Love King
Encyclopedia
Love King is the third studio album
by American R&B
and pop
artist The-Dream
, released June 29, 2010, on Radio Killa Records
with distribution by Def Jam Recordings
. Production for the album took place during 2009 to 2010 and was handled by The-Dream with contributions from Christopher "Tricky" Stewart
and Los Da Mystro
.
The album debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200
chart, selling 58,000 copies in its first week. It produced two singles that achieved minimal Billboard
chart success, "Love King
" and "Make Up Bag
". Upon its release, Love King received generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised The-Dream's detailed production and complimented his sexual, boastful lyrics. Pitchfork Media
ranked it number 30 on its list of the Top 50 Albums of 2010.
The album was originally scheduled for a December 2009 release. On September 26, 2009, Rap-Up
reported that the album had been pushed back to 2010 release due to The-Dream's busy personal life. Pushed back from May 2010, the album was released June 29, 2010 through The-Dream's imprint label Radio Killa Records
and distributed by Def Jam Recordings
.
's David Drake noted his musical style as "Tin Pan Alley
song concepts and an unceasing sense of musical craft", writing "When a song would be best served by space, he gives it plenty. Every piano chord and finger snap and bass hit is in its right place. He sweats every detail but never loses sight of how the album works as a whole". Tom Ewing of The Guardian
viewed that the mood created for the album "captures the dreamy, shimmering lustfulness of summer", writing that its songs "are built around layers of cascading, pulsing synth melodies, with the overall feeling one of tremulous romantic urgency; even an outright bedroom workout like Panties to the Side slips into wistful lushness". The Guardians Michael Cragg viewed that its "mid-paced songs [...] take the icky sex ballad template perfected by R. Kelly
and wraps it in sparse, forward-thinking productions", writing that they "ride crisp, finger-snapping beats augmented by huge synth rushes, while moments of experimentation flutter around the periphery". Noting it as "ear candy", Alex Macpherson of The National
wrote that the album features an emphasis on mood over traditional songcraft and elaborated on its music, stating:
The-Dream's lyrics are characterized by cockiness and "swagger". According to Alex Macpherson, The-Dream, "in both his lyrics and instrumentation [...] moves back and forth between flippancy and heart-swelling sincerity as if they were one and the same; he plays the role of the unfaithful boyfriend convincingly, largely, it seems, because he knows that he’ll find forgiveness soon enough". The narrative of "Make Up Bag" involves an unfaithful boyfriend who advises to make amends for his serial infidelity by buying an expensive cosmetics bag for his girlfriend.
" was released on February 17, 2010 through Def Jam's website. Following its release, The-Dream said that he would release four singles and four music videos prior to the album's release. "Love King" was later released for digital download on March 16, 2010 through iTunes
. The song peaked on Billboard
s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
at number 37. The second single "Make Up Bag
" was sent to U.S. Urban radio on May 11, 2010. It was sent to U.S. Rhythmic radio on June 1, 2010. The song features rapper T.I.
and is produced by The-Dream. The single artwork was released on May 19, 2010 and was confirmed to be the second single released from the album. "Make Up Bag" was released June 8, 2010 to iTunes. *"Turnt Out" is the album's third single as stated on The-Dream's official website. It was released via the iTunes Store
on June 21, 2010. On July 22, 2010, The-Dream's official website posted a sneak peek of the official music video for "Turnt Out".
chart with first-week sales of 58,000 copies. It also entered at number three on Billboard
s R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and at number seven on the Digital Albums chart. In its second week, the album fell to number 12 on the Billboard 200 and sold 23,000 copies. It moved to number 30 on the chart and sold 11,600 copies in its third week. The album did not chart outside the United States.
, which assigns a normalized
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average
score of 80, based on 17 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Allmusic editor Andy Kellman praised The-Dream's musicianship and commented that "his way with a melody, an outrageous line, and an exquisitely adroit rhythm, all components in his immense crazy-quilt song cycle — full of recurring lyrical themes and sonic flourishes — transcend the flaws". Chris Richards of The Washington Post
noted its "wonderful pop-synthesis" and stated "The-Dream blends power-ballad schmaltz with post-crunk brio to create a potent brew". The Boston Globe
s Ken Capobianco found The-Dream's vocals to be limited, but lauded his production and stated "the whole set plays as a seamless suite". Billboard
s Mikael Wood viewed it as "less sprawling but just as richly detailed as Love vs Money". Giving it an eight out of 10 rating, David Amidon of PopMatters
praised The-Dream's "attention to detail" and described Love King as "his most candy-coated album to date [...] a bloated melodic mess of sugar and exotic fruit for the ears". BBC Online's Mike Diver called his production "superb" and commented that it "ensures almost every track here is a brilliant earworm of an arrangement". Pitchfork Media
's David Drake complimented the album's "emotional and melodic excess" and stated "The-Dream knows where to find the sweet spot, and he has an uncanny knack for how pieces of music fit together".
