| Sons of the P | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 15, 1991 (1991-10-15) | |||
| Recorded | 1991 | |||
| Studio |
| |||
| Genre | West Coast hip hop | |||
| Length | 1:04:40 | |||
| Label | Tommy Boy | |||
| Producer | The Underground Production Squad | |||
| Digital Underground chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Sons of the P | ||||
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Sons of the P is the second studio album by American hip hop groupDigital Underground. It was released on October 15, 1991, viaTommy Boy Records. The recording sessions took place at Starlight Sound inRichmond, with additional recordings done atUnique Recording Studios inNew York, Axiom Recorders inTampa, and The Disc Ltd. inDetroit. The album was produced by the Underground Production Squad. It features contributions fromGeorge Clinton,Stretch, andTreach.
The album peaked at number 44 on theBillboard 200 and number 23 on theTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums in the United States. It was certified Gold by theRecording Industry Association of America on April 9, 1992, for selling 500,000 copies.[1]
Itslead single, "Kiss You Back", reached No. 40 on theBillboard Hot 100, No. 13 on theHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and No. 5 on theHot Rap Songs, receiving Gold status by the RIAA on March 5, 1992. The song featured multi-layered choruses and background vocals sung byBoni Boyer, who briefly worked with D.U. shortly after her stint withPrince'sSign o' the Times/Lovesexy band.
The second single from the album, "No Nose Job", did not reach theBillboard Hot 100, however it made it to No. 28 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and No. 27 on the Hot Rap Songs.
George Clinton, who participated in the writing and recording of the title track, contributed vocals, marking one of his earliest studio guest appearances on a hip hop release,[2] preceded only byKurtis Blow's 1986 song "Magilla Gorilla".
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| Robert Christgau |  [5] |
| PopMatters | 7/10[2] |
| RapReviews | 8/10[4] |
| The New Rolling Stone Album Guide |  [6] |
| The Source | [7] |
Musician said that "this hour of power pulses with fat, spacious grooves, the kind you feel from head to toe...Throughout, funk serves as a truth ray, zapping racism and hypocrisy with thumping beats".[8]Q critic gave the album 3 stars out of 5, saying that the album "had booty-shifting basslines to rival George Clinton and some engagingly daft lyrics".[8] In his "Consumer Guide" column forThe Village Voice,Robert Christgau wrote that "you can wear out the hard and the brother-brother-brother, but you can't wear out the cosmic slop", highlighting songs "The DFLO Shuffle" and "Kiss You Back".[5] In retrospective reviews, DJ Fatboy ofRapReviews compared the album to the group's previous work, saying "Sex Packets is the more popular album, butSons of the P is the more worthwile offering", stating "album expands and goes deeper than its predecessor, and to this day, still stands as the best effort Digital Underground ever put on wax".[4]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The DFLO Shuttle" |
| 5:13 |
| 2. | "Heartbeat Props" |
| 7:28 |
| 3. | "No Nose Job" | Jacobs | 4:59 |
| 4. | "Sons of the P" (featuringGeorge Clinton) |
| 9:05 |
| 5. | "Flowin' on the D-Line" |
| 3:05 |
| 6. | "Kiss You Back" |
| 6:11 |
| 7. | "Tales of the Funky" |
| 5:31 |
| 8. | "The Higher Heights of Spirituality" |
| 0:48 |
| 9. | "Family of the Underground" (featuringStretch andTreach) |
| 5:47 |
| 10. | "The D-Flowstrumental" |
| 4:53 |
| 11. | "Good Thing We're Rappin'" | Jacobs | 11:36 |
| Total length: | 1:04:40 | ||
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[1] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
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