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Word Power (album)

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Word Power
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 23, 1989
GenreHip hop
Length53:59
Label
Producer
Divine Styler chronology
Word Power
(1989)
Spiral Walls Containing Autumns of Light
(1992)
Singles from Word Power
  1. "Ain't Sayin Nothin/Tongue of Labyrinth"
    Released: 1989

Word Power is the debut album by American rapper and producer Divine Styler.[1][2] It was released on October 23, 1989, on Ice-T's Rhyme $yndicate Records under Epic Records. The album peaked at No. 62 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[3] The Scheme Team, a hip hop collective of Divine Styler, made their introduction on the record.

Divine rhymed about being proud of heritage (highlighted on "It's a Black Thing") and featured audio production handled by Bilal Bashir (who made later instrumentals for the likes of Everlast, Dr. Dre, and Ice Cube), who later re-released this album in instrumental form in 2005. The album produced the only lead single "Ain't Sayin' Nothin", featuring a scratch noise similar to the sound used in "Jump Around" and "Insane in the Brain". It peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart.

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Chicago Tribune[5]

The Chicago Tribune called the album "exciting, and that isn't a word you can use to describe many recent rap releases."[5]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleLength
1."Introduction"0:46
2."Free Styler"5:17
3."Get Up on It"4:40
4."The Last Black House on the Left"6:45
5."It's a Black Thing"5:09
6."Play It for Divine"2:47
7."Koxistin U4ria"3:40
8."Ain't Sayin' Nothin'"4:16
9."Divinity Stylistics"4:11
10."Tongue of Labyrinth"5:23
11."In Divine Style"1:46
12."Rain"4:31
13."Word Power"4:48
Total length:53:59

Samples

Personnel

[edit]

References

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  1. ^ Freeman, Phil, ed. (2007). Marooned: The Next Generation of Desert Island Discs. Da Capo Press. p. 71.
  2. ^ Tompkins, Dave (January 1999). "Reviews". Spin. Vol. 15, no. 1. p. 115.
  3. ^ "Divine Styler - Chart history | Billboard". www.billboard.com. 1990.
  4. ^ "Word Power Divine Styler". AllMusic.
  5. ^ a b Tanzilo, Robert (December 21, 1989). "Rave Recordings". Chicago Tribune. p. 15E.
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