Jump to content

Devil's Night (album)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Devil's Night
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 19, 2001
Recorded1999–2001
Studio
  • 54 Sound (Ferndale, Michigan)
  • Record One (Los Angeles)
  • Vanguard (Detroit)
Genre
Length75:21
Label
Producer
D12 chronology
The Underground EP
(1996)
Devil's Night
(2001)
D12 World
(2004)
Singles from Devil's Night
  1. "Shit on You"
    Released: December 5, 2000
  2. "Purple Pills"
    Released: June 5, 2001
  3. "Ain't Nuttin' but Music"
    Released: October 2, 2001
  4. "Fight Music"
    Released: November 27, 2001

Devil's Night is the debut studio album by American hip-hop supergroup D12. It was released on June 19, 2001, by Shady Records and Interscope Records. It was also the first album to be released on Shady Records, although the label had been active since 1999. Production was primarily handled by Eminem and Dr. Dre, with contributions by Mr. Porter, DJ Head, and Jeff Bass. The album features guest appearances by Obie Trice, Truth Hurts, and Dina Rae.

Devil's Night received mixed reviews from critics but was a commercial success, debuting at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 372,000 album sales in its first week. The album was supported by three singles: "Purple Pills", "Ain't Nuttin' But Music", and "Fight Music".

Background

[edit]

The album was executive produced by Eminem, who had released his hugely successful third studio album, The Marshall Mathers LP, a year earlier. The album's title comes from the Devil's Night tradition, recognized in and around Detroit in which abandoned homes are set ablaze. This practice was so popular in Detroit that it was depicted in the film 8 Mile. The group recorded Devil's Night in memory of Bugz, who was killed in May 1999 just hours prior to a concert.

The song "Revelation" parodies "Another Brick in the Wall Part 2", where there are kids screaming and Eminem shouting "Wrong! Do it again!" and "If you don't eat yer meat, you can't have any pudding! You can't have any pudding if you don't eat yer meat!". During the chorus, Eminem also raps: "I don't wanna go to school, I don't need no education".

Release and promotion

[edit]

The album produced three singles: "Purple Pills", "Ain't Nuttin' But Music", and "Fight Music". The single "Shit on You" was also included as a bonus track on limited edition copies of the album. The album features two songs with disses aimed at Limp Bizkit, one a subtle reference in "Pistol Pistol" by Bizarre and another a hidden track by Eminem called "Girls", which is a diss track aimed at Limp Bizkit, DJ Lethal, Dilated Peoples, and Everlast. The album's cover depicts a matchbook on fire with the groups "D12" logo superimposed on it.

In August 2001, while on promotion for the album, D12 and Esham were kicked off the Warped Tour after members of the group allegedly physically attacked Esham over the lyrics of his song "Chemical Imbalance", which contained a reference to Eminem's daughter. Eminem was not present during the tour.

Censored material

[edit]

On the censored version of the album, alternate versions of "Purple Pills" and "Fight Music" were included, entitled "Purple Hills" and "Flight Music". "Shit Can Happen", "Pistol Pistol", and "Pimp Like Me", were also edited, removing the offensive content from their titles. The "Dirty Edition" was available in both Europe and the United Kingdom. However, some versions swap the running order, making "Shit on You" track three and "These Drugs" track one. The rare censored version of the album did not remove all expletives, as words like "ass", "asshole", "faggot", "nigga", "pussy", "hoe", "whore", "slut", "tits", "nuts" and "goddamn" were permissible on the album, as well as most sex references.”Fuck”, “bitch” and “shit” as well as most violence and heavy drug use are removed on the edited version. The physical copies of the clean version mistakenly list "Girls" as the 18th track after "Revelation", even though "Girls" was not supposed to be listed on the back cover at all.