However, New York Daily News
writer Jim Farber panned the album as "a middling R. Kelly rip-off" and The-Dream as "mimmicking the tune-free, R&B vamps of [...] R. Kelly". Ben Ratliff of The New York Times
complimented The-Dream's "modern" musical approach and noted "small-scale epiphanies" in the songs' lyrics, but viewed that it "doesn’t transcend its highest individual moments". Rolling Stone
writer Christian Hoard described it as "the soul-music equivalent of Dream's beloved Patrón
: Not exactly eccentric, but finely crafted and intoxicating". Entertainment Weekly
s Brad Wete noted the early-1980s work of Prince
as a prominent influence and stated "even darling Nikki
might blush at these racy tunes". Steve Jones of USA Today
commented that "his aggressive come-ons echo the darker sides of Prince and R. Kelly. Still, his penchant for catchy hooks and infectious beats makes it easy to overlook the sometimes banal lyrics". Slant Magazine
's Eric Henderson compared The-Dream's approach to that of Prince on his early work, writing that the songs' "obsessive-compulsive cleanliness–an almost total lack of analogue instruments, straightforward rhythms, snaps and drones instead of drum kicks–parallels Prince's stripped-down naked funk. Both make minimalism expansive". Henderson praised his minimalism on the album and elaborated on its similarity to Prince's music, stating:
Boston Herald
writer Lauren Carter gave Love King an A- rating and cited it as his best album, stating "While his sound clearly draws from both Prince and R. Kelly, the end product is very much his own, blending silliness with soul-baring sensitivity and contemporary r & b with the recurring themes and melodies of his favorite form of music: classical". Los Angeles Times
writer Jeff Weiss commented that "he manages to put a fresher spin on tired tropes". Andrew Rennie of NOW
gave the album five out of five stars and praised his "ability to use all colours of the songwriting spectrum [...] he once again takes the genre in bold new directions and improves on classic sounds". Marc Hogan of Spin
called The-Dream "bawdy, referential, and effortless-sounding". The A.V. Club
s Nathan Rabin gave the album a B+ rating and complimented his "over-the-top raunchiness" and "talent to back up his over-the-top swagger". Rob Harvilla of The Village Voice
noted his commitment to "the natural, elegant flow of a capital-A Album" and ability in "taking objectively terrible ideas—getting emotionally involved with this guy, for example, given his penchant for 'Patrónin' and general sexual profligacy—and making them seem like brilliant ideas". The National
s Alex Macpherson complimented his "apparent inability to separate the sublime from the ridiculous" and his competence as a musician, stating "He covers all bases, and erodes the differences between them". Michael Cragg of The Guardian
commented that "[his] skill is keeping things minimal" and stated "Boastful, ridiculously egocentric and often lyrically hilarious [...] Love King doesn't win points for subtlety but, as an example of a producer at the top of his game, it's second to none".
and Complex.
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
and pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
artist The-Dream
The-Dream
Terius Youngdell Nash , better known by his stage name The-Dream, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. He is known for co-writing "Umbrella" for Rihanna and "Single Ladies " for Beyoncé, as well as for his three solo albums, Love Hate, Love vs...
, released June 29, 2010, on Radio Killa Records
Radio Killa Records
Radio Killa Records is a record label created by singer-songwriter/producer The-Dream. The label operates as an imprint of, and is distributed through, Def Jam Recordings...
with distribution by Def Jam Recordings
Def Jam Recordings
Def Jam Recordings is an American record label, focused primarily on hip hop and urban music, owned by Universal Music Group, and operates as a part of The Island Def Jam Motown Music Group...
. Production for the album took place during 2009 to 2010 and was handled by The-Dream with contributions from Christopher "Tricky" Stewart
Christopher Stewart (music producer)
Christopher "Tricky" Stewart is an American songwriter, music producer, music publisher, executive producer, recording industry executive and recording studio owner. In a career spanning 16 years, Stewart, at the helm of his company RedZone Entertainment, is responsible for over 25 million...
and Los Da Mystro
Carlos McKinney
Carlos "Los Da Mystro" McKinney is a Grammy-nominated American record producer and jazz pianist.-Biography:McKinney was born into an eminent Detroit jazz family; he is a nephew to pianist Harold McKinney, bassist Ray McKinney, trombonist Bernard McKinney , and drummers Earl McKinney and Walter...
