We Are King (album) explained

We Are King
Type:studio
Artist:King
Cover:We Are King cover.jpg
Studio:KING Creative Studios, Los Angeles
Genre:R&B, dream pop
Length:57:30
Label:King Creative
Producer:Paris Strother
Prev Title:The Story
Prev Year:2011

We Are King is the debut album by R&B trio King (currently named We Are King), released on February 5, 2016.[1] [2] [3] The album was nominated for Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 59th Grammy Awards,[4] making them the first independent artists to be nominated in that category.[5] Upon its release, We Are King appeared 6 times in the Billboard charts for 1st week sales: #1 on the Heatseekers Chart, #7 for Independent Albums, #8 for R&B, #20 for Top Hip-Hop/R&B, #78 for Top Album Sales, and #158 in the Top 200.[6]

Background

We Are King is the debut full-length album from King, following their 2011 release of The Story EP. The independently recorded and produced album contains 12 tracks, including extended mixes of the three songs from The Story EP; "The Story", "Supernatural", and "Hey". We Are King was recorded between 2011 and 2015 at King Creative, the Strother sisters' home studio in Los Angeles, California. The album was written by the three members, and features production and instrumentation by Paris Strother, with additional instrumentation by Kyle Bolden (guitar), Thomas Lea (strings), and The Regiment Horns (brass & woodwinds). The album was engineered and recorded by Paris Strother, with additional engineering by Morris Hayes (lead vocals on "Supernatural") and Nathaniel Alford (lead vocals on "Hey"). We Are King was mixed by Neal Pogue and mastered by Brian "Big Bass" Gardner at Bernie Grundman Mastering. The album cover design was a collaboration between visual artist Geoff Kim and Paris Strother, with photography by Alex King.[7]

Critical reception

We Are King and the single "The Greatest" were included on numerous mid-year and year-end lists.

Accolades

PublicationRankingListRef
Bandcamp
  1. 1
Best 100 Albums of 2016[8]
Billboard
  1. 8
10 Best R&B Albums of 2016[9]
The Guardian
  1. 16
Best Albums of 2016[10]
Newsday
  1. 22
Best Albums of 2016 So Far[11]
NoiseyN/A26 Extremely Dope Overlooked Albums of 2016 (So Far)[12]
NPRN/A100 Favorite Songs of 2016 So Far ["The Greatest"][13]
Observer
  1. 10
10 Best R&B Albums of 2016[14]
Pitchfork
  1. 37
50 Best Albums of 2016[15]
Pitchfork
  1. 66
100 Best Songs of 2016 ["The Greatest"][16]
PitchforkN/ABest 20 Pop and R&B Albums of 2016[17]
Pop Magazine
  1. 24
Best Albums of 2016[18]
Rolling Stone
  1. 7
20 Best R&B Albums of 2016[19]
Spin
  1. 18
101 Best Songs of 2016 ["The Greatest"][20]
Spin
  1. 21
Best Albums of 2016[21]
Stereogum
  1. 45
50 Best Albums of 2016 So Far[22]
Time
  1. 5
Here Are The Best Albums of 2016 (So Far)[23]
Uproxx
  1. 14
Best Albums of 2016[24]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Paris Strother, Amber Strother and Anita Bias.[25] [26]

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[25]

King

Additional personnel

Cover art personnel

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Review: King, 'We Are King' . npr.org . 2016-01-27 . 2016-12-29.
  2. Web site: Album Of The Week: King – We Are King . . 2016-02-02 . 2016-12-29.
  3. Web site: King Official Site. weareking.com. 2017-01-11.
  4. Web site: 59th Annual GRAMMY Awards Winners & Nominees. https://archive.today/20161210201704/http://www.grammy.com/nominees. dead. 2016-12-10. The GRAMMYs. 2016-12-10.
  5. Web site: ‘We Are King’ is up for the 2017 Best Urban Contemporary Album GRAMMY Award! . 2017-01-10 . facebook.com.
  6. Web site: Billboard- King Chart History.
  7. Web site: We Are King – Album Credits. weareking.com.
  8. Web site: Bandcamp - The Best Albums of 2016: #20 - 1. Moore. Marcus J.. bandcamp.com.
  9. Web site: Billboard - 10 Best R&B Albums of 2016: Critic's Picks. Mitchell. Gail. December 9, 2016. Billboard.com.
  10. Web site: The Guardian - The Best Albums of 2016: The Full List. November 30, 2016. theguardian.com.
  11. Web site: Newsday - Best Albums of 2016 So Far. Gamboa. Glenn. newsday.com.
  12. Web site: Noisey - 26 Extremely Dope Overlooked Albums of 2016 (So Far). Noisey Staff. June 20, 2016.
  13. Web site: NPR Music's 100 Best Songs of 2016 So Far. Ganz. Jacob. June 28, 2016. npr.org.
  14. Web site: Observer - The 10 Best R&B Albums of 2016.
  15. Web site: Pitchfork- 50 Best Albums of 2016. Thompson. Paul A..
  16. Web site: Pitchfork - The 100 Best Songs of 2016. Okoth-Obbo. Vanessa. December 12, 2016. Pitchfork.com.
  17. Web site: Pitchfork - The 20 Best Pop and R&B Albums of 2016. Maples. Jillian. December 6, 2016. Pitchfork.com.
  18. Web site: Best Albums of 2016. Pop-Mag.com. 2019-08-14.
  19. Web site: Rolling Stone - 20 Best R&B Albums of 2016. Johnston. Maura. Maura Johnston . December 14, 2016. RollingStone.com.
  20. Web site: Spin - The 101 Best Songs of 2016. St. Asaph. Katherine. December 13, 2016. Spin.com.
  21. Web site: Spin - The 50 Best Albums of 2016. Cook-Wilson. Winston. December 12, 2016. Spin.com.
  22. Web site: Stereogum - The 50 Best Albums of 2016 So Far. Collin. Stereogum.com.
  23. Web site: Time – The Best Albums of 2016 So Far. Johnston. Maura. June 30, 2016. time.com.
  24. Web site: UPROXX - The Best R&B Albums of 2016. UPROXX Music. December 22, 2016. Uproxx.com.
  25. Web site: We Are King- Album Credits. www.weareking.com. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20180210002401/http://www.weareking.com/credits/. 10 February 2018.
  26. Web site: We Are King by King on Apple Music . Itunes.apple.com . 2016-02-05 . 2016-12-29.

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