Crown Royal (album)

Crown Royal
Studio album by Run–D.M.C.
Released	April 3, 2001
Recorded	1999 - 2001
Genre	Hip hop, rap rock
Length	43:49
Label	Arista
Producer	Jam Master Jay, LaMarquis "ReMarqable" Jefferson, Randy Allen, Kid Rock, Dante Ross, John Gamble, Stephan Jenkins, Jermaine Dupri
Run–D.M.C. chronology
Down With the King (1993) Crown Royal (2001) Greatest Hits (2002)

Crown Royal is a 2001 album by hip hop pioneers Run–D.M.C., It is their seventh and final album. It was released about 18 months before the murder of Jam-Master Jay. All songs but the title track featured guest artists including Fred Durst, Stephan Jenkins and Sugar Ray, Everlast, Kid Rock, Nas, Prodigy and Method Man.

It is the first and only Run–D.M.C. album with a Parental Advisory label, though most of the profanities are used by the guest artists, and some songs censor their profanities even on the explicit version.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
HipHopDX.com	[2]
NME	[3]
Rolling Stone	[4]

Crown Royal was mildly successful despite poor critical reviews.^{[citation needed]}

Rolling Stone (3/15/01, p. 78) said "Crown Royal uses the same musical strategy as their minor 1993 comeback, Down with the King: guest artists, guest artists and more guest artists....But as on Down With the King, Run-DMC prove their old-school mastery without adding anything new to it; the tracks sink or swim depending on what the guest artist felt like bringing to the studio that day.^[5]

Entertainment Weekly (4/6/01, p. 120) note that "on this hip-hop roast, new schoolers Nas and Fat Joe pay their respects with sparkling grooves....Run's rhymes are still limber." - Rating: B-

NME (4/5/01, p. 43) - 6 out of 10 - "Proves the emperors' new clothes can look just as solid as their old threads." ^[6]

Track listing

1. "It's Over" (feat. Jermaine Dupri) – 3:40
2. "Queens Day" (feat. Nas, Prodigy) – 4:18
3. "Crown Royal" – 3:13
4. "Them Girls" (feat. Fred Durst) – 3:33
5. "The School of Old" (feat. Kid Rock) – 3:20
6. "Take The Money And Run" (feat. Everlast) – 3:48
7. "Rock Show" (feat. Stephan Jenkins) – 3:14
8. "Here We Go 2001" (feat. Sugar Ray) – 3:21
9. "Ahhh" (feat. Chris Davis) – 4:21
10. "Let's Stay Together (Together Forever)" (feat. Jagged Edge) – 3:19
11. "Ay Papi" (feat. Fat Joe) – 3:16
12. "Simmons Incorporated" (feat. Method Man) – 4:26

Singles

• "Let's Stay Together (Together Forever)"
• "Rock Show"

References

1. ^ Allmusic review
2. ^ HipHopDX.com review
3. ^ NME review
4. ^ Rolling Stone review
5. ^ http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/rundmc/albums/album/302582/review/6068189/crown_royal
6. ^ http://www.nme.com/reviews/run-dmc/4633