City High (album)

City High
Studio album by City High
Released	May 22, 2001.[1]
Genre	R&B/Hip-Hop/Rap
Label	Interscope[1]
Producer	Clark Kent , Salaam Remi , Ryan Toby , Wyclef Jean, Jerry Duplessis and others.[2]
City High chronology
City High (2001) City High [Bonus Track] (November 2001)
Singles from City High
"What Would You Do?" Released: February 27, 2001 "Caramel" Released: November 2001 [2]

City High was the debut and only album by R&B trio City High. It was released in 2001.

History

The group began as Pardlo signing on as a solo artist. However, soon Pardlo's high school friend Toby, and the producers decided that it should be a two-man group featured in the album. Soon after the two-man group began to work on the album, The Product G&B became successful. In order to stand out, the producers decided to add a female member. They choose Ortiz, another group member from their high school.^[3] During production, all three members did writing on the songs.^[4] The trio focused on trying to make lyrics that told a story, Toby noting that he got some inspiration for writing songs that tell stories from country music.^[3] A large amount of the songs are based on real-life experiences the trio has experienced, such as "What Would You Do?".^[4]

The group recorded "What Would You Do?" two years prior to the release of album, as it was featured in the Eddie Murphy film Life.^[5] However, it was not formally released until 2001.

This helped with the sale of the album once it was released, and the album became a hit. The group disbanded in 2003, failing to release another album, despite their debut's success.^[2]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[6]
Rolling Stone	[7]
Pop Matters	(mixed)[8]
RTE Entertainment	[9]

Critical

The album received generally favorable reviews. Allmusic's Jon Azpiri noted "it stands as an impressive debut".^[1] Jon Caramanica of Rolling Stone praised the album's lyrical content, "In City High's songs, as in life, wounds don't always heal." ^[10] John Raftery raved that "'City High' seem to be part of a movement, alongside Lucy Pearl and Spooks, which is letting the world know that black America is about more than just blunts and guns. That alone makes this classy album stand out from the crowd." ^[11]

However, some critics were not as pleased. Maurice Bottomley of Pop Matters gave the album a mixed review, citing some songs' having bad lyrical content, such as City High Anthem's "collection of clichés beyond any chance of redemption" and that "“15 Will Get You 20” is catchy to the point of irritation".^[12]

Commercial

City High's debut album did excellently on the charts debuting at #34 on the Billboard 200 and was certified Gold by the RIAA months later. The first single "What Would You Do?" reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single was nominated for a Grammy in Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group.^[4] They Went to Willingboro High School in Willingboro, NJ.

Track listing

Standard

#	Title	Composer(s)	Time
1.	"Didn't Ya"	Remi, Salaam/Toby, Ryan	3:45
2.	"What Would You Do?"	Bailey, B./Broadus, C./Toby, Ryan/Young, A./Pardlo, Robby	2:54
3.	"Why"	Toby, Ryan/Pardlo, Robby	3:32
4.	"Caramel"	Toby, Ryan/Duplessis, Jerry "Te Bass"/Pardlo, Robby/Xavier, Giscard	3:35
5.	"You Don't Know Me"	Dickson, Tim/Paul, Terill/Pardlo, Robby	4:10
6.	"15 Will Get You 20"	Brooks, Lethal/Franklin, R./Jean, Wyclef	3:30
7.	"Song for You"	Hathaway, Donny	4:35
8.	"Cats and Dogs"	Pardio, Bobby/Toby, Ryan/Jean, Wyclef/Duplessis, Jerry "Te Bass"/Pardlo, Robby/Ortiz, Claudette	3:30
9.	"Best Friends"	Gilmore, Walter/Toby, Ryan/Pardlo, Robby/Avant, Gerard	4:50
10.	"Three Way"	Toby, Ryan/Davis, Vidal	3:30
11.	"Sista"	Toby, Ryan/Harris, Andre	3:51
12.	"The Only One I Trust"	Battle, Jerrell/Toby, Ryan/Duplessis, Jerry "Te Bass"/Pardlo, Robby/Avant, Gerard	4:17
13.	"So Many Things"	Duplessis, Jerry "Te Bass"/Pardlo, Robby	4:08
14.	"City High Anthem"	Pardio, Bobby/Toby, Ryan/Pardlo, Robby/Ortiz, Claudette	5:19

^[2]

