The Evil Jeanius

The Evil Jeanius
Studio album by
Blue Sky Black Death & Jean Grae
ReleasedSeptember 30, 2008 (2008-09-30)
GenreHip hop
Length37:26
LabelBabygrande Records
ProducerBlue Sky Black Death
Blue Sky Black Death chronology
Late Night Cinema
(2008) 		The Evil Jeanius
(2008) 		Slow Burning Lights
(2008)
Jean Grae chronology
Jeanius
(2008) 		The Evil Jeanius
(2008) 		Everything's Fine
(2018)

The Evil Jeanius is a collaborative studio album by American hip hop production duo Blue Sky Black Death and American rapper Jean Grae. It was released by Babygrande Records on September 30, 2008.[1]

The album was controversial because Babygrande took Jean Grae's vocals without her permission and she was largely unaware of the project until it was announced.[1] Years later, Jean Grae responded to a question about the album by writing, "It was a shit thing to do. Fuck babygrande."[2][3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
HipHopDX[4]
PopMatters[1]
RapReviews.com7.5/10[5]
URB[6]
Beats Per Millennium8.1/10[7]
Chop Shop[8]

Michael Kabran of PopMatters gave the album 4 stars out of 10, saying, "the album lacks the cohesion and comes across like an uneven mixtape, assembled without an active contribution from all parties."[1] Meanwhile, Ben Meredith of URB gave the album 4 stars out of 5, calling it "a powerful hip-hop album, extraordinarily eclectic, and a real treat from the Jean Grae/Blue Sky Black Death collaboration."[6]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Shadows Forever"3:37
2."Ahead of the Game" (featuring Blacastan)4:05
3."Strikes"4:00
4."Threats" (featuring Chen Lo)4:06
5."Away with Me"3:51
6."Even on Your Best Day"3:23
7."Take It Back"3:00
8."Lights Out"3:33
9."Nobody'll Do It for You"2:53
10."It's Still a Love Song"5:04

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.

  • Jean Grae – vocals
  • Blue Sky Black Death – production
  • Blacastan – vocals (2)
  • Chen Lo – vocals (4)
  • MadAdam – turntables (2, 4, 9)
  • Bladerunner – keyboards (10)
  • Mark Christensen – mastering
  • Charles Wilson, Jr. – executive production
  • Ruddy Rock – executive production
  • Ben Dotson – product management
  • Willy Friedman – product management
  • Jesse Stone – marketing

References

  1. ^ a b c d Kabran, Michael (16 November 2008). "Blue Sky Black Death: Jean Grae: The Evil Jeanius". PopMatters. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  2. ^ "Archived version of Jean Grae: Reddit AMA January 2014". Interviewly. Archived from the original on 29 June 2016.
  3. ^ "Rapper Jean Grae Selling Verses on Craigslist". The Urban Daily. 27 September 2008.
  4. ^ Paine, Jake (22 October 2008). "Blue Sky Black Death - Jean Grae: Evil Jeanius". HipHopDX. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  5. ^ Jost, Matt (28 October 2008). "Blue Sky Black Death :: Jean Grae: The Evil Jeanius :: Babygrande Records". RapReviews.com. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  6. ^ a b Meredith, Ben (14 October 2008). "Jean Grae :: The Evil Jeanius". URB. Archived from the original on 20 October 2008. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  7. ^ Denslow, Mike (21 October 2008). "Jean Grae & Blue Sky Black Death: The Evil Jeanius". Beats Per Millennium. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  8. ^ Chop Shop review[dead link‍]