All American (Hoodie Allen album)

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All American is the debut EP by American hip hop artist Hoodie Allen.[1] It was released on April 10, 2012 and debuted at #1 on the iTunes "Top Albums" chart. "No Interruption" is the first single off the album.[2]

Background

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On March 4, 2012, Hoodie announced via Twitter that his upcoming EP would be titled All American.[3] He decided on this title because he credits his success to America, because he felt the songs showcased his best music to date, and because of a hometown restaurant with the same title. Hoodie spent five months developing the album, building tracks from scratch with his producer, RJF, instead of using sampled beats.[1] Regarding the writing process, Hoodie states that "I would describe it as liberating... It was like, 'Okay, I hear this idea in my head, I hear these original ideas, [and] I'm putting them and piecing them together.'"[1] On March 29, 2012, Hoodie released the first single from All American entitled "No Interruption."[2] The music video was posted to YouTube and was featured on the front page the same day. As of July 21, it has gained more than 10 million views.[4]

Release and promotion

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The night before the album's release, Hoodie announced that he would personally call every fan that buys the album.[5] All American was released on April 10, 2012 and debuted as the No. 1 album on iTunes. [6] Following the rapid success of the EP, Hoodie released the music video for his second single, "No Faith in Brooklyn" which features Jhameel, as a gift to his fans. Over the months of April and May, Hoodie made a 22-stop tour across the US in support of All American, featuring Wax, Jared Evan, and others varying from show to show.[7] On March 23, 2012, Hoodie hinted at an upcoming announcement of a "UK tour for June," and officially announced the four dates on April 19 via Facebook.[8] The "I Work Better in the UK Tour" was his first time performing overseas.

Commercial performance

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In the United States, All American debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard 200 with 28,000 copies sold in its first week.[9]

Tracklist

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No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Lucky Man"
  • Steven Markowitz
  • Teddy Rosenthal
Roxpin2:45
2."No Interruption"
  • Markowitz
  • RJ Ferguson
  • Carlos St John
  • Grant Michaels
  • Amir Salem
  • Natalie Warner
  • Ferguson
  • WNDRBRD
3:35
3."Eighteen Cool"
  • Markowitz
  • Jason Weiss
Jay Vice3:28
4."Top of the World"
  • Markowitz
  • Rosenthal
  • Ferguson
  • Roxpin
  • Ferguson
3:32
5."No Faith in Brooklyn" (featuring Jhameel)
  • Markowitz
  • Ferguson
Ferguson3:21
6."Small Town"Markowitz 3:34
7."High Again"
  • Markowitz
  • Ferguson
Ferguson3:30
8."Ain't Gotta Work"
  • Markowitz
  • Ferguson
Ferguson3:28
Total length:27:13

Personnel

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  • Hoodie Allen - composer, vocals
  • RJF - composer, producer
  • Grant "WNDRBRD" Michaels - composer, producer
  • Teddy "Roxpin" Rosenthal - composer, producer
  • Jay Vice - composer, producer
  • Carlos St John - composer
  • Amir Salem - composer
  • Natalie Warner - composer, vocals
  • DJ Fresh Direct - engineer, mixing tracks 1, 2, 4, 7
  • Mike Roberts - mixing tracks 3, 5, 6, 8
  • Chris Gehringer - mastering
  • Will Quinnell - mastering assistant
  • Frans Mernick - engineer
  • Pran Bandi - engineer
  • Chris Leon - engineer
  • Dennis Drummond - guitar
  • Spencer Stewart - bass
  • Ben Alleman - piano, organ, synthesizer
  • Nick Toyne - backing vocals
  • Jhameel - vocals

Chart performance

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Chart (2012) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[10] 10
Canadian Albums Chart 16
UK Albums Chart 64

References

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  1. ^ a b c Cubarrubia, R.J. Hoodie Allen Goes Pro With Debut EP, 'All American'. Billboard. April 10, 2012.
  2. ^ a b Hoodie Allen – “No Interruption” Video. The Smoking Section. March 29, 2012.
  3. ^ Hoodie Allen. Twitter. March 5, 2012.
  4. ^ No Interruption on YouTube
  5. ^ Allen, Hoodie (April 9, 2012). "This is a letter to all my fans..." Facebook.
  6. ^ Gamboa, Glenn. Hoodie Allen has iTunes No. 1 album. Newsday.
  7. ^ Allen, Hoodie (March 7, 2012). "The All American Tour: With Wax". Facebook.
  8. ^ Allen, Hoodie (April 19, 2012). "Huge news! Touring in the UK". Facebook.
  9. ^ Caulfield, Keith (April 18, 2012). "Lionel Richie's 'Tuskegee' Hits No. 1 on Billboard 200". Billboard.
  10. ^ Caulfield, Keith. Lionel Richie's 'Tuskegee' Album Hits No. 1 On Billboard 200. The Hollywood Reporter. April 19, 2012.