Whut? Thee Album

Reggie "Redman" Noble spent the majority of his youth selling drugs and DJing at clubs and parties. At the age of 16, he began rapping, heavily influenced by the comedy raps of Biz Markie. Before long, EPMD quickly embraced Redman as a Hit Squad member, and they brought him on tour to freestyle and DJ at their shows. In addition, EPMD gave Redman two guest spots—for the songs "Hardcore" and "Brothers on My Jock"—on their third album, Business as Usual (1990). These appearances helped Redman gain exposure in the hip hop underground. One year later, he was signed to Def Jam, where he began writing and recording what would eventually become Whut? Thee Album. Q-Tip had been in the Rush Management offices, and after hearing Redman's song "Jam 4 U", tried to persuade Lyor Cohen to give Redman a deal. During this time, Redman collaborated with EPMD again, appearing on their 1992 album Business Never Personal. Just as EPMD's Parish Smith was often credited for mentoring Hit Squad artists Das EFX and K-Solo, Erick Sermon helped mentor Redman throughout the album, and received co-production credits for most of the album's songs. He later recollected, "For that whole album I was under a lot of pressure to learn, and learn quickly. Erick showed me a couple of recording moves, then threw me in the studio and just left me there. I had to learn and do it myself. Erick was always there if I really needed him, so it wasn't that bad. But he had his own shit to deal with and he figured I was okay on my own." Redman further stated, "When I first started doing the album I was mad at Erick for leaving me in the studio. I was like 'what the fuck am I doing here?' I had an album to hit the world with, and it was just up to me. But I'm glad he did it, because I learned everything that I needed to." ==Critical reception ==

Whut? Thee Album received favorable reviews from music critics upon its release. Entertainment Weekly's James Bernard gave the album an A− rating, and called it "engaging, hilarious, bargain-basement funk that doesn't care what you think". Since its release, Whut? Thee Album has risen in stature, and has been regarded as a hip hop classic from several music critics and writers. In 1998, it was included in the Source magazine's 100 Best Rap Albums list. In 2000, Melody Maker gave the album 4½ out of 5 stars, while calling it a "landmark hip-hop album". and number 32 on his 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums list. ==Commercial performance==

Whut? Thee Album debuted at 49 on the US Billboard 200 chart and peaked at number five on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. In June 1993, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over 500,000 copies in the United States. As of October 2009, the album has 654,800 copies in the United States. == Track listing ==

Sample credits • "Time 4 Sum Aksion" • contains samples from "How I Could Just Kill a Man", written by Louis Freese, Senen Reyes, Lawrence Muggerud, Lowell Fulson, and Jimmy McCracklin; and performed by Cypress Hill. • contains samples from "Playin' Kinda Ruff", written by Roger Troutman and Larry Troutman, and performed by Zapp. • "Da Funk" contains samples from "P. Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)", written by George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, and Bernie Worrell; and performed by Parliament. • "So Ruff" • contains elements from "Jungle Boogie", written by Robert Bell, Claydes Smith, Robert Mickens, Don Boyce, Ricky Westfield, Dennis Thomas, Ronald Bell, and George Brown; and performed by Kool & the Gang. • contains samples from "Flash Light", written by George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, and Bernie Worrell; and performed by Parliament. • contains samples from "Bop Gun", written by George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, and Garry M. Shider; and performed by Parliament. • "Rated 'R'" contains elements from "Soul Power", written by James Brown and performed by Maceo and the Macks. • "Watch Yo Nuggets" contains samples from "Atomic Dog", written by George Clinton, David L. Spradley, and Garry M. Shider; and performed by George Clinton. • "Jam 4 U" embodies portions of "Teddy's Jam", written by Teddy Riley, Timmy Gatling, Gene Griffin, and Aaron Hall; and performed by Guy. • "Blow Your Mind" includes excerpts from "Outstanding", written by Raymond Calhoun and performed by the Gap Band. • "Tonight's da Night" • embodies portions of "Don't Let Go", written by Jesse Stone and performed by Isaac Hayes. • contains samples from "All Night Long, written by Rick James and performed by the Mary Jane Girls. • "Blow Your Mind (Remix)" • contains samples from "The Show", written by Ricky Walters and Douglas Davis, and performed by Doug E. Fresh. • contains samples from "Dance Floor", written by Roger Troutman and Larry Troutman, and performed by Zapp. • contains samples from "Theme from the Black Hole", written by George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, and J.S. Theracon; and performed by Parliament. • "How to Roll a Blunt" contains samples from "Risin' to the Top", written by Kenneth M. Burke, Allan Felder, and Norma Jean Wright; and performed by Keni Burke. • "A Day of Sooperman Lover" • contains elements from "The Payback", written by James Brown, Fred Wesley, and John Starks; and performed by James Brown. • contains elements from "Superman Lover", written and performed by Johnny "Guitar" Watson. == Personnel == • Timothy Carter – photography • Rod Cee – mixing assistant • The Drawing Board – art direction, design • Charlie "No Click Track" Marotta – engineer • Everett "Bizz-E" Ramos – assistant engineer (track 11) • Ivan "Doc" Rodriguez – mixing, engineer (track 11) • Erick Sermon – executive producer • Ken Wallace – engineer ==Charts==

Weekly charts Singles ==Certifications==