And I Love H.E.R.: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Encyclopedia
And I Love H.E.R.: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, also referred to as simply And I Love H.E.R., is MC/producer
Danny!
's full-length follow-up to 2006's Charm
. The record was released to universal acclaim, cited by ABC News
and L.A. Weekly as one of the best releases of 2008 (see 2008 in music
). And I Love H.E.R. was expected to be released on January 22, but was postponed until June 24 for various reasons. Around the time of its original projected release date a promotional poster surfaced on URB Magazine's website, revealing Tanya Morgan
's Von Pea, Brooklyn MC Che Grand and Kidz in the Hall
's Naledge as the "film"'s "co-stars".
And I Love H.E.R. was notable for introducing yet another musical direction for Danny!, who was experimenting with hip house
, downtempo
and electronica
during the record's inception to produce a sort of "lounge-hop
" hybrid that has since become his definitive style. Tracks such as "Not The One", "At What Price" and "Do You" were cited by critics as stand-out songs and are examples of Danny!'s new sound.
Records, it appears as if And I Love H.E.R. is, like Danny Is Dead
before it, yet another independent release, making the album Danny!'s fifth studio album and eleventh release under his vanity 1911 Music/Badenov Records imprint
. It is unknown why the album was not an official Def Jux release, considering that Danny! had not yet released an album through the label nor publicly defected from them at the time. As such, much speculation has risen regarding the release of this album.
Contrary to the album's subtitle, And I Love H.E.R. is not actually a "soundtrack" but rather a concept album
chronicling the story of Danny!'s love affair with hip-hop music. Both And I Love H.E.R.s title and cover art was inspired by the Beatles
' 1964 feature film A Hard Day's Night
, with "And I Love Her
" being one of the signature songs from the film's soundtrack. Other songs, such as "I Want H.E.R. (She's So Heavy)" and "Yoko Ono", also make reference to the Beatles. Meanwhile, the usage of "H.E.R." as an acronym is an allusion to "I Used to Love H.E.R.
" by fellow rapper Common
, the 1994 song which personified hip-hop as a woman and former love interest.
. Pitchfork Media
described the record as an "engaging, thoroughly promising album", citing the song "Wanderland" as And I Love H.E.R.s "most compelling moment" and "The Groove" as having an aesthetic similar to André 3000
's "Hey Ya!
". And I Love H.E.R. also received praises from Allmusic, Okayplayer
, and Performer Magazine
, who featured Danny! on its front cover only months prior. The record was met with year-end recognition toward 2008's closing, landing on numerous "best of" lists compiled by ABC News
, Coke Machine Glow and Allmusic.
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Danny!
Danny!
Danny!, also known as D. Swain , is an American rap performer and record producer from Columbia, South Carolina, a former student of the Savannah College of Art & Design and, previously, a recording artist for Definitive Jux Records. L.A. Weekly has called Danny! "the best new artist that Def Jux...
's full-length follow-up to 2006's Charm
Charm (album)
Charm is the critically acclaimed third studio album from American rapper/record producer Danny! and the first of his records to be released commercially...
. The record was released to universal acclaim, cited by ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
and L.A. Weekly as one of the best releases of 2008 (see 2008 in music
2008 in music
2008 was a huge year in music history with the emergence of pop superstars Lady Gaga and Katy Perry into the mainstream. Also, this is the year that is widely agreed upon by critics as the start of the fall of hip hop from the mainstream and the rise of Synthpop into the mainstream due to acts such...
). And I Love H.E.R. was expected to be released on January 22, but was postponed until June 24 for various reasons. Around the time of its original projected release date a promotional poster surfaced on URB Magazine's website, revealing Tanya Morgan
Tanya Morgan
Tanya Morgan is an American hip hop group from which consists of MCs Donwill and Ilyas, and MC/producer Von Pea. Both Donwill and Ilyas are from Cincinnati, Ohio, while Von Pea is from Brooklyn, New York. Their debut album, Moonlighting, was acclaimed upon its release in 2006 .-History:Tanya Morgan...
's Von Pea, Brooklyn MC Che Grand and Kidz in the Hall
Kidz in the Hall
Kidz in the Hall is an American hip hop duo from Chicago, Illinois.-History:Group members Jabari Evans and Michael Aguilar met in 2000 during a talent show at the University of Pennsylvania. They began recording songs, making demos, and performing at local shows which eventually led to Double-0...
's Naledge as the "film"'s "co-stars".
And I Love H.E.R. was notable for introducing yet another musical direction for Danny!, who was experimenting with hip house
Hip house
Hip house, also known as house rap, is a musical genre that mixes elements of house music and hip-hop. The style rose to prominence during the 1980s in New York and Chicago...
