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Return of the Mac

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with Return of the Mack.
This article is about the album by Prodigy and the Alchemist. For other uses, see Return of the Mac (disambiguation).
Return of the Mac
Studio album by
Prodigy
ReleasedMarch 27, 2007 (2007-03-27)
Recorded2006–07
GenreHip hop
Length39:21
LabelKoch Records
Producer
Prodigy chronology
H.N.I.C.
(2000) 		Return of the Mac
(2007) 		H.N.I.C. Pt. 2
(2008)
Singles from Return of the Mac
  1. "Mac 10 Handle"
    Released: 2006
  2. "Return of the Mac"
    Released: 2007
  3. "Stuck on You"
    Released: 2007

Return of the Mac is the second solo studio album by American rapper Prodigy. It was released on March 27, 2007, through Koch Records. Production was handled entirely by The Alchemist, who produced the project utilizing song samples from the Blaxploitation era, with DJ Muro, who produced two tracks. It features guest appearances from Majesty and Un Pacino.

The album debuted at number thirty-two on the Billboard 200, selling 27,000 copies in its first week.[1] As of December 2007, the album had sold 130,000 copies.[2] The album spawned three singles—"Mac 10 Handle", "New York Shit" and "Stuck on You", with accompanying music videos directed by DanTheMan.

Background

[edit]

Soon after the release of the Mobb Deep's seventh studio album Blood Money, Prodigy parted ways with G-Unit Records and began working on a H.N.I.C. sequel. Record producer and circa Murda Muzik days collaborator the Alchemist, who pictured on the album cover alongside Prodigy, took on the project, which was intended to be a prequel mixtape to upcoming H.N.I.C. Pt. 2. Due to the unexpected level of quality of the resulting record, it was decided to release the effort as a traditional studio album.

Six years after the release of Return of the Mac, Prodigy and the Alchemist released a full-length collaborative album, Albert Einstein.

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic75/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Cokemachineglow67%/100%[5]
HipHopDX3/5[6]
Pitchfork8.5/10[7]
PopMatters5/10[8]
RapReviews8/10[9]
Spin[10]
XXL3/5 (L)[11]

Return of the Mac was met with generally favourable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 75, based on eleven reviews.[3]

Tom Breihan of Pitchfork wrote: "what it is is the announcement of a stunning and unexpected late-career renaissance; Prodigy is tapping back into the fearsome frustration that once drove him".[7] AllMusic's David Jeffries resumed: "even if this is familiar ground, an album so tight in theme and feel is refreshing in an era where most lyricists invite anybody and everybody".[4] Steve 'Flash' Juon of RapReviews stated that the album "is everything that Blood Money should have been and wasn't".[9] Mark Abraham of Cokemachineglow was "happy to hear Prodigy sounding engaged and excited again, even if the quality of his lyricism doesn't match his newfound enthusiasm".[5] In his mixed review for PopMatters, Quentin B Huff found the album "presents a more refined and progressive Prodigy than the one we heard on Blood Money, but there's no indication that Hell on Earth's Prodigy will be heard from anytime soon".[8]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Return of the Mac" (Aka New York Shit)
  • Johnson
  • Maman
Alchemist2:59
2."The Mac Is Back"
1:53
3."Stuck on You"
  • Johnson
  • Maman
Alchemist4:29
4."Mac 10 Handle"
  • Johnson
  • Maman
Alchemist4:15
5."Down & Out in New York City"
Alchemist0:33
6."The Rotten Apple"
  • Johnson
  • Maman
Alchemist3:06
7."Madge Speaks" (featuring Majesty) Alchemist1:16
8."Take It to the Top"
  • Johnson
  • Maman
  • Alchemist
  • DJ Muro
3:22
9."P. Speaks" Alchemist1:05
10."7th Heaven" (featuring Un Pacino)
  • Johnson
  • Jamal Brayboy-Brady
  • Maman
Alchemist2:44
11."Bang on 'Em"
  • Johnson
  • Maman
Alchemist3:39
12."Nickel and a Nail"
  • Johnson
  • Maman
Alchemist2:57
13."Legends"
  • Johnson
  • Maman
Alchemist3:58
14."Stop Fronting"
  • Johnson
  • Maman
Alchemist3:06
Total length:39:21
Best Buy bonus tracks
No.TitleProducer(s)Length
15."My Priorities"Alchemist3:24
16."That's That" (featuring Havoc and Alchemist)Alchemist4:01
17."Last Words" (featuring Kokane)Alchemist2:41
Total length:49:27
Sample credits
  • Track 2 contains samples of "Kamen Rider" performed by Shunsuke Kikuchi.
  • Track 1 contains samples of "Blacula Strikes" performed by Gene Page.
  • Track 4 contains samples of "Easin In" performed by Edwin Starr.
  • Tracks 5 and 6 contain samples of "Down and Out in New York City" performed by James Brown.
  • Track 11 contains samples of "Do I Stand A Chance" performed by The Montclairs.
  • Track 14 contains samples of "Playing Your Game Baby" performed by Barry White.

Personnel

[edit]
  • Albert "Prodigy" Johnson – vocals, executive producer
  • Madgesty – vocals (track 7)
  • Jamal "Un Pacino" Brayboy-Brady – vocals (track 10)
  • Alan "The Alchemist" Maman – producer, executive producer
  • Murota "DJ Muro" Takayoshi – producer (tracks: 1, 8)
  • Eddie Sancho – mixing (tracks: 1, 2, 4, 6–14, 16, 17)
  • Kevin Crouse – mixing (tracks: 3, 15)
  • Arnold Mischkulnig – mixing (track 5), mastering
  • Andrew Kelley – art direction, design, photography
  • Rayon Richards – photography
  • Ted D'Ottavio – photography
  • Paul Grosso – creative director
  • Alyson Abbagnaro – A&R
  • Bob Perry – A&R

Charts

[edit]
Chart (2007) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[12] 32
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[13] 9
US Top Rap Albums (Billboard)[14] 5
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[15] 2

References

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  1. ^ Hasty, Katie (April 4, 2007). "McGraw Leads Seven Top 10 Debuts Onto Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  2. ^ Sanneh, Kelefa (December 30, 2007). "The Shrinking Market Is Changing the Face of Hip-Hop". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Critic Reviews for Return Of The Mac - Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Jeffries, David. "Prodigy - Return of the Mac Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  5. ^ a b Abraham, Mark (May 11, 2007). "Cokemachineglow.com : Prodigy: Return of the Mac". Cokemachineglow. Archived from the original on 2007-12-31. Retrieved September 9, 2023 – via Wayback Machine.
  6. ^ "Prodigy - Return Of The Mac". HipHopDX. April 4, 2007. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  7. ^ a b Breihan, Tom (April 20, 2007). "Prodigy: Return of the Mac". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  8. ^ a b Huff, Quentin B (May 28, 2007). "Prodigy: Return of the Mac, PopMatters". PopMatters. Archived from the original on June 6, 2007. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  9. ^ a b Juon, Steve 'Flash' (March 27, 2007). "Prodigy :: Return of the Mac :: Koch Records". www.rapreviews.com. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  10. ^ Ryan, Chris (March 2007). "Reviews: New CDs". Spin. Vol. 23, no. 3. SPIN Media LLC. p. 98. ISSN 0886-3032. Retrieved September 9, 2023 – via Google Books.
  11. ^ Alarcón, Jesús Triviño (March 2, 2007). "Prodigy Return of the Mac - XXL". XXL Mag. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  12. ^ "Prodigy Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  13. ^ "Prodigy Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  14. ^ "Prodigy Chart History (Top Rap Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  15. ^ "Prodigy Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
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