Flockaveli

Flockaveli
Studio album by Waka Flocka Flame
Released	October 5, 2010
Recorded	2008–2010
Genre	Southern hip hop, crunk
Length	72:00
Label	1017 Brick Squad, Warner Bros., Asylum
Producer	Waka Flocka Flame (exec.), Tay Beatz (also exec.), Boss-N' Beatz, Drumma Boy, Joey French, Lex Luger, L-Don Beatz, Mouse, Cedric "Yayo" Herbert, SouthSide, Prince-n-Purpz, Lil Jon, NIKO
Waka Flocka Flame chronology
Flockaveli (2010) Ferrari Boyz (2011)
Singles from Flockaveli
"O Let's Do It" Released: December 25, 2009 "Hard in da Paint" Released: June 15, 2010 "No Hands" Released: August 17, 2010 "Grove St. Party" Released: February 15, 2011[1]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
BBC Online	(favorable)[3]
Cokemachineglow	82%[4]
NME	(9/10)[5]
Pitchfork Media	(8.0/10)[6]
PopMatters	(6/10)[7]
RapReviews	(7.5/10)[8]
Rolling Stone	[9]
Spin	(7/10)[10]
The Village Voice	(favorable)[11]

Flockaveli is the debut studio album by American rapper Waka Flocka Flame, released on October 5, 2010, by 1017 Brick Squad Records, Warner Bros. Records and Asylum Records. The name of the album comes from the Italian political theorist Machiavelli,^[12] inspired by Tupac Shakur, whose final stage name and pseudonym before his death was Makaveli.

Singles

The first single off the album was "O Let's Do It". Lil Capp is uncredited for his verse on "O Let's Do It" on the single but credited on the album. "O Let's Do It" peaked at number sixty-two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. The official remix was released and features rappers Diddy, Rick Ross and Gucci Mane, the song was produced by L-Don Beatz. The second single released was "Hard in da Paint", produced by Lex Luger. A music video was released in July. The official remix features American R&B singer Ciara and Gucci Mane. Hard in da Paint has peaked at number twenty-nine on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs chart.^[13] The third single "No Hands", which features Roscoe Dash and Wale, produced by Drumma Boy was released as the third single on August 17, 2010.^[14][15] It peaked at number thirteen on the Billboard Hot 100, making it his highest charting single. "Grove St. Party", which features Kebo Gotti, was released as the fourth single on February 15, 2011^[1] It has charted number seventy-four on the Billboard Hot 100, number twelve on the U.S. Billboard R&B chart, and number ten on the U.S. Billboard Rap chart.^[16]'

There are also music videos for the songs "Snake In the Grass" featuring Cartier Kitten,^[17] "Bustin' at Em",^[18] "For My Dawgs",^[19] and "Live By the Gun" featuring RA Diggs and Uncle Murda.^[20] On October 18, 2010, Waka Flocka Flame performed "Smoke, Drank" live on high-definition TV at the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood.^[21]

Reception

The album debuted at number six on the US Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 37,000 copies in the United States.^[22] As of August 15, 2011, it has sold 285,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.^[23]

Flockaveli received generally positive reviews from music critics.^[24] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 75, based on 9 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".^[24] Jaimie Hodgson of NME commented that the album's songs "showcase a masterclass in reductionism; juggernauts of hulking, bruising, brick-to-skull intensity".^[5] BBC Online's Louis Pattison praised Waka Flocka Flame's "cold charisma", writing that "it’s channelled successfully here, a presence that permeates Flockaveli utterly".^[3] Despite viewing its guest verses as flaws, Ben Detrick of Spin complimented its "unforgiving crush of unveiled threats over ricocheting drums and choleric synths" and called Waka "more agitator than rapper—imagine DJ Kool as an unhinged goon with a fetish for brawling and gunfire".^[10] Sean Fennessey of The Village Voice called producer Lex Luger "a force whose tinnitus-inducing tracks demand replay" and wrote in conclusion "Ultimately, the inflammatory Waka is an avatar for a new rap economy: few words delivered with force, with an eye to the stage and the check that arrives with it".^[11] Pitchfork Media's David Drake gave the album an eight out of 10 rating and described it as "a furious torrent of gangsta rap id".^[6] Drake praised Waka for giving the album its "frenetic intensity" and commented on his style's significance, stating:

