1st Born Second

June 2025 1st Born Second studio Bilal 1stBornAlbum.jpg July 27, 2001 1999–2000 Electric Lady (New York) Neo soul R&B 75:55 Interscope Bilal Mike City Aaron Comess Dahoud Darien Megahertz Dr. Dre Dre & Vidal J Dilla Andres Levin James Poyser Raphael Saadiq Love for Sale unreleased 1st Born Second is the debut album by the American singer-songwriter Bilal, released on July 27, 2001, by Interscope Records. Bilal recorded the album at Electric Lady Studios in New York with a host of record producers, including Aaron Comess, Dr. Dre, Mike City, Megahertz, Raphael Saadiq, and J Dilla. It was a critical success and charted at number 31 on the U.S. Billboard 200, eventually selling 319,000 copies.Herrera, Monica. Bilal To Release Electro-Jazz Rock Album In 2010. Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-01-03. According to AllMusic biographer Andy Kellman, the album was an "exemplary" release of the retro-inspired neo soul genre, although Bilal's subsequent work would become increasingly distinctive and modern.Kellman Andy 2013 https://www.allmusic.com/artist/bilal-mn0000057280/biography Bilal AllMusic July 29, 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20130729201159/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/bilal-mn0000057280/biography July 29, 2013 Background Bilal developed an interest in singing while growing up in the Germantown area of Philadelphia, where he participated in a church choir at the behest of his Baptist mother. On occasional trips to the city's jazz clubs with his father, he witnessed the working habits and lifestyles of musicians, which inspired him to pursue music seriously. Starting as a vocal student at the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, Bilal advanced to studying the music theory and language shared by the instrumentalist students so he could socialize with them.Gonzales 2013 30 In 1999, Bilal went to New York City to train at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, where he developed a reputation among his peers for challenging their musical sensibilities.Reyes 2010 20 He also frequented the city's Wetlands Preserve nightclub and met members of the Soulquarians (including Common, The Roots, and Erykah Badu), a rotating collective of experimental black music artists who often collaborated on each other's recordings.Reyes 2010 20; Gonzales 2015. A demo recorded with the musician Aaron Comess, who Bilal met at a jam session set up by New School professors, earned the singer a recording contract from Interscope Records and encouraged his exit from the school to concentrate on music professionally.Reyes 2010 20 His performance at a 1999 Prince tribute concert generated much buzz in the music industry.Gonzales 2013 30 Recording and music left|thumb|Aaron Comess in 2014 After signing to Interscope in 1999, Bilal wrote songs and improvised with a band at a warehouse in New Jersey in preparation for the album's recording, which took place at Electric Lady Studios in New York around 1999 and 2000.Hammer Elliot n.d. https://www.thomasmason.co.uk/en/articles/bold-as-brass/ Bold as brass Thomas Mason January 21, 2021 In December 1999, while reviewing Bilal's Prince tribute performance at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Village Voice reported that the album was expected by Spring of next year. However, the release encountered delays as Interscope pressured the singer into collaborating with more popular record producers,Reyes 2010 including Dr. Dre and Soulquarians member J Dilla, who helped refine Bilal's stylistically varied and free-form approach into more structurally defined songs to the label's liking. This process extended the recording for approximately another year.Foege Alec October 14, 2001 https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-oct-14-ca-56986-story.html History's on His Side Los Angeles Times January 21, 2021 Comess participated in the recording as a bassist, drummer, producer, and engineer. The Soulquarians also contributed production.Columnist. "Review: 1st Born Second". The Washington Post: T.14. October 12, 2001. 