Foundation (Brand Nubian album)

Foundation
Studio album by Brand Nubian
Released	September 29, 1998 (1998-09-29)
Recorded	1997–1998
Studio	Acme Recording Studios D&D Studios The Diamond Mine DMH Studios Platinum Island Studios Quad Recording Studios Right Track Recording Soundtrack Studios
Genre	Hip hop
Length	1:07:48
Label	Arista
Producer	Buckwild Chris Liggio Diamond D DJ Alamo DJ O.Gee DJ Premier Grand Puba Lord Finesse
Brand Nubian chronology
Everything Is Everything (1994) Foundation (1998) Fire In The Hole (2004)
Singles from Foundation
"The Return" Released: 1998 "Don't Let it Go to Your Head" Released: 1998 "Let's Dance" Released: 1999

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Los Angeles Times	[2]
RapReviews	9/10[3]
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide	[4]
The Source	[5]
The Village Voice	[6]
Tom Hull	B+()[7]
XXL	4/5 (XL)[8]

Foundation is the fourth studio album by American hip hop group Brand Nubian. It was released on September 29, 1998, via Arista Records. The album marked the reunion of the four original members, Grand Puba, Sadat X, Lord Jamar and DJ Alamo, who hadn't released an album together since their 1990 debut One for All.

Production was handled by Lord Finesse, Chris "CL" Liggio, Buckwild, Diamond D, DJ O.Gee, DJ Premier, and members Grand Puba and DJ Alamo, with co-producer Swade Puma. It features guest appearances from Busta Rhymes, Common and Loon.

The album debuted at number 59 on the Billboard 200 and number 12 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts in the United States. The only charted single off of the album, "Don't Let It Go to Your Head", became Brand Nubian's biggest US hit, reaching number 54 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 24 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and number 3 on the Hot Rap Songs.

Foundation saw the group regain their past success, critically and commercially. Unlike previous releases, Foundation mostly features outside production, resulting in an updated sound.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Here We Go"	O'Kelly Isley Jr. Ronald Isley Rudolph Isley Marvin Isley Ernie Isley Chris Jasper	Grand Puba	0:22
2.	"The Return"	William Dixon Lorenzo DeChalus Derek Murphy Chris Martin Willie Clarke Clarence Reid	DJ Premier	4:00
3.	"Shinin' Star"	Dixon DeChalus Murphy Alphonso Mizell Larry Mizell Rodney Mizell	Grand Puba	3:40
4.	"The Beat Change"	Dixon DeChalus Murphy Robert Hall Michael Beinhorn William Laswell	Lord Finesse	2:26
5.	"Migraine" (Interlude)			0:24
6.	"Don't Let It Go to Your Head"	Dixon DeChalus Murphy Kenneth Gamble Leon Huff	Chris "CL" Liggio	4:04
7.	"Brand Nubian"	Dixon DeChalus Murphy J.J. Johnson	Buckwild	4:01
8.	"Maybe One Day" (featuring Common)	Dixon Lonnie Rashid Lynn Al Green	Buckwild	4:41
9.	"Let's Dance" (featuring Busta Rhymes)	Dixon DeChalus Murphy Michael Jackson	Chris "CL" Liggio Swade Puma (co.)	4:06
10.	"Back up Off the Wall" (featuring Loon)	Dixon DeChalus Murphy Chauncey Hawkins Keith Jones	DJ Alamo	4:10
11.	"Black on Black Crime" (Interlude)			0:48
12.	"I'm Black and I'm Proud"	Dixon DeChalus Murphy Jones James Brown Alfred Rogers	Grand Puba DJ Alamo	3:17
13.	"Sincerely"	Dixon DeChalus Murphy Gary Scott	DJ O.Gee	3:50
14.	"Probable Cause"	Dixon DeChalus Murphy Jones Grover Washington Jr.	DJ Alamo	5:13
15.	"The Ghetto" (Interlude)			0:41
16.	"Love vs. Hate"	Dixon DeChalus Murphy Hall	Lord Finesse	4:31
17.	"Too Late"	Dixon DeChalus Murphy Jones Norman Giscombe	Chris "CL" Liggio DJ Alamo (co.)	4:45
18.	"Straight Outta Now Rule"	Dixon DeChalus Murphy Hall	Lord Finesse	4:39
19.	"Foundation"	Dixon DeChalus Murphy Joseph Kirkland Miles Davis	Diamond D	3:52
20.	"U for Me"	Dixon DeChalus Murphy Hall	Lord Finesse	4:18
Total length:				1:07:48