Each track gives a new perspective on the same basic archetype, reducing gangsta rap to its building blocks: hypermasculine children of the drug trade, reckless fatalism, intensity, and physicality. [...] Waka's aggression is the survivalist reaction of the powerless, directed toward the threats of the immediate environment. He knows his strengths and he plays to them, exactingly.^[6]

—David Drake

Allmusic editor David Jeffries noted his style as "love-him-or-hate-him", but wrote that "Flockaveli has enough hooks and attitude to keep those bottles poppin' all night long".^[2] Rolling Stone writer Jody Rosen found his skills "negligible", but stated "Flockaveli is hypnotic, focusing attention on the details beneath the bombast".^[9] Patrick Taylor of RapReviews called Waka "a blunt instrument that beats you into submission", and stated "On an intellectual level, I don't like 'Flockaveli.' The lyrics are simplistic and goonish. The music is effective but all sounds the same. If I was looking for an example of what hip-hop should be, it's not Waka Flocka Flame. On a gut level, though, 'Flockaveli' works. It's morally questionable, but it hits hard".^[8] David Amidon of PopMatters described it as "a producer classic littered with verses so whack they become endearing in their special way", adding that Luger "pulls that special kind of synergy unique to hip-hop out of [Waka] again and again".^[7] Amidon wrote of its cultural significance, "This is a very specific album intended for a specific audience: downtrodden, powerless, forever seeking payment, pussy and freedom from the powers that be but in the process of accepting they may never find that experience. This is strictly hood music [...] it’s been a very long time since a hip-hop release felt like it truly didn’t give a fuck about anything but its local community while pushing its genre forward as much as possible".^[7]

Track listing

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Bustin' at 'Em"	Lex Luger, Joshua "SouthSide" Luellen (co)	4:03
2.	"Hard in da Paint"	Lex Luger	4:06
3.	"TTG (Trained to Go)" (featuring French Montana, YG Hootie, Joe Moses, Suge Gotti & Baby Bomb)	Lex Luger	5:05
4.	"Bang" (featuring YG Hootie & Slim Dunkin)	Lex Luger, Tay Beatz (co)	4:23
5.	"No Hands" (featuring Roscoe Dash & Wale)	Drumma Boy	4:22
6.	"Bricksquad" (featuring Gudda Gudda)	Lex Luger	3:57
7.	"Fuck the Club Up" (featuring Pastor Troy & Slim Dunkin)	Joshua "SouthSide" Luellen	4:39
8.	"Homies" (featuring YG Hootie, Popa Smurf & Ice Burgandy)	Prince n' Purps	4:54
9.	"Grove St. Party" (featuring Kebo Gotti)	Lex Luger	4:10
10.	"O Let's Do It" (featuring Lil' Capp)	L-Don Beatz	4:08
11.	"Karma" (featuring YG Hootie, Popa Smurf & Slim Dunkin)	Lex Luger	3:52
12.	"Live by the Gun" (featuring RA Diggs & Uncle Murda)	Lex Luger	4:09
13.	"For My Dawgs"	Cedric "Yayo" Herbert	3:21
14.	"G-Check" (featuring YG Hootie, Bo Deal & Joe Moses)	Lex Luger	4:18
15.	"Snake in the Grass" (featuring Cartier Kitten)	Lex Luger	2:58
16.	"Smoke, Drank" (featuring Bo Deal, Mouse & Kebo Gotti)	Lil Jon, NIKO (co)	4:32
17.	"Fuck This Industry"	Lex Luger	5:09

Bonus tracks
No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
18.	"Rumors"	Joey French	3:29
19.	"Gun Sounds"	Joshua "SouthSide" Luellen	3:36

Personnel

Credits for Flockaveli adapted from Allmusic.^[25]

Debra Antney – A&R, executive producer Russell Dreyer – inside photo Drumma Boy – producer Cedric "Yayo" Herbert – producer Darryl "Big Dee" Johnson – A&R Liza Joseph – A&R L Don – producer Colin Leonard – mastering Lexus "Lex Luger" Lewis – producer Lil Jon – producer Joshua "Southside" Luellen – producer

Juaquin Malphurs – executive producer Amir Motamedi – producer Nathaniel Caserta AKA Prince N. Purps – producer Mike Rev – cover design TaVon Sampson – art direction, design Sharod Simpson – cover photo Nigel Talley – A&R Carolyn Tracey – package production Waka Flocka Flame – A&R Finis "KY" White – engineer, mixing

