Word Power (album) - Misplaced Pages

Word Power is the debut album by American rapper and producer Divine Styler. It was released on October 23, 1989, on Ice-T's Rhyme $yndicate Records under Epic Records. The album peaked at No. 62 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The Scheme Team, a hip hop collective of Divine Styler, made their introduction on the record.

Divine rhymed about being proud of heritage (highlighted on "It's a Black Thing") and featured audio production handled by Bilal Bashir (who made later instrumentals for the likes of Everlast, Dr. Dre, and Ice Cube), who later re-released this album in instrumental form in 2005. The album produced the only lead single "Ain't Sayin' Nothin", featuring a scratch noise similar to the sound used in "Jump Around" and "Insane in the Brain". It peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Chicago Tribune

The Chicago Tribune called the album "exciting, and that isn't a word you can use to describe many recent rap releases."

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Introduction"	0:46
2.	"Free Styler"	5:17
3.	"Get Up on It"	4:40
4.	"The Last Black House on the Left"	6:45
5.	"It's a Black Thing"	5:09
6.	"Play It for Divine"	2:47
7.	"Koxistin U4ria"	3:40
8.	"Ain't Sayin' Nothin'"	4:16
9.	"Divinity Stylistics"	4:11
10.	"Tongue of Labyrinth"	5:23
11.	"In Divine Style"	1:46
12.	"Rain"	4:31
13.	"Word Power"	4:48
Total length:		53:59

Samples

"Introduction" sampled "Long Hot Summer Night" by Jimi Hendrix (1968) and "Sign of the Times" by Bob James (1981)
"Freestyler" sampled "Talkin' Loud and Sayin' Nothing" by James Brown (1972) and "I Know You Got Soul" by Bobby Byrd (1971)
"Get Up on It" sampled "Get Up, Get into It, Get Involved" by James Brown (1970), "Push It" by Salt-N-Pepa (1986) and "Soul Power 74" by Maceo Parker (1974)
"The Last Black House on the Left" sampled "Shut Up" by Moonfou (1987)
"It's a Black Thing" sampled "Pot Belly" by Lou Donaldson (1970), "Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud" by James Brown (1968) and "Good Old Music" by Funkadelic (1970)
"Play It for Divine" sampled "Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band" by Meco Monardo (1977), "Shorty Rides Again" by Eddie Harris & Les McCann (1971), "Scorpio" by Dennis Coffey & the Detroit Guitar Band (1971), "It's a New Day" by James Brown (1970) and "Get on the Good Foot" by James Brown (1972)
"Koxistin U4ria" sampled "I Can't Stop" by John Davis and the Monster Orchestra (1976)
"Ain't Sayin' Nothin" sampled "Shoot Your Shot" by Jr. Walker & the All Stars (1965), "Talkin' Loud and Sayin' Nothing" by James Brown (1972), "Shack Up" by Banbarra (1975), "If You Don't Get It the First Time, Back Up & Try It Again, Parrty" by Fred Wesley & the J.B.'s (1974) and "Nuthin'" by Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew (1986)
"Divinity Stylistics" sampled "Superfly" by Curtis Mayfield (1972)
"Tongue of Labyrinth" sampled "Din Daa Daa (Trommeltanz)" by George Kranz (1983) and "UFO" by ESG (1981)
"Rain" sampled "Skylarking (Studio One Version)" by Horace Andy (1969) and "Ring the Alarm" by Tenor Saw (1985)
"Word Power" sampled "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye (1971)

Personnel

Bilal Bashir – producer, scratches
Lawrence A. Duhart – co-producer, recording, mixing
Glen E. Friedman – photography
Tracy Lauren Marrow – executive producer
Robert Joseph Pfeifer – executive producer
Mark Richardson – main artist, producer
Tony Sellari – design, art direction
Otis Olivier Lyjasu Williams – featured artist (tracks 11-12)

References

Freeman, Phil, ed. (2007). Marooned: The Next Generation of Desert Island Discs. Da Capo Press. p. 71.
Tompkins, Dave (January 1999). "Reviews". Spin. Vol. 15, no. 1. p. 115.
"Divine Styler - Chart history | Billboard". www.billboard.com. 1990.
"Word Power Divine Styler". AllMusic.
^ Tanzilo, Robert (December 21, 1989). "Rave Recordings". Chicago Tribune. p. 15E.

External links

Categories: