Back Again! (Mr. Cheeks album) explained
| Back Again! |
| Type: | Studio album |
| Artist: | Mr. Cheeks |
| Cover: | Back Again MC.jpg |
| Recorded: | 2002 - 03 |
| Genre: | Hip hop |
| Label: | Universal |
| Prev Title: | John P. Kelly |
| Prev Year: | 2001 |
| Next Title: | Ladies and Ghettomen |
| Next Year: | 2004 |
Back Again! is the second solo studio album by American rapper Mr. Cheeks. It was released on March 18, 2003 through Universal Records. Recording sessions took place at Sony Music Studios, Sound On Sound and Daddy's House Recording Studio in New York, at Circle House Studios and South Beach Studios in Miami, and at The Hit Factory. Production was handled by Bink!, Mr. Sexxx, Chuckie Madness, Mario Winans, P. Diddy and Yogi Bear. It features guest appearances from Floetry, Alexander O'Neal, Glenn Lewis, Journalist, Mario Winans, M.O.P., Pete Rock & CL Smooth.
The album was not as commercially successful as John P. Kelly, peaking at number 75 on the Billboard 200 and number 25 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Its singles, "Friday Night", "Crush on You"/"The Wire" and "Hands High", also failed to make an impact on the charts, only making it to No. 52 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart with "Crush on You".
Critical reception
Back Again! was met with generally favorable 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 67, based on four reviews.
AllMusic's Rob Theakston called it "easily his most accomplished record since his days in the Lost Boyz". Lounch.com reviewer found it "full of juicy hip-pop hooks in the grand P. Diddy tradition". Blender reviewer found it "full of standard-issue street rhymes and treacly R&B hooks, Back Again makes you want to shout "Cut!" halfway through". Vibe reviewer stated that the album "falters when it ventures out of party mode".
Track listing
- Sample credits
Personnel
- Terrance "Mr. Cheeks" Kelly – vocals, executive producer
- Marsha Ambrosius – vocals (tracks: 1, 7)
- Natalie "The Floacist" Stewart – vocals (tracks: 1, 7)
- Peter "Pete Rock" Phillips – vocals (track 2)
- Corey "CL Smooth" Penn – vocals (track 2)
- Rafiek "Journalist" George – vocals (track 2)
- Eric "Billy Danze" Murray – vocals (track 3)
- Jamal "Lil' Fame" Grinnage – vocals (track 3)
- Glenn Lewis – vocals (track 5)
- Mario Winans – vocals & producer (track 6)
- Alexander O'Neal – vocals (track 11)
- Darryl "Big Baby" McClary – keyboards (tracks: 4, 7)
- Tomi Martin – guitar (track 6)
- Eric "E-Bass" Johnson – guitar (track 7)
- Garfield "Mr. Sexxx" Duncan – producer & engineering (tracks: 1-3), executive producer
- Roosevelt "Bink!" Harrell III – producer (tracks: 4, 5, 7, 9)
- Charles "Chuckie Madness" Shaw – producer (tracks: 8, 11)
- Jeremy "Yogi Bear" Graham – producer (track 10)
- Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs – producer (track 10)
- Charles Suitt – executive producer, A&R, management
- Charmaine Edwards – associate executive producer, A&R
- Jim Caruana – recording & mixing (tracks: 1, 3)
- Doug Wilson – recording (tracks: 4, 7, 9), mixing (tracks: 4, 5, 7, 9)
- Kamel Abdo – recording (track 5)
- Wayne Allison – recording (track 6)
- Caleb Shreve – recording (track 6)
- Darren Venditti – recording (tracks: 8, 11)
- Rob Paustian – recording & mixing (track 10)
- Rich Keller – mixing (track 6)
- Hernán Santiago – mixing (tracks: 8, 11)
- Bennie RM – additional Pro Tools editing (track 8)
- James Cruz – mastering
- Annalee Valencia-Bruch – art direction, design
- Christian Lantry – photography
- Sandy Brummels – creative director
- Eloise Bryan – A&R
- Nina Freeman – A&R
- Todd Ellerby – management
- Julius Erving III – management
- Jackie Rhinehart – markering management
- Eric Weissman – sample clearance
Charts
Notes and References
- Web site: April 5, 2003 . Billboard 200 . April 11, 2023 . Billboard.
- Web site: Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart: Week of April 5, 2003. April 11, 2023. Billboard.