Sample credits

• Track 1 contains excerpts of "Here We Go Again" written by O'Kelly Isley Jr., Ronald Isley, Rudolph Isley, Marvin Isley, Ernie Isley and Chris Jasper performed by The Isley Brothers.
• Track 2 contains excerpts of "The Rub" written by Willie Clarke and Clarence Reid performed by George McCrae and Gwen McCrae, and samples from "To the Right" and "Step to the Rear" performed by Brand Nubian.
• Track 3 contains a sample from "Love to the World" performed by LTD.
• Track 4 contains samples from "Change the Beat" performed by Fab Five Freddy.
• Track 6 contains interpolations of "Don't Let It Go to Your Head" written by Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff performed by Jean Carne.
• Track 8 contains a sample from "Have a Good Time" performed by Al Green.
• Track 9 contains excerpts of "Centipede" written by Michael Jackson performed by Rebbie Jackson and re-sung elements from "All Night Long" written by Lionel Richie.
• Track 11 contains audio snippet excerpts from the motion picture Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood.
• Track 12 contains excerpts of "Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud" written by James Brown and Alfred Rogers performed by James Brown.
• Track 14 contains excerpts of "Knucklehead" written and performed by Grover Washington Jr.
• Track 15 contains audio snippet excerpts from the motion picture Rhyme & Reason.
• Track 17 contains samples from "Too Late" performed by Junior.
• Track 19 contains elements of "IFE" written and performed by Miles Davis.

Personnel

• Brand Nubian – programming, mixing, executive producers
  • William "Grand Puba" Dixon – vocals, producer (tracks: 1, 3, 12), programming
  • Lorenzo "Lord Jamar" DeChalus – vocals
  • Derek "Sadat X" Murphy – vocals
  • Keith "DJ Alamo" Jones – producer (tracks: 10, 12, 14), co-producer (track 17), programming
• Lonnie "Common" Lynn – vocals (track 8)
• Keon Bryce – background vocals (track 8)
• Trevor "Busta Rhymes" Smith – vocals (track 9)
• Rebbie Jackson – additional vocals (track 9)
• Adeka "Dee" Stupart – additional vocals (track 9)
• Chauncey "Loon" Hawkins – vocals (track 10)
• Brooklyn Starr – background vocals (track 13)
• Shelene Thomas – additional vocals (track 17)
• James Tyrone "Petawane" Burris – additional vocals (track 20)
• Thomas Bart – keyboards (track 10)
• Gary "DJ O.Gee" Scott – piano & producer (track 13), programming
• Chris "DJ Premier" Martin – producer (track 2), mixing
• Robert "Lord Finesse" Hall – producer (tracks: 4, 16, 18, 20), programming
• Chris "CL" Liggio – producer (tracks: 6, 9, 17), programming
• Anthony "Buckwild" Best – producer (tracks: 7, 8), programming
• Joseph "Diamond D" Kirkland – producer (track 19), programming, mixing
• Swade Puma – co-producer (track 9)
• Jim Albert – recording
• Brian Garten – recording
• Dave Hyman – recording
• Thom Leinbach – recording
• Eddie Sancho – recording
• Kirk Yano – recording
• Andy Blakelock – mixing
• Jason Goldstein – mixing
• Ken "Duro" Ifill – mixing
• Matt Stein – mixing
• Patrick Viala – mixing
• Fred Hedemark – engineering assistant
• Bill Importico – engineering assistant
• G.P. – engineering assistant
• Jason Stasium – engineering assistant
• Dexter Thibou – engineering assistant
• Artese Williams – engineering assistant
• Tom Coyne – mastering
• Jeff Dixon – executive producer
• Drew Dixon – executive producer
• Anthony Harrison Jr. – art direction, illustration
• Christian Lantry – photography

Charts

Chart (1998)	Peak position
US Billboard 200[9]	59
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[10]	12

References

1. Bush, John. "Foundation - Brand Nubian | Album | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
2. Baker, Soren (October 16, 1998). "Pop". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 13, 2015. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
3. Juon, Steve 'Flash' (September 9, 1998). "Brand Nubian :: Foundation :: Arista". RapReviews. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
4. R., P. (2004). Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (eds.). (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. p. 102. ISBN 978-0-7432-0169-8.
5. Hamit, Ajuke (November 1998). "Record Report: Brand Nubian – Foundation". The Source. No. 110. New York. p. 196.
6. Christgau, Robert (March 16, 1999). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on March 23, 1999. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
7. Hull, Tom (October 28, 2019). "Tom Hull: Grade List: Brand Nubian". tomhull.com. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
8. Hall, Jermaine (November 1998). "American Standards". XXL. Vol. 2, no. 4 (6). New York, New York: Harris Publications. p. 175. ISSN 1093-0647.
9. "The Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. October 17, 1998. p. 106. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
10. "Top R&B Albums". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. October 17, 1998. p. 32. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved November 16, 2024.

External links

• Brand Nubian – Foundation at Discogs (list of releases)