls". USA Today. Gannett. Archived from the original on February 10, 2021. Retrieved September 18, 2021.
  13. ^ Golianopoulos, Thomas (August 22, 2005). "David Banner - Certified (Universal)". Vibe. Vibe Media. Archived from the original on October 20, 2006. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
  14. ^ "Certified (Bonus Track Version) by David Banner on iTunes". ITunes (US). September 20, 2005. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
  15. ^ "David Banner Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
  16. ^ "David Banner Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
  17. ^ "David Banner Chart History (Top Rap Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
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