Commercial performance

[edit]

The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, with approximately 371,881 copies sold during the first week of release.[2] It re-entered the number one spot in its third week of release with approximately 173,956 copies sold, overtaking Alicia Keys' Songs in A Minor by just 306 copies.[3] Ultimately, the album was certified platinum by a two-week stay at number one and twenty-two weeks on the chart overall.[4]

The album debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart, with approximately 57,967 copies sold during the first week of release. Ultimately, the album was certified platinum; total sales of the album stand at 436,977 as of December 2017.[5]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic58/100[6]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
Christgau's Consumer GuideC[8]
Dotmusic4/10[9]
Entertainment WeeklyC[10]
HipHopDX[11]
NME7/10[12]
Q[13]
RapReviews7.5/10[14]
Rolling Stone[15]
The Source[16]

Devil's Night was met with mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 58 based on 11 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[6]

Nathan Brackett of Rolling Stone wrote: "If the Slim Shady and Marshall Mathers albums were slapstick trips into one man's psychosis - like the Marx Brothers starring in Taxi Driver - then Devil's Night is Friday the 13th by the Farrelly brothers [...] with results varying from silly to just dumb". The reviewer, however, felt that the album's redeeming qualities lied in the album's production and Eminem's lyricism, describing the album's high points as "some of the most accomplished hip-hop we'll hear this year".[15] Jason Birchmeier of AllMusic highlighted "remarkable production" and Eminem's "songwriting genius on several of the song's hooks", who "bring[s] a catchy pop-rap approach to hardcore lyrics."[7] Q Magazine described Devil's Night as "a slightly tweaked re-run of The Marshall Mathers LP, with a couple of stonking singles."[13] NME's Ted Kessler called the album "Eminem's most misogynistic, homophobic, violent and anally fixated trip to date". "Like all his work it's offensive, defensive and, somehow, still quite charming", he added.[12] Shaheem Reid, in his review for The Source, found some of the lyrics to be funny, but thought the themes used throughout the album get repetitive. Despite that, he commended the group's "wild word play".[16]

Despite mixed reviews, the album gained a strong following after its release. Denaun Porter stated in a 2020 interview that he is really pleased with the project: "That album, man, when I think about it, there wasn’t a lot of skippers on that album. It was really well put together."[17] On June 18, 2021, in celebration of the album's 20th anniversary, an "Expanded Edition" was released, which contains all three songs from the album's Limited Edition bonus disc along with a new track, "Freestyle", four new instrumentals, and an acapella version of "Shit On You".[18]

Awards and nominations

[edit]
Year Ceremony Award Result
2002 ECHO Awards Best Hip-Hop/Urban Artist (International) Won

