On My Way to Church is the debut studio album by American rapper and record executive Jim Jones. The album was released on August 24, 2004, through Diplomat Records and Koch Records.[1] The production on the album was handled by various producers including Chad Hamilton, Boola, Ryan Press, Heatmakerz and Jones himself among others. The album also features guest appearances by T.I., Cam'ron, Bun B, Juelz Santana and more.
On My Way to Church was supported by two singles: Certified Gangstas and Crunk Muzik. The album received generally mixed reviews from music critics and received moderate commercial success. The album debuted at number 18 on the Billboard 200, with 44,000 copies sold in the first week released.[2]
Singles
On My Way to Church was supported by two singles. The first single, Certified Gangstas was released on July 13, 2004. The single features guest appearances by Cam'ron and Jay Bezel. The single received low commercial success, peaking at number 80 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The second single, Crunk Muzik was released on November 27, 2004. The single features guest appearances by Cam'ron and Juelz Santana. It peaked at number 84 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
On My Way to Church received generally mixed reviews from music critics. K.B. Tindal of HipHopDX praised the effort from Jones claiming that it is his time to reign after playing the "capo" position to fellow Diplomats rapper Cam'ron. Tindal says this album is Jones effort to prove he can hold his own as a rapper. He is confident in Jones's rap ability, saying that "Jim has released an album that follows all the diplomatic traditions of Hip Hop yet, he crosses borders and boundaries that are sure to bring him more street love that he already has". Tindal described the album as "simply Jim Jones finally expressing his thoughts without restriction". He also prasied his versatility calling this a "bi-coastal sounding disc". Ultimately Tindal gave the album a 3.5 out of 5 rating.[6]
Commercial performance
On My Way to Church debuted at number 18 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 44,000 copies in its first week.[7] This became Jones' first US top-twenty debut on the chart.[7] The album also peaked at number four on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, becoming his first top-ten album.[8] As of August 2005, the album has sold 200,000 copies in the United States.[7]