.
The album debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart, selling 58,000 copies in its first week. It produced two singles that achieved minimal Billboard
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
chart success, "Love King
Love King (song)
Love King is a song by American R&B artist The-Dream. It is the first single from his upcoming third studio album, Love King.. The song premiered on February 17, 2010 on Def Jam's official website. It was released digitally on March 16, 2010-Music videos:...
" and "Make Up Bag
Make Up Bag
"Make Up Bag" is the second single by American R&B artist The-Dream from his third studio album Love King. The song was officially released as a single on June 8 to the iTunes Store. It features rapper T.I.-Music video:...
". Upon its release, Love King received generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised The-Dream's detailed production and complimented his sexual, boastful lyrics. Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
ranked it number 30 on its list of the Top 50 Albums of 2010.
Background
After reports of the album being under production, The-Dream said that the album would be his final studio album. In January 2010, he officially stated he was finished recording the album and he called it the best of his three albums.The album was originally scheduled for a December 2009 release. On September 26, 2009, Rap-Up
Rap-Up
Rap-Up is a magazine launched in 2001 by founder Devin Lazerine. The publication was originally a website devoted to hip hop, until Lazerine decided to pitch the possibility of a magazine to several publishers. The magazine is focused on the hip hop and R&B aspect of the music industry, and...
reported that the album had been pushed back to 2010 release due to The-Dream's busy personal life. Pushed back from May 2010, the album was released June 29, 2010 through The-Dream's imprint label Radio Killa Records
Radio Killa Records
Radio Killa Records is a record label created by singer-songwriter/producer The-Dream. The label operates as an imprint of, and is distributed through, Def Jam Recordings...
and distributed by Def Jam Recordings
Def Jam Recordings
Def Jam Recordings is an American record label, focused primarily on hip hop and urban music, owned by Universal Music Group, and operates as a part of The Island Def Jam Motown Music Group...
.
Music and lyrics
Love King expands on the suite-like production style and de rigueur-R&B themes of his previous two albums. The-Dream has described the album as being "deeper than space". Pitchfork MediaPitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
's David Drake noted his musical style as "Tin Pan Alley
Tin Pan Alley
Tin Pan Alley is the name given to the collection of New York City music publishers and songwriters who dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century...
song concepts and an unceasing sense of musical craft", writing "When a song would be best served by space, he gives it plenty. Every piano chord and finger snap and bass hit is in its right place. He sweats every detail but never loses sight of how the album works as a whole". Tom Ewing of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
viewed that the mood created for the album "captures the dreamy, shimmering lustfulness of summer", writing that its songs "are built around layers of cascading, pulsing synth melodies, with the overall feeling one of tremulous romantic urgency; even an outright bedroom workout like Panties to the Side slips into wistful lushness". The Guardians Michael Cragg viewed that its "mid-paced songs [...] take the icky sex ballad template perfected by R. Kelly
R. Kelly
Robert Sylvester Kelly , better known by his stage name R. Kelly, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. A native of Chicago, Kelly began performing during the late 1980s and debuted in 1992 with the group Public Announcement. In 1993, Kelly went solo with the album 12 Play...
and wraps it in sparse, forward-thinking productions", writing that they "ride crisp, finger-snapping beats augmented by huge synth rushes, while moments of experimentation flutter around the periphery". Noting it as "ear candy", Alex Macpherson of The National
The National (Abu Dhabi)
The National is a government-owned English-language daily newspaper published in Abu Dhabi. The editor-in-chief since June 8, 2009 has been Hassan Fattah. Prior to this, and from the launch of the newspaper Martin Newland was editor-in-chief. Mubadala Development Company, an investment company...
wrote that the album features an emphasis on mood over traditional songcraft and elaborated on its music, stating:
The-Dream's lyrics are characterized by cockiness and "swagger". According to Alex Macpherson, The-Dream, "in both his lyrics and instrumentation [...] moves back and forth between flippancy and heart-swelling sincerity as if they were one and the same; he plays the role of the unfaithful boyfriend convincingly, largely, it seems, because he knows that he’ll find forgiveness soon enough". The narrative of "Make Up Bag" involves an unfaithful boyfriend who advises to make amends for his serial infidelity by buying an expensive cosmetics bag for his girlfriend.