Bonus Track Edition

#	Title	Composer(s)	Time
1.	"Didn't Ya"	Remi, Salaam/Toby, Ryan	3:45
2.	"Three Way"	Toby, Ryan/Davis, Vidal	3:30
3.	"Why"	Toby, Ryan/Pardlo, Robby	3:32
4.	"Song For You"	Hathaway, Donny	4:35
5.	"15 Will Get You 20"	Brooks, Lethal/Franklin, R./Jean, Wyclef	3:30
6.	"Cats and Dogs"	Pardio, Bobby/Toby, Ryan/Jean, Wyclef/Duplessis, Jerry "Te Bass"/Pardlo, Robby/Ortiz, Claudette	3:30
7.	"Caramel"	Toby, Ryan/Duplessis, Jerry "Te Bass"/Pardlo, Robby/Xavier, Giscard	3:35
8.	"Best Friends"	Gilmore, Walter/Toby, Ryan/Pardlo, Robby/Avant, Gerard	4:50
9.	"Sista"	Toby, Ryan/Harris, Andre	3:51
10.	"What Would You Do?"	Bailey, B./Broadus, C./Toby, Ryan/Young, A./Pardlo, Robby	2:54
11.	"So Many Things"	Duplessis, Jerry "Te Bass"/Pardlo, Robby	4:08
12.	"The Only One I Trust"	Battle, Jerrell/Toby, Ryan/Duplessis, Jerry "Te Bass"/Pardlo, Robby/Avant, Gerard	4:17
13.	"City High Anthem"	Pardio, Bobby/Toby, Ryan/Pardlo, Robby/Ortiz, Claudette	5:19
14.	"You Don't Know Me"	Dickson, Tim/Paul, Terill/Pardlo, Robby	4:10
15.	"Caramel" (Trackmasters remix feat. Eve)		3:40

^[13]

Personnel

• Kwaku Alston – Photography
• Gerard Avant – Producer
• Ron Banks – Mixing
• Vidal Davis – Producer, Engineer
• Jerry Duplessis – Producer, Executive Producer, Mixing
• Jason Dyer – Mixing, Assistant
• Serban Ghenea – Mixing
• Andy Grassi – Engineer, Mixing
• Jessica Harley – A&R
• Andre Harris – Producer
• Wyclef Jean – Producer, Executive Producer, Mixing
• Carlton Jones – Stylist
• Clark Kent – Producer, Mixing
• Sonny Kompanek – String Arrangements
• Alex Ndione – Mixing
• Robby Pardlo – Producer, Engineer, Executive Producer, Mixing, Vocals
• Salaam Remi – Producer, Engineer, Vocal Arrangement, Mixing, Vocal Producer
• Ryan Toby – Producer, Engineer, Executive Producer, Vocal Arrangement, Mixing, Vocal Producer, Vocals
• Joe Yannece – Mastering
• Claudette Ortiz- Producer, Vocals
• Cus - Mixing

Chart positions

Chart (2001)	Peak position
Billboard 200[2]	34
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[2]	23

Singles

• "What Would You Do? was the leading single off the album. It peaked at number eight on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100,^[14] Number One on Hot Rap Singles,^[14] Number 13 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks^[14] and number three on the UK Singles Chart.^[15] It still remains the most successful single by the group to date, and it was the one that made the album popular.

• "Caramel was the second single by the group. Although not as successful as their first, it still managed to peak at nine on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks^[14] and eighteen on the Billboard Hot 100.^[14]

• "City High Anthem" was intended to be the third single by the group.^[4] However, it was unsuccessful and did not chart.^[14]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "Allmusic Review". http://www.allmusic.com/album/r523493. Retrieved 2009-06-22. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f} "Billboard- City High". http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/discography/index.jsp?pid=433184&aid=468739. Retrieved 2009-06-22. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "IN CITY HIGH'S BOOK, EVERY SONG TELLS A STORY". Daily News (New York). May 29, 2001. http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/entertainment/2001/05/29/2001-05-29_in_city_high_s_book__every_s.html. Retrieved 2009-06-22. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d} "The Grammys: City High". USA Today. January 21, 2005. http://www.usatoday.com/community/chat/2002-02-20-cityhigh.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-22. 
5. ^ "Life Soundtrack". http://www.lifemovie.com/soundtrack.html. Retrieved 2009-06-20. 
6. ^ link
7. ^ link
8. ^ link
9. ^ link
10. ^ "Rolling Stone". http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/cityhigh/albums/album/201106/review/5943833/city_high~TO. Retrieved 2009-06-22. 
11. ^ "RTÉ Entertainment". http://www.rte.ie/arts/2001/0904/cityhigh.html. Retrieved 2009-06-22. 
12. ^ "Pop Matters". http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/cityhigh-st/~TO. Retrieved 2009-06-22. 
13. ^ "Allmusic- City High [Bonus Track"]. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r1248489. Retrieved 2009-06-24. 
14. ^ ^{a b c d e f} "Billboard Chart". http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.vnuArtistId=433184&model.vnuAlbumId=512700. Retrieved 2009-06-20. 
15. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 107. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.