From Where???
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| Los Angeles Times | |
| Muzik | |
| RapReviews | 7/10 |
| The Source |
From Where??? is the debut studio album by American hip hop artist Mad Skillz. It was released on February 13, 1996, via Big Beat/Atlantic Records. Originally scheduled for a September 5, 1995 release. Recording sessions took place at Battery Studios, Unique Recording Studios, Quad Studios and Soundtrack Studios in New York City. Production was handled by Mad Skillz, Buckwild, Shawn J. Period, J Dilla, DJ Clark Kent, EZ Elpee, Large Professor, Nick Wiz, and the Beatnuts, with Rob "Reef" Tewlow serving as executive producer. It features guest appearances from Kalonji the Immortal, Dr. Mindbenda, Javon the Medieval, Large Professor, Lil' Roc, Lonnie B and Q-Tip. The album peaked at number 154 on the Billboard 200, number 18 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and number 5 on the Heatseekers Albums chart in the United States.
The album was praised for its strong lyrical content and production, however, suffered from low sales, possibly due to being released the same day as 2Pac's All Eyez on Me and the Fugees's The Score. The singles "The Nod Factor" and "Move Ya Body" received moderate radio and video airplay.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "From Where??? (Intro)" | Mad Skillz | 1:21 | |
| 2. | "It's Goin' Down" | Donnie LewisJames Yancey | Jay Dee | 4:02 |
| 3. | "The Nod Factor" | LewisLester FernandezJohn WatsonHarry Reynolds | The Beatnuts | 3:58 |
| 4. | "VA. In the House" | LewisAnthony Best | Buckwild | 4:33 |
| 5. | "Tongues of the Next Shit" (featuring Kalonji The Immortal) | LewisKalonji Coleman | Mad Skillz | 4:22 |
| 6. | "Doin' Time In the Cypha" | LewisBestWilliam AllenRoy AyersPhilip Woo | Buckwild | 4:15 |
| 7. | "Tip of the Tongue" | LewisNick Loizides | Nick Wiz | 3:51 |
| 8. | "Extra Abstract Skillz" (featuring Large Professor and Q-Tip) | LewisWilliam Paul MitchellJonathan Davis | Large Professor | 3:14 |
| 9. | "WMAD (Interlude)" | 1:08 | ||
| 10. | "Get Your Groove On" | LewisBest | Buckwild | 4:42 |
| 11. | "The Jam" | LewisYancey | Jay Dee | 4:18 |
| 12. | "Move Ya Body" | LewisRodolfo FranklinJeffrey OsborneBarry Eastmond | DJ Clark Kent | 3:58 |
| 13. | "Street Rules" | LewisShawn M. Jones | Shawn J Period | 4:28 |
| 14. | "All In It" | LewisJones | Shawn J Period | 4:26 |
| 15. | "Unseen World" (featuring Lonnie B, Kalonji The Immortal, Dr. Mindbenda, Lil' Roc and Javon The Medieval) | LewisLonnie BattleColemanD. BarbourAhmed RahmanJ. WestLamont Porter | EZ Elpee | 4:51 |
| 16. | "Inherit the World" | LewisJones | Shawn J Period | 4:21 |
| Total length: | 1:01:48 |
Sample credits
- Track 3 contains elements from "Superman Lover" performed by Johnny "Guitar" Watson
- Track 12 contains elements from "Only Human" performed by Jeffrey Osborne
Personnel
- Donnie "Mad Skillz" Lewis – vocals (tracks: 2–16), producer (tracks: 1, 5), mixing (tracks: 1–11, 13–16)
- Kalonji Coleman – vocals (tracks: 5, 15)
- Jonathan "Q-Tip" Davis – vocals (track 8)
- Lonnie Battle – vocals (track 15)
- Dr. Mindbenda – vocals (track 15)
- Ahmed "Lil' Roc" Rahman – vocals (track 15)
- Javon The Medieval – vocals (track 15)
- Anthony "Roc Raida" Williams – scratches (track 2)
- Lester "Psycho Les" Fernandez – scratches & producer (track 3)
- Diallo Malbrough Moss – horns programming (track 5)
- Andrew Smith – keyboard bass (track 7)
- Joseph "DJ Riz" Rizzo – scratches (tracks: 14, 16)
- James "J Dilla" Yancey – producer & mixing (tracks: 2, 11)
- Anthony "Buckwild" Best – producer & mixing (tracks: 4, 6, 10)
- Nicholas "Nick Wiz" Loizides – producer & mixing (track 7)
- William "Large Professor" Mitchell – producer & mixing (track 8)
- Rodolfo "DJ Clark Kent" Franklin – producer & mixing (track 12)
- Shawn M. Jones – producer & mixing (tracks: 13, 14, 16)
- Lamont "Ez Elpee" Porter – producer & mixing (track 15)
- Rob "Reef" Tewlow – executive producer, A&R
- Tony Smalios – recording (tracks: 1, 2, 5, 10, 11, 13, 15), mixing (tracks: 1–3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 15)
- George Karras – recording (tracks: 3, 4, 7)
- Rich July – recording (tracks: 6, 14, 16), mixing (tracks: 14, 16)
- Troy Hightower – recording & mixing (track 8)
- Kenny Ortiz – recording & mixing (track 12)
- Tim Latham – mixing (tracks: 4, 6, 10)
- Tom Coyne – mastering
- Daniel Hastings – design, photography
- Miguel Rivera – design, photography
- Christian Cortes – design
- Glenn Orenstein – production coordinator
Charts
| Chart (1996) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 | 154 |
| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) | 18 |
| US Top Heatseekers (Billboard) | 5 |
Singles chart positions
| Year | Song | Chart positions | |||
| Billboard Hot 100 | Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | Hot Rap Singles | Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales | ||
| 1995 | "The Nod Factor" | — | #76 | #26 | #16 |
| 1996 | "Move Ya Body" | — | #85 | #27 | #8 |
External links
- at Discogs (list of releases)