I'll Sleep When You're Dead Explained

I'll Sleep When You're Dead
Type:studio
Artist:El-P
Cover:El-p-sleep.jpg
Studio:Gotham (New York City)
Genre:Hip hop
Label:Definitive Jux
Producer:El-P
Prev Title:Collecting the Kid
Prev Year:2004
Next Title:Cancer 4 Cure
Next Year:2012

I'll Sleep When You're Dead is the second solo studio album by American hip hop artist El-P. It was released through Definitive Jux on March 20, 2007. It peaked at number 78 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling about 11,000 copies in its first week.[1] Music videos were created for "Flyentology"[2] and "Smithereens".[3]

Production

Despite his usual dislike of "records that have a bunch of (featuring so and so) after every song title",[4] El-P has explained the more organic nature of the collaborations on I'll Sleep When You're Dead:

El-P has compared the overall sound of the album's music to "a psychedelic Boogie Down Productions record", and like "Scott LaRock and Ced Gee take acid".[5]

The bird on the album's cover is based on a drawing that Alexander Calder made on a wooden toy airplane for El-P as a child.[6]

Critical reception

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, I'll Sleep When You're Dead received an average score of 80 based on 32 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

John Bush of AllMusic gave the album 4.5 stars out of 5, calling it "one of the most powerful hip-hop albums of 2007." Dave Heaton of PopMatters gave the album 8 stars out of 10, saying: "The genius of I'll Sleep When You're Dead -- and the reason it deserves to be considered as a progressive step in El-P's journey as an artist -- is that the tracks are just as dense and complex as on his other albums, but in a new, fresh way."[7] Andy Battaglia of The A.V. Club gave the album a grade of B, saying, "nobody makes hip-hop as textured and atmospheric as El-P, and he manages to temper his disorienting noise with soulful suggestions this time out."

Consequence of Sound placed it at number 42 on the "Top 50 Albums of 2007" list.[8]

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.

Charts

Chart (2007)Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC)[9] 158
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[10] 10
US Billboard 200[11] 78
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[12] 6
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[13] 55

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Modest Mouse Steers Its 'Ship' To No. 1 Debut. Billboard. Katie. Hasty. March 28, 2007. September 13, 2018.
  2. Web site: Lords of the Fly. Wired. Angela. Watercutter. February 27, 2007. September 13, 2018.
  3. Web site: El-P. American Civil Liberties Union. September 13, 2018.
  4. Web site: I'll Sleep When You're Dead Blog - a brief list of some of the people who appear in some form on my record... .
  5. Web site: I'll Sleep When You're Dead Blog - SCOTT LAROCK AND CED GEE TAKE ACID .
  6. Web site: El-P: Wake Up. Time to Die.. Christopher. Roy. March 15, 2007. RoyChristopher.com. February 17, 2016.
  7. Web site: El-P: Ill Sleep When Youre Dead. PopMatters. Dave. Heaton. April 12, 2007. September 13, 2018.
  8. Web site: Top 50 Albums of 2007 (page 3 of 12). Consequence of Sound. January 23, 2017. September 13, 2018.
  9. Web site: Chart Log UK: E-40 – E-Z Rollers. Zobbel.de. May 19, 2020.
  10. Web site: Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40: 25 March 2007 - 31 March 2007. Official Charts Company. September 13, 2018.
  11. Web site: El-P: Chart History (Billboard 200). Billboard. September 13, 2018.
  12. Web site: El-P: Chart History (Independent Albums). Billboard. September 13, 2018.
  13. Web site: El-P: Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums). Billboard. September 13, 2018.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "I'll Sleep When You're Dead".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.