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Another Public Service Announcement" (intro)  0:49
2."Shit Can Happen"Denaun Porter4:52
3."Pistol Pistol"
5:22
4."Bizarre" (skit)  1:12
5."Nasty Mind" (featuring Truth Hurts)
Dr. Dre4:43
6."Ain't Nuttin' But Music"
  • Mathers
  • Porter
  • Carlisle
  • Moore
  • Johnson
  • Holton
  • Young
  • Elizondo
  • Scott Storch
Dr. Dre5:12
7."American Psycho"
  • Mathers
  • Porter
  • Johnson
  • Bass
4:37
8."That's How" (skit)  0:37
9."That's How..."
  • Mathers
  • Porter
  • Carlisle
  • Moore
  • Johnson
  • Holton
  • Bass
  • Porter
  • Eminem[b]
4:49
10."Purple Pills"
  • Mathers
  • Porter
  • Carlisle
  • Moore
  • Johnson
  • Holton
  • Bass
5:05
11."Fight Music"
  • Mathers
  • Porter
  • Carlisle
  • Moore
  • Johnson
  • Holton
  • Young
  • Elizondo
Dr. Dre4:21
12."Instigator"
  • Mathers
  • Porter
  • Carlisle
  • Moore
  • Holton
  • Bass
4:57
13."Pimp Like Me" (featuring Dina Rae)
  • Mathers
  • Porter
  • Carlisle
  • Moore
  • Johnson
  • Holton
  • Bass
5:57
14."Blow My Buzz"
  • Mathers
  • Porter
  • Carlisle
  • Moore
  • Johnson
  • Holton
  • Bass
5:10
15."Obie Trice" (skit)  1:06
16."Devil's Night"
  • Mathers
  • Porter
  • Carlisle
  • Moore
  • Johnson
  • Bass
4:19
17."Steve Berman" (skit)  0:50
18."Revelation"
  • Mathers
  • Porter
  • Carlisle
  • Moore
  • Johnson
  • Holton
  • Young
  • Elizondo
  • Storch
Dr. Dre5:48
19."Girls" (hidden track)
Eminem5:35
Total length:75:21
Limited Edition bonus disc
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Shit on You" (album version)5:30
2."Words Are Weapons"
  • Eminem
  • DJ Head
4:34
3."These Drugs" (explicit)
4:41
4."Shit on You" (music video) (explicit)
  • Mathers
  • Moore
  • Johnson
  • Holton
  • Bass
  • Bell
  • Eminem
  • Bass
  • DJ Head
5:26
5."Dirty TV International" (video)   
6."D-12 Picture gallery"   
7."www.D12online.com Weblink"   
Total length:95:32
2021 Expanded Edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
20."Freestyle"
  • Mathers
  • Porter
  • Carlisle
  • Moore
  • Johnson
  • Holton
Porter5:00
21."Words Are Weapons"
  • Mathers
  • Moore
  • Johnson
  • Kevin Bell
  • Eminem
  • DJ Head
4:34
22."These Drugs"
  • Mathers
  • Moore
  • Johnson
  • Holton
  • Bass
  • Bell
  • Eminem
  • Jeff Bass
  • DJ Head
4:41
23."Shit on You"
  • Mathers
  • Porter
  • Carlisle
  • Moore
  • Johnson
  • DJ Head
  • Eminem[b]
5:30
24."Shit on You" (acapella)
  • Mathers
  • Porter
  • Carlisle
  • Moore
  • Johnson
 5:20
25."Shit on You" (instrumental) 
  • DJ Head
  • Eminem[b]
5:28
26."Purple Pills" (instrumental) 
5:07
27."Fight Music" (instrumental) Dr. Dre4:22
28."Blow My Buzz" (instrumental) 
5:24
Total length:120:47
Notes
  • ^[a] signifies an additional producer.
  • ^[b] signifies a co-producer.
  • "Shit On You" contains an interpolation of "Make 'Em Say Uhh" by Master P.
  • "Shit On You" was the commercial debut single of the group, being released in December 2000. It can also be found on the cassette version of the album as a bonus track. [19]
  • "Words Are Weapons" originally appeared on DJ Funkmaster Flex's mixtape The Mix Tape, Vol. IV.
  • "These Drugs" originally appeared on the soundtrack of the 2001 horror film Bones.
Sample credits

Personnel

[edit]

Charts

[edit]

