Word Power (album)

For other uses, see Word Power (disambiguation).

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.

Word Power
Studio album by Divine Styler
Released	October 23, 1989
Genre	Hip hop
Length	53:59
Label	Rhyme $yndicate Epic
Producer	Ice-T (exec.) Bob Pfeifer (exec.) Bilal Bashir Divine Styler
Divine Styler chronology
Word Power (1989) Spiral Walls Containing Autumns of Light (1992)
Singles from Word Power
"Ain't Sayin Nothin/Tongue of Labyrinth" Released: 1989

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic

On this album, 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.

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
• Jorge Hinojosa – management
• 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)

External links

• Discogs page.
• A blog on the album, includes two songs from the album.