Crown Royal
Studio album by
Run-D.M.C.
ReleasedApril 3, 2001[1]
Recorded1997–1999
Genre
Length43:49
LabelArista
ProducerRun-D.M.C., Jam Master Jay, Randy Allen, LaMarquis "ReMarqable" Jefferson, DJ Lethal, Kid Rock, Dante Ross, John Gamble, John Carmer, Stephan Jenkins, Jermaine Dupri, Run (co-producer), DJ Homicide (co-producer)
Run-D.M.C. chronology
Down With the King
(1993)		 Crown Royal
(2001)		 Greatest Hits
(2002)
Singles from Crown Royal
  1. "The Beginning (No Further Delay)"
    Released: 1998
  2. "Simmons Incorporated"
    Released: 1999
  3. "Crown Royal / Queens Day"
    Released: 1999
  4. "It's Over"
    Released: 2000
  5. "Rock Show"
    Released: January 2001
  6. "Let's Stay Together (Together Forever)"
    Released: February 2001

Crown Royal is the seventh and final studio album by American hip hop group Run-D.M.C., released on April 3, 2001, by Arista Records. It is the group's only album with a Parental Advisory label, though previous Run-D.M.C albums, such as the 1986 Raising Hell, had included explicit lyrics. All songs except the title track featured guest artists, including Fred Durst, Stephan Jenkins, Sugar Ray, Everlast, Kid Rock, Nas, Prodigy, Fat Joe and Method Man.

Crown Royal peaked at number 37 on the US Billboard 200, and number 22 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart.

After DJ Jam Master Jay was murdered on October 30, 2002, the other group members, Joseph Simmons and Darryl McDaniels, announced the group's official disbanding a week later at a press conference called to unveil the formation of a coalition of music industry artists and a fund intended to financially assist Mizell's family.[4]

Release and promotion

Originally scheduled for October 12, 1999,[5] the album's release was later postponed for the summer of 2000.[6] The release of the album was further postponed, per representatives of the label, after managers of Kid Rock, Sugar Ray, Everlast, and Fred Durst refused to release their tracks as singles, which were originally intended as the album's lead singles. Subsequently, the album's release was postponed to February 13, 2001,[7] then to March 6,[8] and finally to April 3, 2001.[9][10]

The song recorded together with Method Man, "Simmons Incorporated", was released on the single in 1998 as "The Beginning (No Further Delay)".[11] The songs "Crown Royal" and "Queens Day" were released on the promo single in 1999.[12] The album's main singles were "Rock Show" and "Let's Stay Together (Together Forever)", released in early 2001.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic43/100[13]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[14]
Alternative Press[15]
Entertainment WeeklyB–[16]
The Guardian[17]
HipHopDX3.5/5[3]
NME7/10[18]
Pitchfork4.1/10[19]
Q[20]
Rolling Stone[21]
Spin3/10[22]

Crown Royal received mixed critical reviews. However, many critics have expressed their frustration at the lack of DMC participation. Some positive reviews have been published. Entertainment Weekly (4/6/01, p. 120) note that "on this hip-hop roast, new schoolers Nas and Fat Joe pay their respects with sparkling grooves... Run's rhymes are still limber." – Rating: B−[2]

Rolling Stone (3/15/01, p. 78) said "Crown Royal uses the same musical strategy as their minor 1993 comeback, Down with the King: guest artists, guest artists and more guest artists... But as on Down With the King, Run-DMC prove their old-school mastery without adding anything new to it; the tracks sink or swim depending on what the guest artist felt like bringing to the studio that day."[23]

HipHopDX gave Crown Royal three and a half stars out of five, saying "Crown Royal is definitely not a classic but it does provide a few jams that many will really love."[24]

NME gave Crown Royal a 7 out of 10 rating: "Proves the emperors' new clothes can look just as solid as their old threads."[25] However, AllMusic rated the album only one and a half stars out of five: "Crown Royal spirals so recklessly into contrasting segments that it's easy to forget you are even listening to a Run-D.M.C. record. Lacking any discernible sense of direction or continuity, the once cutting-edge trio has seemingly lost touch with its original fan base."[26]