Certifications

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[56] Platinum 70,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[57] 3× Platinum 300,000^
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[58] Platinum 20,000
France (SNEP)[59] Gold 100,000*
Germany (BVMI)[60] Gold 150,000^
Japan (RIAJ)[61] Platinum 200,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[62] Platinum 15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[63] Platinum 436,977[5]
United States (RIAA)[64] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Eminem's Greatest Hits Reconsidered". MTV. June 23, 2010. Archived from the original on June 28, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  2. ^ "Eminem's D12 put 'Devil's Night' hit number one on the charts". Rolling Stone. June 27, 2001. Archived from the original on November 25, 2018. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
  3. ^ "Harrison Ford rescues another stranded hiker". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on November 25, 2018. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
  4. ^ "D12 Devil's Night Chart History - Billboard". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 25, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
  5. ^ a b Jones, Alan (December 22, 2017). "Charts Analysis: Eminem's Revival debuts at No.1". Music Week. Intent Media. Archived from the original on September 5, 2018. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Critic Reviews for Devil's Night". Metacritic. Archived from the original on December 19, 2015. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
  7. ^ a b Birchmeier, Jason. Devil's Night at AllMusic
  8. ^ Christgau, Robert. "CG: D12". RobertChristgau.com. Archived from the original on March 2, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
  9. ^ Poletti, James. "D12 FEAT.EMINEM - DEVIL'S NIGHT". Dotmusic. Archived from the original on June 26, 2003. Retrieved June 25, 2001.
  10. ^ Browne, David (July 6, 2001). "Devils Night". Entertainment Weekly. No. 602–603. pp. 141–142. Archived from the original on April 21, 2009. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  11. ^ J-23 (June 21, 2001). "D12 - Devil's Night". HipHopDX. Archived from the original on January 11, 2012. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
  12. ^ a b Kessler, Ted. "D-12 : Devils Night". NME. Archived from the original on December 19, 2015. Retrieved September 12, 2005.
  13. ^ a b "D12 – Devil's Night". Q. No. 180. Summer 2001. p. 100. It's very difficult to see the tough-talking Devils Night as anything other than a slightly tweaked re-run of The Marshall Mathers LP
  14. ^ Juon, Steve 'Flash' (June 19, 2001). "D12's "Devils Night"". RapReviews. Archived from the original on August 28, 2013. Retrieved October 13, 2009.
  15. ^ a b Brackett, Nathan (July 19, 2001). "Recordings: D12, Devil's Night". Rolling Stone. No. 873. p. 48. Archived from the original on August 2, 2001. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
  16. ^ a b Reid, Shaheem (September 2001). "Record Report: D12 – Devils Night". The Source. No. 144.
  17. ^ Findlay, Mitch (August 14, 2020). "Denaun Porter, In-Depth: Working With Eminem & Dr. Dre, Making "Devil's Night," & "Infinite"". HotNewHipHop. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  18. ^ Armstrong, Sam (June 18, 2021). "D12 Release Expanded Edition Of Debut Album 'Devil's Night'". uDiscoverMusic. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  19. ^ "Shit On You". Amazon UK. Archived from the original on November 5, 2021. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  20. ^ "Australiancharts.com – D12 – Devils Night". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  21. ^ "ARIA Urban Chart – Week Commencing 31st December 2001" (PDF). ARIA Charts. Australian Web Archive. p. 14. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 20, 2002. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  22. ^ "Austriancharts.at – D12 – Devils Night" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  23. ^ "Ultratop.be – D12 – Devils Night" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  24. ^ "Ultratop.be – D12 – Devils Night" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  25. ^ "D12 Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  26. ^ "R&B : Top 50". Jam!. August 3, 2001. Archived from the original on August 5, 2001. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  27. ^ "Danishcharts.dk – D12 – Devils Night". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  28. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – D12 – Devils Night" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  29. ^ "D12: Devils Night" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  30. ^ "Lescharts.com – D12 – Devils Night". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  31. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – D12 – Devils Night" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  32. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography D12". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  33. ^ "Italiancharts.com – D12 – Devils Night". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  34. ^ "Charts.nz – D12 – Devils Night". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  35. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – D12 – Devils Night". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  36. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  37. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – D12 – Devils Night". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  38. ^ "Swisscharts.com – D12 – Devils Night". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  39. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  40. ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  41. ^ "D12 Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  42. ^ "D12 Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  43. ^ "ARIA End of Year Albums Chart 2001". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on December 23, 2017. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  44. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2001". Ultratop. Archived from the original on November 28, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  45. ^ "Canada's Top 200 Albums of 2001 (based on sales)". Jam!. Archived from the original on December 12, 2003. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  46. ^ "Canada's Top 200 R&B; albums of 2001". Jam!. January 8, 2002. Archived from the original on November 22, 2002. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  47. ^ "Top 100 rap albums of 2001 in Canada". Jam!. January 8, 2002. Archived from the original on November 22, 2002. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  48. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2001". dutchcharts.nl. Archived from the original on June 22, 2019. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  49. ^ "Top de l'année Top Albums 2001" (in French). SNEP. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  50. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Archived from the original on May 9, 2015. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  51. ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2001". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on September 15, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  52. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2001". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 3, 2015. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  53. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2001". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 18, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  54. ^ "Canada's Top 200 R&B; albums of 2001 [sic]". Jam!. Archived from the original on September 6, 2004. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  55. ^ "Top 100 rap albums of 2002 in Canada". Jam!. Archived from the original on October 12, 2003. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
  56. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2001 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
  57. ^ "Canadian album certifications – D12 – Devil's Night". Music Canada. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
  58. ^ "Danish album certifications – D12 – Devil's Night". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  59. ^ "French album certifications – D12 – Devil's Night" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  60. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (D12; 'Devil's Night')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  61. ^ "Japanese album certifications – D12 – Devil's Night" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan.
  62. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – D12 – Devil's Night". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
  63. ^ "British album certifications – D12 – Devil's Night". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
  64. ^ "American album certifications – D12 – Devil's Night". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
[edit]