Black Ben Carson (stylized in all lowercase)[1] is the debut studio album by American rapper JPEGMafia. It was self-released on February 15, 2016.[1][2] The album was supported by the three singles "You Think You Know",[3] "I Smell Crack"[4] and "Digital Blackface".[5] Black Ben Carson was named after the only black 2016 presidential candidate Ben Carson, who was running Republican.[6]
| Black Ben Carson | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 15, 2016 | |||
| Recorded | 2014–16[1] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 1:13:15 | |||
| Label | Republic Records | |||
| Producer | ||||
| JPEGMafia chronology | ||||
| ||||
The album is split into two sides; Side A being "hip hop in its rawest form – loud, angry, political, and self-aware" and Side B with a more introspective, mellow and calm sound.[2]
The album was originally released with a different cover art in 2016, but was later (2020) removed and replaced with a new mix of the album, with many differences from the original. It includes all of the instrumentals for each track, making the re-release 38 tracks and 146 minutes long, as compared to the original's 19 tracks and 73 minute runtime. These instrumental tracks had unusual titles, like "bbc" for the "Black Ben Carson" instrumental, and "uncured bacon" for the "I Just Killed A Cop Now I'm Horny" instrumental. These titles were then replaced with "*song title* (Instrumental)" in January 2021 on all streaming platforms.
Black Ben Carson was named the best Baltimore album of 2016 by the Baltimore City Paper.[7]
On May 16, 2023, Black Ben Carson was re-released with the cover art used for the original release, on streaming platforms. On Bandcamp, the cover art is of JPEGMafia performing. On streaming platforms, there is a separate release of Black Ben Carson with all tracks and all instrumentals.
Track listing edit
All tracks are produced and written by JPEGMafia.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Drake Era" | 3:57 |
| 2. | "All Caps No Spaces" | 4:06 |
| 3. | "Digital Blackface" | 3:43 |
| 4. | "Cuck" | 2:48 |
| 5. | "I Smell Crack" | 2:23 |
| 6. | "You Think You Know" | 3:23 |
| 7. | "Motor Mouth" | 4:26 |
| 8. | "Black Ben Carson" | 4:02 |
| 9. | "Black Steve Austin" | 2:18 |
| 10. | "Black Stacey Dash" | 2:52 |
| 11. | "What's Crackin'" | 4:58 |
| 12. | "I Just Killed a Cop Now I'm Horny" | 5:53 |
| 13. | "Plastic" | 3:04 |
| 14. | "Boi" (featuring Butch Dawson) | 4:29 |
| 15. | "The 27 Club" | 3:56 |
| 16. | "Face Down Ass Up" (featuring Bito Sureiya, Kente of Nasa8, and Freaky) | 4:29 |
| 17. | "This That Shit Kid Cudi Coulda Been" (featuring Toyomansi) | 4:07 |
| 18. | "2015 Was a Great Year" | 2:50 |
| 19. | "Try Me" | 4:55 |
| Total length: | 1:13:15 | |
Notes
- On streaming platforms, "Cuck" is stylized in all caps.
- On streaming platforms and Bandcamp, "Black Steve Austin" is reverted to the old mixing, like the original release.
- On Bandcamp, all song titles stylized in lowercase, except "All Caps No Spaces", stylized in all caps.
- There are 3 tracks that are not included on streaming services and on Bandcamp, those being "Flex The Connect", "LL Cool J", and "Jerrys".
Notes edit
References edit
- ^ a b "JPEGMAFIA – Black Ben Carson". Bandcamp. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
- ^ a b Kramer, Kyle (15 February 2016). "JPEGMAFIA's New Album 'Black Ben Carson' Is Going to Heal, Inspire, and Revive America". Vice. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
- ^ Weigel, Brandon (7 December 2015). "JPEGMAFIA releases video for 'You Think You Know'". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
- ^ JPEGMAFIA - I Smell Crack [Music Video]. JPEGMAFIA. 3 February 2016. Archived from the original on 14 March 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023 – via YouTube.
- ^ JPEGMAFIA - Digital Blackface. JPEGMAFIA. 15 February 2016. Archived from the original on 23 November 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2023 – via YouTube.
- ^ Gillespie, Blake (2016). "JPEGMAFIA, Black Ben Carson (Interview)". Impose Magazine. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
- ^ "Top Ten Baltimore Albums of 2016". Baltimore Sun. 21 December 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
- ^ "INTERVIEW: AFROPUNK contributor Lightning Pill virtually sits down with rapper/producer/beatmaker JPEGMAFIA". Afropunk. 7 March 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
- ^ "Devon Hendryx - The Rockwood Escape Plan". Bandcamp. Retrieved 8 January 2021.