Track listing

Crown Royal – Standard edition[27]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."It's Over" (featuring Jermaine Dupri)
  • Joseph Simmons
  • LaMarquis Jefferson
  • Jermaine Dupri
  • Chris Davis
  • Carmine Coppola
  • Jefferson
  • Dupri
3:39
2."Queens Day" (featuring Nas and Prodigy of Mobb Deep)
4:17
3."Crown Royal"
  • Jam Master Jay
  • Allen
  • Run
3:13
4."Them Girls" (featuring Fred Durst)
  • Jam Master Jay
  • Allen
  • DJ Lethal
3:31
5."The School of Old" (featuring Kid Rock)
Kid Rock3:21
6."Take the Money and Run" (featuring Everlast)Steve Miller
3:48
7."Rock Show" (featuring Stephan Jenkins of Third Eye Blind)
  • Jenkins
  • Jason Carmer
3:14
8."Here We Go 2001" (featuring Sugar Ray)
3:21
9."Ahhh" (featuring Chris Davis)
  • Joseph Simmons
  • Mizell
  • Allen
  • Davis
  • Jam Master Jay
  • Allen
4:20
10."Let's Stay Together (Together Forever)" (featuring Jagged Edge)
  • Dupri
  • Jefferson
3:18
11."Ay Papi" (featuring Fat Joe)
  • Jam Master Jay
  • Allen
3:15
12."Simmons Incorporated" (featuring Method Man)
  • Joseph Simmons
  • McDaniels
  • Mizell
  • Allen
  • Davis
  • Smith
  • Clifford Smith
  • Kenneth James Cook
  • Mike Ransom
  • Jamel Simmons
  • Jam Master Jay
  • Allen
  • Run
4:26
Total length:43:43
Crown Royal – Japanese edition (bonus track)[28]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Walk This Way" (Run DMC Vs. Jason Nevins remix)
3:59
Total length:47:42

Charts

Weekly chart performance for Crown Royal
Chart (2001) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[29] 48
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[30] 51
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[31] 39
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[32] 40
US Billboard 200[33] 37
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[34] 22

References

  1. ↑ "Run DMC: Crown Royal, PopMatters". April 2, 2001.
  2. 1 2 "Entertainment Weekly: Crown Royal by David Browne (April 06, 2001)". ew.com. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  3. 1 2 "Run DMC - Crown Royal". HipHopDX. Archived from the original on July 21, 2009. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  4. ↑ "Surviving Run-DMC members retire group (November 6, 2002)". cnn.com. Archived from the original on November 5, 2007. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  5. ↑ "Billboard Magazine (September 18, 1999)" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  6. ↑ "Billboard Magazine (May 13, 2000)" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  7. ↑ "STAR-PACKED RUN-D.M.C. ALBUM DUE IN FEBRUARY". mtv.com. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  8. ↑ "Billboard Magazine (December 9, 2000)" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Gavin Report Magazine (March 2, 2001)" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  10. ↑ "Album "Crown Royal" (Posted on 03. April 2001)". rundmc.de. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  11. ↑ "Run-D.M.C. Feat. Method Man – The Beginning (No Further Delay) (1998)". discogs.com. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  12. ↑ "Run-D.M.C. - Crown Royal / Queens Day (1999)". discogs.com. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  13. ↑ "Crown Royal by Run-D.M.C." Metacritic. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  14. ↑ Allmusic review
  15. ↑ Seems like a tarted-up version of 1986's Raising Hell.... This is for diehard fans only. [#154, p.87]
  16. ↑ Browne, David (April 6, 2001). "Crown Royal". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  17. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (April 6, 2001). "Pop CD releases". The Guardian. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  18. ↑ NME.COM (September 12, 2005). "Run DMC : Crown Royal - NME.COM". NME. Archived from the original on July 7, 2001. Retrieved April 3, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  19. ↑ Richard-San, Mark. "Run-DMC - Crown Royal". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on June 16, 2001. Retrieved May 1, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  20. ↑ "Q MAGAZINE'S SCORES". Metacritic. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  21. ↑ Rolling Stone review
  22. ↑ Frere-Jones, Sasha (March 2001). "Reviews". Spin. SPIN Media LLC. 17 (3). Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  23. ↑ "Rolling Stone. Run-D.M.C. - Crown Royal - Album review by Rob Sheffield (February 20, 2001) - page 78". rollingstone.com. February 20, 2001. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  24. ↑ "Run DMC - Crown Royal - Album review by DX Staff (March 6, 2001)". rollingstone.com. March 6, 2001. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  25. ↑ "Run DMC : Crown Royal (April 5, 2001) - page 43". nme.com. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  26. ↑ "Run DMC : Crown Royal - Album Review by Matt Conaway". allmusic.com. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  27. ↑ Crown Royal (CD liner notes). Run-DMC. Arista Records. 2001. 07822-16400-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  28. ↑ Crown Royal (CD liner notes). Run-DMC. Arista Records. 2001. BVCA-21079.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  29. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Run DMC – Crown Royal". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
  30. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Run DMC – Crown Royal" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
  31. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Run DMC – Crown Royal" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
  32. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Run DMC – Crown Royal". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
  33. ↑ "Run-DMC Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
  34. ↑ "Run-DMC Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
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