1st Born Second features an eclectic sound with elements of jazz, hip hop, scat, reggae, and rock music.Kot, Greg. "Review: 1st Born Second https://web.archive.org/web/20121022001555/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/82242044.html?dids=82242044:82242044&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Sep+28,+2001&author=Greg+Kot,+Tribune+rock+critic&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=Neo-soul+grows+and+grooves+%3B+Maxwell,+Alicia+Keys,+Bilal,+Res+lead+the+way&pqatl=google 2012-10-22 ". Chicago Tribune: 23. September 28, 2001.Phipps, Keith. Review: 1st Born Second. The A.V. Club. Retrieved on 2009-08-26. Archived 2009-09-04. According to Mark Anthony Neal, its title originates from the idea that Bilal is the "first born prodigal son of the second generation of contemporary soul stirrers", referring to the group of artists associated with the neo soul movement. The singer's name also serves as an acronym for "Beloved, Intelligent, Lustful and Livin' It".Needham, Alex. Review: 1st Born Second. NME. Retrieved on 2009-08-12. Critical reception AllMusic 4 5Conaway, Matt. [album r525346 yes Review: 1st Born Second]. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2009-08-12. Blender 4 5Blender Review 121 August/September 2001 Chicago Sun-Times 4 4Columnist. "Review: 1st Born Second". Chicago Sun-Times: August 12, 2001. Archived from the original on 2009-08-12. (Transcription of original review at talk page) Entertainment Weekly A−Sinclair, Tom. Review: 1st Born Second . Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2009-08-12. Los Angeles Times 3 4Nichols, Natalie. Review: 1st Born Second. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 2009-08-12. NME 8/10Odell, Michael. "Review: 1st Born Second". NME: July 25, 2001. Archived from the original on 2010-08-22. Q 3 5Q Review 96 Summer 2001 Rolling Stone 3.5 5DeCurtis, Anthony. "https://archive.today/20100822163625/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5931751/n_sync_cake_lead_new_cds Review: 1st Born Second". Rolling Stone: 64. August 2, 2001. Note: Rating archived Spin 7/10Green, Tony. "Review: 1st Born Second". Spin: 158. September 2001. USA Today 4 4Jones, Steve. "Review: 1st Born Second https://web.archive.org/web/20121021235942/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/USAToday/access/76718889.html?dids=76718889:76718889&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jul+31,+2001&author=Steve+Jones%3B+Elysa+Gardner%3B+Brian+Mansfield&pub=USA+TODAY&desc=Bilal,+Blu+and+tasty+Cake,+too!&pqatl=google 2012-10-21 ". USA Today: D.08. July 31, 2001. 1st Born Second was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album has an average score of 82, based on 17 reviews.1st Born Second (2001): Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2009-08-12. Archived 2009-08-16. The album received rave reviews from The Village Voice, Chicago Sun-Times, and USA Today,Cepeda, Raquel. Review: 1st Born Second https://web.archive.org/web/20121017230709/http://www.villagevoice.com/2001-08-07/music/vagina-monologues/ 2012-10-17 . The Village Voice. Retrieved on 2009-08-12. and it also received comparisons to the music of Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Sly & the Family Stone, Prince, and Curtis Mayfield.2014-02-19 Album: Bilal https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-bilal-9137446.html live https://web.archive.org/web/20210818012139/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-bilal-9137446.html August 18, 2021 2021-08-18 The Independent enProduct Page: 1st Born Second. Muze. Retrieved on 2009-08-26.Caramanica, Jon. Review: 1st Born Second. Blender. Retrieved on 2010-03-29. Reviewing for PopMatters, Neal hailed the album as "one of the most significant debuts in black pop during the past 25 years".Neal, Mark Anthony. Review: 1st Born Second. PopMatters. Retrieved on 2021-01-02. Vibes Tamika Andeson called it "one of the best R&B albums of the year".Anderson, Tamika. "Review: 1st Born SecondSeptember 2024 InternetArchiveBot yes ". Vibe: 242. September 2001. According to AllMusic's Andy Kellman, "at that point, the closest points of comparison were D'Angelo and Maxwell, yet Bilal was more dynamic than the former and less mannered than the latter. 