Charts

Chart (2010)[26]	Peak position
US Billboard 200	6
US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums	2
US Billboard Top Rap Albums	2

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Urban/UAC Future Releases | R&B, Hip Hop, Release Schedule and Street Dates |". Allaccess.com. http://www.allaccess.com/urban/future-releases. Retrieved 2011-05-11. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Allmusic Review". http://www.allmusic.com/album/flockaveli-r1967282. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "BBC Review". http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/86cg. 
4. ^ McGowan, Colin (November 29, 2010). "Waka Flocka Flame: Flockaveli (1017 Brick Squad/Warner Bros./Asylum; 2010)". Cokemachineglow. http://www.cokemachineglow.com/record_review/5750/wakaflockaflame-flockaveli-2010. Retrieved August 1, 2011. 
5. ^ ^{a b} "NME Review". http://www.nme.com/reviews/waka-flocka-flame/12022. 
6. ^ ^{a b c} "Pitchfork Review". http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14771-flockaveli. 
7. ^ ^{a b c} "PopMatters Review". http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/133051-waka-flocka-flame-flockaveli/. 
8. ^ ^{a b} "RapReviews Review". http://www.rapreviews.com/archive/2011_01_wakaflockaveli.html. 
9. ^ ^{a b} "Rolling Stone Review". http://www.rollingstone.com/music/reviews/album/45342/225750. 
10. ^ ^{a b} "SPINReview". http://www.spin.com/reviews/waka-flocka-flame-flockaveli-asylumwarner-bros. 
11. ^ ^{a b} Fennessey, Sean (October 6, 2010). Review: Flockaveli. The Village Voice. Retrieved on 2010-10-17.
12. ^ "Album Preview: Waka Flocka Flame's "Flockaveli" | Complex Blog". Complex.com. 2010-09-17. http://www.complex.com/blog_galleries/album-preview-waka-flocka-flame-flockaveli/. Retrieved 2010-09-27. 
13. ^ "Hard in da Paint - Single by Waka Flocka Flame". Itunes.apple.com. 2010-06-14. http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/hard-in-da-paint-single/id375645831. Retrieved 2010-09-27. 
14. ^ "®R&R :: Going For Adds™ :: Urban". Gfa.radioandrecords.com. 2010-08-17. http://gfa.radioandrecords.com/publishGFA/GFANextPage.asp?sDate=08/17/2010&Format=5. Retrieved 2010-09-27. 
15. ^ "New Music: Waka Flocka Ft. Wale x Roscoe Dash "No Hands"". Rap Radar. 2010-08-15. http://rapradar.com/2010/08/15/new-music-waka-flocka-ft-wale-x-roscoe-dash-no-hands/. Retrieved 2010-09-27. 
16. ^ http://www.billboard.com/#/song/waka-flocka-flame-featuring-kebo-gotti/grove-st-party/24829541
17. ^ "Waka Flocka Flame - Snakes In The Grass music video". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56WXVEMF3eU. Retrieved 2011-05-11. 
18. ^ "Канал користувача wakaflocka1017". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/user/wakaflocka1017#p/u/1/0OpjWLPDNRw. Retrieved 2011-05-11. 
19. ^ "Waka Flocka Flame - "For My Dawgs"". YouTube. 2010-09-16. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J86GAN2zx10&feature=related. Retrieved 2011-05-11. 
20. ^ "Waka Flocka Flame - Live By The Gun feat. Ra Diggs & Uncle Murder (link in description". YouTube. 2010-07-10. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SP2MeG95-Ko&feature=related. Retrieved 2011-05-11. 
21. ^ http://music.bec0de.com/search/waka+flocka+drink/1/video
22. ^ Jacobs, Allen (2010-10-13). "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 10/10/2010 | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales". HipHop DX. http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.12585/title.hip-hop-album-sales-the-week-ending-10-10-2010. Retrieved 2011-05-11. 
23. ^ http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/introducing-the-king-of-hip-hop-20110815?page=2
24. ^ ^{a b} Flockaveli Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2011-05-02.
25. ^ Flockaveli - Waka Flocka Flame: Credits. Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2011-08-01.
26. ^ Flockaveli - Waka Flocka Flame. Billboard. Retrieved 2011-08-01.

External links

• Official website
• Flockaveli at Discogs
• Flockaveli at Metacritic