Singles
The album's first single "Love KingLove King (song)
Love King is a song by American R&B artist The-Dream. It is the first single from his upcoming third studio album, Love King.. The song premiered on February 17, 2010 on Def Jam's official website. It was released digitally on March 16, 2010-Music videos:...
" was released on February 17, 2010 through Def Jam's website. Following its release, The-Dream said that he would release four singles and four music videos prior to the album's release. "Love King" was later released for digital download on March 16, 2010 through iTunes
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
. The song peaked on Billboard
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
at number 37. The second single "Make Up Bag
Make Up Bag
"Make Up Bag" is the second single by American R&B artist The-Dream from his third studio album Love King. The song was officially released as a single on June 8 to the iTunes Store. It features rapper T.I.-Music video:...
" was sent to U.S. Urban radio on May 11, 2010. It was sent to U.S. Rhythmic radio on June 1, 2010. The song features rapper T.I.
T.I.
Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr. , better known by his stage name T.I., is an American rap artist, film and music producer, actor and author. He is also the founder and co-chief executive officer of Grand Hustle Records....
and is produced by The-Dream. The single artwork was released on May 19, 2010 and was confirmed to be the second single released from the album. "Make Up Bag" was released June 8, 2010 to iTunes. *"Turnt Out" is the album's third single as stated on The-Dream's official website. It was released via the iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
on June 21, 2010. On July 22, 2010, The-Dream's official website posted a sneak peek of the official music video for "Turnt Out".
Commercial performance
The album debuted at number four on the U.S. Billboard 200Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart with first-week sales of 58,000 copies. It also entered at number three on Billboard
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
s R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and at number seven on the Digital Albums chart. In its second week, the album fell to number 12 on the Billboard 200 and sold 23,000 copies. It moved to number 30 on the chart and sold 11,600 copies in its third week. The album did not chart outside the United States.
Critical response
Love King received generally positive reviews from music critics. At MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a normalized
Standard score
In statistics, a standard score indicates how many standard deviations an observation or datum is above or below the mean. It is a dimensionless quantity derived by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation...
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average
Weighted mean
The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...
score of 80, based on 17 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Allmusic editor Andy Kellman praised The-Dream's musicianship and commented that "his way with a melody, an outrageous line, and an exquisitely adroit rhythm, all components in his immense crazy-quilt song cycle — full of recurring lyrical themes and sonic flourishes — transcend the flaws". Chris Richards of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
noted its "wonderful pop-synthesis" and stated "The-Dream blends power-ballad schmaltz with post-crunk brio to create a potent brew". The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
s Ken Capobianco found The-Dream's vocals to be limited, but lauded his production and stated "the whole set plays as a seamless suite". Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
s Mikael Wood viewed it as "less sprawling but just as richly detailed as Love vs Money". Giving it an eight out of 10 rating, David Amidon of PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
praised The-Dream's "attention to detail" and described Love King as "his most candy-coated album to date [...] a bloated melodic mess of sugar and exotic fruit for the ears". BBC Online's Mike Diver called his production "superb" and commented that it "ensures almost every track here is a brilliant earworm of an arrangement". Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
's David Drake complimented the album's "emotional and melodic excess" and stated "The-Dream knows where to find the sweet spot, and he has an uncanny knack for how pieces of music fit together".
However, New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
writer Jim Farber panned the album as "a middling R. Kelly rip-off" and The-Dream as "mimmicking the tune-free, R&B vamps of [...] R. Kelly". Ben Ratliff of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
complimented The-Dream's "modern" musical approach and noted "small-scale epiphanies" in the songs' lyrics, but viewed that it "doesn’t transcend its highest individual moments". Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
writer Christian Hoard described it as "the soul-music equivalent of Dream's beloved Patrón
Patrón
Patrón is a luxury brand of tequila produced in Mexico and sold in hand-blown, individually numbered bottles.Made entirely from Blue Agave "piñas" , Patrón comes in five varieties: Silver, Añejo, Reposado, Gran Patrón Platinum and Gran Patrón Burdeos. Patrón also sells a tequila-coffee blend known...