1st Born Second carried an energy that neither one of those singers, as hot as they were at the time, could boast." Some reviewers were less impressed. Spin magazine's Tony Green said that the album is musically expansive but lacking "that killer tune or two that would bring it all home, that one memorable melody that would make the album more than the sum of its incense 'n' dreads textures". In an essay accompanying the Pazz & Jop critics poll, in which 1st Born Second finished in the top 100, Robert Christgau named Bilal among the "profusion of R&B also-rans" that he hopes "will develop material nobody can deny".Christgau Robert Robert Christgau February 12, 2002 https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/pnj/pj01.php Pazz & Jop 2001: Not Just Your Old Man's Takeover The Village Voice July 25, 2020 robertchristgau.com Track listing Information is taken from the album's liner notes.Track listing and credits as per liner notes for 1st Born Second album Producer(s) Intro Dubble Richie Rich Bilal 1:47 For You Bilal Oliver Megahertz 3:47 Fast Lane Oliver Damu Mtume Fa Mtume Michael Flowers Dr. Dre 4:37 Reminisce feat. Mos Def & Common Oliver Dante Smith James Yancey Lonnie Lynn J Dilla 4:35 All That I Am (Somethin' for the People) Oliver Dahoud Darien Lynn Dahoud Darien 3:56 Sally Oliver Ronald Shannon Jackson Richard Serrell Dr. Dre 3:41 Sometimes Ahmir Khalib Thompson Oliver James Poyser James Poyser 7:12 Love It Flowers Mike City 3:48 C'mere (Skit) Andres Levin 2:12 Soul Sista Oliver James Mtume Raphael Saadiq 5:21 When Will You Call Oliver Aaron Comess 4:47 Queen of Sanity Oliver Aaron Comess 5:21 Love Poems Oliver Keisha Whatley Aaron Comess 5:25 You Are Marsha Ambrosius Natalie Stewart Dre & Vidal 4:17 Home Oliver Bilal 5:23 Slyde Oliver Darien Dahoud Darien 4:07 Second Child Oliver Bilal 6:49 Charts Chart (2001)PeakpositionUS Billboard 20031US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop AlbumsSongs In A Minor, Alicia Keys Billboard.com10 Personnel Credits are taken from AllMusic.[album r525346/credits yes Credits: 1st Born Second]. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2010-03-28. Bilal – vocals, drums, clavier, producer Dr. Dre – producer Greg Burns – assistant engineer, mixing Larry Chatman – project coordinator Mike City – multi instruments, producer Aaron Comess – bass, drums, producer, engineer, mixing engineer Tom Coster, Jr. – keyboards Jim Danis – assistant engineer, mixing Dahoud Darien – producer Vidal Davis – producer, engineer Russell Elevado – mixing Mike Elizondo – guitar, keyboards Todd Farrell – assistant engineer Drew FitzGerald – art direction Serban Ghenea – guitar, mixing Robert Glasper – keyboards, keyboard accordion James Hurt – string arrangements Jay Dee – producer Gintas Janusonis - drums, percussion Andres Levin – engineer, mixing Steven Mandel – mixing Artemio Villeda Martín – executive producer Alan Mason – mixing Sid McCoy – narrator Mel-Man – keyboards, producer Peter Mokran – mixing engineer Mike Moreno – guitar Mos Def – rap Damu Mtume – executive producer Neil Pogue – mixing engineer James Poyser – organ, producer, Fender Rhodes Raphael Saadiq – producer Jon Smeltz – engineer Soulquarians – producer Mike Starr – guitar Kendal Stubbs – engineer John Tyree – assistant engineer, mixing References Footnotes 30em Bibliography Gonzales Michael February 6, 2013 https://issuu.com/reviewpublishing/docs/020613_pw_opt Bilal's Back, Better Than Before Philadelphia Weekly July 21, 2020 Issuu Gonzales Michael A. March 19, 2015 https://www.soulhead.com/2015/03/19/love-peace-soulquarians-michael-gonzales-gonzomike-qtiptheabstract-questlove-common/ Love, Peace and Soulquarians soulhead August 22, 2020 https://archive.today/20210122044602/https://www.soulhead.com/2015/03/19/love-peace-soulquarians-michael-gonzales-gonzomike-qtiptheabstract-questlove-common/ January 22, 2021 live Reyes Andres Autumn 2010 Cool on the Outside Shook 9 https://issuu.com/shook/docs/issue09 August 19, 2020 Issuu March 6, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210306114004/https://issuu.com/shook/docs/issue09 dead External links album 170320 Category:2001 debut albums Category:Albums produced by Dr. Dre Category:Albums produced by Dre & Vidal Category:Albums produced by J Dilla Category:Albums produced by Questlove Category:Albums produced by Raphael Saadiq Category:Albums produced by James Poyser Category:Interscope Records albums Category:Bilal (American singer) albums Category:Albums produced by Mike City Category:Albums produced by Melvin "Mel-Man" Bradford Category:Albums recorded at Electric Lady Studios