, downtempo
Downtempo
Downtempo is a laid-back electronic music style similar to ambient music, but usually with a beat or groove unlike the beatless forms of Ambient music. The beat is sometimes made from loops that have a hypnotic feeling...
and electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
during the record's inception to produce a sort of "lounge-hop
Lounge music
Lounge music is a retrospective description of music popular in the 1950s and 1960s. It is a type of mood music meant to evoke in the listeners the feeling of being in a place — a jungle, an island paradise, outer space, et cetera — other than where they are listening to it...
" hybrid that has since become his definitive style. Tracks such as "Not The One", "At What Price" and "Do You" were cited by critics as stand-out songs and are examples of Danny!'s new sound.
Overview
Originally assumed to be Danny!'s debut release under new recording home Definitive JuxDefinitive Jux
Definitive Jux is an independent record label based in New York City, United States. It was co-founded in 1999 by Jaime Meline and Amaechi Uzoigwe. The label was initially known simply as Def Jux, but in 2001, popular hip hop label Def Jam Recordings sued Def Jux over the name similarity...
Records, it appears as if And I Love H.E.R. is, like Danny Is Dead
Danny Is Dead
Danny Is Dead, the first EP and sixth release from American rapper/producer Danny!, is a half-hour long EP that was released July 17, 2007 on Danny!'s 1911 Music/Badenov Records vanity label...
before it, yet another independent release, making the album Danny!'s fifth studio album and eleventh release under his vanity 1911 Music/Badenov Records imprint
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
. It is unknown why the album was not an official Def Jux release, considering that Danny! had not yet released an album through the label nor publicly defected from them at the time. As such, much speculation has risen regarding the release of this album.
Contrary to the album's subtitle, And I Love H.E.R. is not actually a "soundtrack" but rather a concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
chronicling the story of Danny!'s love affair with hip-hop music. Both And I Love H.E.R.s title and cover art was inspired by the Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' 1964 feature film A Hard Day's Night
A Hard Day's Night (film)
A Hard Day's Night is a 1964 British black-and-white comedy film directed by Richard Lester and starring The Beatles—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr—during the height of Beatlemania. It was written by Alun Owen and originally released by United Artists...
, with "And I Love Her
And I Love Her
"And I Love Her" is a song recorded by The Beatles, written mainly by Paul McCartney . The fifth track on their third album, A Hard Day's Night, it was released 20 July 1964 with "If I Fell" as a single by Capitol Records in the United States, reaching #12 in Billboard.The Beatles performed "And I...
" being one of the signature songs from the film's soundtrack. Other songs, such as "I Want H.E.R. (She's So Heavy)" and "Yoko Ono", also make reference to the Beatles. Meanwhile, the usage of "H.E.R." as an acronym is an allusion to "I Used to Love H.E.R.
I Used to Love H.E.R.
"I Used to Love H.E.R." is a hip hop song by the Chicago-born rapper Common. Released on the 1994 album Resurrection, "I Used to Love H.E.R." has since become one of Common's best known songs. Produced by No I.D., its jazzy beat samples "The Changing World" by George Benson. A video directed by...
" by fellow rapper Common
Common (rapper)
Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. , better known by his stage name Common , is an American hip-hop artist and actor....
, the 1994 song which personified hip-hop as a woman and former love interest.
Reception
And I Love H.E.R. was met with overwhelmingly positive reviews, ultimately earning an 81% rating from review aggregator MetaCriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
. Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
described the record as an "engaging, thoroughly promising album", citing the song "Wanderland" as And I Love H.E.R.s "most compelling moment" and "The Groove" as having an aesthetic similar to André 3000
André 3000
André Lauren Benjamin , better known by his stage name André 3000 is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and actor, best known for being part of American hip-hop duo OutKast alongside fellow rapper Big Boi...
's "Hey Ya!
Hey Ya!
"Hey Ya!" is a song written and produced by André 3000 for his 2003 album The Love Below, part of the hip hop duo OutKast's double album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. The song takes influence from funk and rock music...
". And I Love H.E.R. also received praises from Allmusic, Okayplayer
Okayplayer
Okayplayer.com is an online hip-hop and alternative music website and community, described by Rolling Stone as a "tastemaker" and "an antidote to dull promotional Web sites used by most artists". The group was co-founded by The Roots' drummer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson as a loose musical...
, and Performer Magazine
Performer Magazine
Performer Magazine is an American music magazine aimed at independent musicians. It has been in publication since 1991 and is distributed nationally throughout the United States. The magazine focuses primarily on musicians who are unsigned and on small labels, and their success in a DIY environment...
, who featured Danny! on its front cover only months prior. The record was met with year-end recognition toward 2008's closing, landing on numerous "best of" lists compiled by ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
, Coke Machine Glow and Allmusic.
Track listing
Release history
| Country | Date |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
June 23, 2008 |
| United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
June 24, 2008 |
| Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... |
July 21, 2008 |
External links
- [ And I Love H.E.R.: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack album information] at Allmusic