Memphis Bleek Album Coming Of Age

Coming of Age
Coming of Age
Studio album by Memphis Bleek
Released	August 3, 1999
Studio	Roc-A-Fella Center Studio (New York City, New York); Platinum Island Studios (New York City, New York); Soundtrack Studio (New York City, New York); Sony Music Studios (New York City, New York); Battery Studios (New York City, New York); Right Track Studios (New York City, New York);
Genre	Hip hop
Length	50:13
Label	Roc-A-Fella; Def Jam;
Producer	Swizz Beatz; Irv Gotti; Buckwild; Omen;
Memphis Bleek chronology
Singles from Coming of Age
	"Memphis Bleek Is..."; Released: June 8, 1999; "What You Think Of That"; Released: October 6, 1999;

It was released August 3, 1999 via The Island Def Jam Music Group, Def Jam Recordings and Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records on August 3, 1999. The album spawned the hit single "Memphis Bleek Is...".

Commercial performance

The album debuted and peaked at number 7 on the Billboard 200, with 118,000 units sold in its first week. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA on September 14, 1999, for shipments and sales of over 500,000 units in America.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Entertainment Weekly	B+
Rolling Stone
USA Today

Matt Diehl of Entertainment Weekly praised Bleek for holding his own lyrically alongside guest artists Ja Rule and N.O.R.E., and displaying striking sensitivity on "Regular Cat". He also noted how the album's production of "ominous inner-city symphonies and raw street beats" was ageless. Keith Farley from AllMusic noted how Bleek's vocal delivery was more "street-level" than Jay-Z's, along with the album containing an "urban funk" style like most of his material, concluding that "Still, Coming of Age is a fine debut that shows Memphis Bleek already leaps and bounds ahead of most rappers." In a dual review with Ja's Venni Vetti Vecci, Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield felt that Bleek came across as a cliché-filled rapper that lacked witticism in his lyrics and wasted the beats given to him by his producers.

Track listing

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Pain in da Ass Intro"		0:43
2.	"Who's Sleeping" (featuring Reb)	Patrick Viala	2:40
3.	"Memphis Bleek Is..."	Swizz Beatz	4:08
4.	"What You Think of That" (featuring Jay-Z)	Buckwild	4:40
5.	"Murda 4 Life" (featuring Ja Rule)	Irv Gotti Mr. Fingers	4:47
6.	"You're All Welcome (Pain Interlude)"		0:37
7.	"Stay Alive In NYC"	J-Runnah	4:14
8.	"You a Thug Nigga"	Irv Gotti	4:14
9.	"N.O.W." (featuring Da Ranjahz)	Dark Half	4:16
10.	"Everybody"	Omen	4:00
11.	"I Won't Stop" (featuring Dark Half)	Big Demi	3:07
12.	"My Hood to Your Hood" (featuring Beanie Sigel)	Irv Gotti Mr. Fingers	3:47
13.	"Why You Wanna Hate For" (featuring N.O.R.E.)	The Burn Unit	3:49
14.	"Regular Cat"	J-Runnah	5:12

Samples

Regular Cat

"Love and Let Love" by Roberta Flack

Stay Alive in NYC

"Summer Is the Coldest Time of Year" by Patti Austin

What You Think of That

"High Velocity" by Keith Mansfield

Who's Sleeping

"If This World Were Mine" by Zulema

Personnel

Juan Allen – Engineer
B-High – Executive Producer
Big Jaz – Producer, Executive Producer
Buckwild – Producer
Kareem "Biggs" Burke – Executive Producer
Eric "Ebo" Butler – Mixing
Eric Butler – Mixing
Shawn Carter – Executive Producer
Tim Coyne – Mastering
Tom Coyne – Mastering
Da Ranjahz – Performer
Dark Half – Producer
Damon Dash – Executive Producer
Irv Gotti – Producer, Mixing
J-Runnah – Producer
Ja Rule – Performer
Jay-Z – Performer
Robert "Shim" Kirkland – Producer
Lil Rob – Producer
Jonathan Mannion – Photography
Mr. Fingers – Producer
Monica Morrow – Stylist
Noreaga – Performer
Bernard "Big Demi" Parker – Producer
Joe Quinde – Engineer, Mixing
Beanie Sigel – Performer
Chico Spades – Engineer
Swizz Beatz – Producer
Tai – Multi Instruments, Producer
Darold Trotter – Producer
Patrick Viala – Producer, Engineer, Mixing
Carlisle Young – Engineer

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1999)	Peak position
US Billboard 200	7
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)	1

Year-end charts

Chart (1999)	Position
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)	72

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)	Gold	500,000^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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