: Not exactly eccentric, but finely crafted and intoxicating". Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
s Brad Wete noted the early-1980s work of Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
as a prominent influence and stated "even darling Nikki
Darling Nikki
"Darling Nikki" is a song produced, arranged, composed and performed by Prince and originally released on his Grammy Award-winning 1984 album, Purple Rain. Though the song was not released as a single, it gained wide notoriety for its sexual lyrics...
might blush at these racy tunes". Steve Jones of USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
commented that "his aggressive come-ons echo the darker sides of Prince and R. Kelly. Still, his penchant for catchy hooks and infectious beats makes it easy to overlook the sometimes banal lyrics". Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
's Eric Henderson compared The-Dream's approach to that of Prince on his early work, writing that the songs' "obsessive-compulsive cleanliness–an almost total lack of analogue instruments, straightforward rhythms, snaps and drones instead of drum kicks–parallels Prince's stripped-down naked funk. Both make minimalism expansive". Henderson praised his minimalism on the album and elaborated on its similarity to Prince's music, stating:
Boston Herald
Boston Herald
The Boston Herald is a daily newspaper that serves Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and its surrounding area. It was started in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States...
writer Lauren Carter gave Love King an A- rating and cited it as his best album, stating "While his sound clearly draws from both Prince and R. Kelly, the end product is very much his own, blending silliness with soul-baring sensitivity and contemporary r & b with the recurring themes and melodies of his favorite form of music: classical". Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
writer Jeff Weiss commented that "he manages to put a fresher spin on tired tropes". Andrew Rennie of NOW
NOW (magazine)
Now is a free weekly newspaper in Toronto, Canada. It was first printed on September 10, 1981 by Michael Hollett and Alice Klein. Now is an alternative weekly mixing arts and entertainment news with political coverage....
gave the album five out of five stars and praised his "ability to use all colours of the songwriting spectrum [...] he once again takes the genre in bold new directions and improves on classic sounds". Marc Hogan of Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
called The-Dream "bawdy, referential, and effortless-sounding". The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
s Nathan Rabin gave the album a B+ rating and complimented his "over-the-top raunchiness" and "talent to back up his over-the-top swagger". Rob Harvilla of The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
noted his commitment to "the natural, elegant flow of a capital-A Album" and ability in "taking objectively terrible ideas—getting emotionally involved with this guy, for example, given his penchant for 'Patrónin' and general sexual profligacy—and making them seem like brilliant ideas". The National
The National (Abu Dhabi)
The National is a government-owned English-language daily newspaper published in Abu Dhabi. The editor-in-chief since June 8, 2009 has been Hassan Fattah. Prior to this, and from the launch of the newspaper Martin Newland was editor-in-chief. Mubadala Development Company, an investment company...
s Alex Macpherson complimented his "apparent inability to separate the sublime from the ridiculous" and his competence as a musician, stating "He covers all bases, and erodes the differences between them". Michael Cragg of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
commented that "[his] skill is keeping things minimal" and stated "Boastful, ridiculously egocentric and often lyrically hilarious [...] Love King doesn't win points for subtlety but, as an example of a producer at the top of his game, it's second to none".
Track listing
The track listing was confirmed by Radio Killa RecordsRadio Killa Records
Radio Killa Records is a record label created by singer-songwriter/producer The-Dream. The label operates as an imprint of, and is distributed through, Def Jam Recordings...
and Complex.
Personnel
Credits for Love King adapted from Allmusic.- Lee Blaske – strings
- Leesa D. Brunson – A&R
- Los DaMystro – producer
- Steven Dennis – assistant engineer
- Brian Gardner – mastering
- Mark Gray – assistant engineer, mixing assistant
- Jaycen Joshua – mixing
- Terese Joseph – A&R
- JP Robinson – art direction, design
- Karen Kwak – A&R
- Giancarlo Lino – mixing assistant
- Tai Linzie – photography, art coordinator
- Pamela Littky – photography
- Scott Marcus – A&R
- Ian Mercel – assistant engineer
- Terius "The-Dream" Nash – producer, executive producer, stylist
- Scott Naughton – engineer
- Luis Navarro – assistant engineer
- Dave Pensado – mixing
- Antonio "La" Reid – executive producer
- Melissa Santiago – executive coordinator
- Jason Sherwood – assistant engineer
- Chris Stanford – cover photo
- C. "Tricky" Stewart – composer, keyboards, programming, producer
- Crystal Streets – stylist
- Brian "B-Luv" Thomas – engineer
- Pat Thrall – guitar, engineer, production engineer
- Kristen Yiengst – photography, art coordinator
Charts
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
4 |
| US Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums | 3 |
External links
- Love King at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
- Love King at MetacriticMetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...