Jump to content

Love/Hate (The-Dream album)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 190.242.34.17 (talk) at 21:01, 16 April 2010. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Untitled

Love Hate is the critically acclaimed debut album of American R&B and pop artist The-Dream, released December 11, 2007 on his Def Jam-imprint label Radio Killa. He has stated that the title is an abbreviation for "Love me all summer, hate me all winter". Primarily an R&B and pop outting,[1][2][3][4] Love Hate was produced during 2007 by Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and Carlos "L.O.S. Da Maestro" McKinney.

The album debuted at number 30 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 59,000 copies in its first week. It has been certified gold in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America and produced three singles that attained Billboard chart success. Upon its release, Love Hate received generally positive reviews from most music critics. It has sold 552,000 copies in the United States.

Background

The album was produced by The-Dream's production partner Tricky Stewart, and Carlos "LOS Da Maestro" McKinney. Its featured guests were originally listed as Fabolous, Rihanna, Jay-Z, and André 3000, whom The-Dream identified indirectly. The final list was cut down to Fabolous and Rihanna.[5]

The album was written and recorded in eight days with twelve tracks making the final cut. Some of the tracks were written in regards to The-Dream's personal life, most notably "Nikki," written about his ex-wife Nivea and how he has moved on since their divorce.[6] The-Dream explained the title, Love Hate, as short for, "Love me all summer, hate me all winter, because they love you when you hot and when you're cold they don't... I'm hot right now and they love me, but I was cold and they wasn't fuckin' with me."[6] He also discussed how this album was made to set the creative standard that the current industry was lacking, stating:

Music is uninspiring right now. The bar needs to be raised; a creative standard should be set in music. I'm hoping that the real quality in these songs shines through, and leaves a sounding impact on the listeners... It's more of what I'm giving other people. It's like the 80s; it's musical. I'm doing the 'Umbrella' routine to this whole album. All of my records are singles. The album is really visual as well. It appeals to all your senses, similar to 'Thriller'... very 80's, very Prince, sensual, sexy stuff... Artists are gonna have to do some homework to find out who they are.[6]

— The-Dream

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Robert Christgau(A-)[2]
Entertainment Weekly(A-)[7]
The New York Times(favorable)[3]
The New Zealand Herald(4/5)[8]
PopMatters(8/10)[9]
Rolling Stone[4]
Slant Magazine[10]
USA Today[11]
Vibe(favorable)[12]

Released December 11, 2007 on The-Dream's Def Jam-imprint Radio Killa,[13] Love Hate moved 59,000 copies and debuted at number 30 on the Billboard 200.[14] Love Hate also peaked at #5 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[15] The album received generally positive reviews from critics, as Rolling Stone called it "one of the most likable R&B records of the year" and UrbanMusicReviews.com said that the singer has "hit a home run."[16] The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on July 24, 2008, following sales in excess of 500,000 copies.[17] The album has sold 552,000 copies in the United States.[18]

Track listing

No.TitleMusicLength
1."Shawty Is Da Shit!" (featuring Fabolous)Los Da Mystro, The-Dream4:22
2."I Luv Your Girl"The-Dream, Tricky Stewart4:27
3."Fast Car"Los Da Mystro, The-Dream4:50
4."Nikki"The-Dream, Stewart4:05
5."She Needs My Love"The-Dream, Stewart4:29
6."Falsetto"The-Dream, Stewart4:31
7."Playin' in Her Hair"Los Da Mystro, The-Dream3:14
8."Purple Kisses"Los Da Mystro, The-Dream5:13
9."Ditch That..."The-Dream, Stewart5:00
10."Luv Songs"Los Da Mystro, The-Dream4:42
11."Livin' a Lie" (featuring Rihanna)Los Da Mystro, The-Dream4:16
12."Mama"The-Dream, Stewart4:01
Circuit City bonus track
No.TitleMusicLength
13."Shawty Is Da Shit! (Remix)" (featuring R. Kelly)The-Dream, Stewart, R. Kelly4:10

Personnel

Credits for Love Hate adapted from Allmusic.[19]

Chart history

Chart (2008) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard 200[14] 30
U.S. Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[15] 5

Release history

Region Dates
United States December 11, 2007
United Kingdom December 12, 2007
Canada
Germany August 5, 2008
Italy
Greece
Jamaica October 4, 2007
Haiti September 23, 2008
Japan October 7, 2008

References

  1. ^ a b Kellman, Andy. Review: Love/Hate. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2009-09-29.
  2. ^ a b Christgau, Robert. "Consumer Guide: Love/Hate". MSN Music: February 2008. Archived from the original on 2009-09-29.
  3. ^ a b Sanneh, Kelefa. Few Big Albums, but Small Ones Sounded Just Fine. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2009-11-28.
  4. ^ a b Hoard, Christian. Review: Love/Hate. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2009-09-29.
  5. ^ "What Dreams are Made of". The Pop Culture Junkie. 2007-09-03. Retrieved 2008-09-18.
  6. ^ a b c "SOHH Soulful Exclusive: Def Jam's New Signee, The Dream, on Track to Become the Next Ne-Yo". SOHH. 2007-08-07. Retrieved 2007-09-28.
  7. ^ Vozick-Levinson, Simon. Review: Love/Hate. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2009-09-29.
  8. ^ Barry, Rebecca. Review: Love/Hate. The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved on 2009-09-29.
  9. ^ Hinshaw, Drew. Review: Love/Hate. PopMatters. Retrieved on 2009-09-29.
  10. ^ McBee, Wilson. Review: Love/Hate. Slant Magazine. Retrieved on 2009-09-29.
  11. ^ Jones, Steve. Review: Love/Hate. USA Today. Retrieved on 2009-09-29.
  12. ^ Fennessey, Sean. "Review: Love/Hate". Vibe: 85. February 2008.
  13. ^ "Umbrella' Writer The-Dream Preps Solo Debut". Billboard. 2007-08-07. Retrieved 2007-09-28.
  14. ^ a b "Groban Remains No. 1, Becomes '07's Best-Seller". Billboard. 2007-12-17. Retrieved 2007-12-19.
  15. ^ a b "Artist Chart History - The-Dream". Billboard. 2008. Retrieved 2007-12-19.
  16. ^ "The-Dream - LoveHate". UrbanMusicReviews.com. 2007-12-11. Retrieved 2007-12-19.
  17. ^ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA.com. 2008. Retrieved 2007-12-19.
  18. ^ Concepcion, Mariel. The-Dream, Keyshia Cole Plan Tour. Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-03-31.
  19. ^ Credits: Love Hate. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2010-03-31.