The Chief (album)

Untitled

The Chief is the debut studio album by American hip hop recording artist Jidenna, released on February 17, 2017 by Wondaland Records and Epic Records. The album features guest appearances from fellow label mates Roman GianArthur, Nana Kwabena, Janelle Monáe and St. Beauty. The album cover pays homage to Boz Scaggs' Middle Man album.

Promotion

Singles

The lead single from the album, called "Long Live the Chief" was released on December 21, 2015. The track was produced by Best Kept Secret.

The second single from the album, called "Chief Don't Run" was released on June 27, 2016, which features guest vocals from fellow American singer Roman GianArthur whom he had previously collaborated with on "Classic Man." The track was produced by Nana Kwabena, Nate Wonder, Mark Williams and Volta.

The third single from the album, called "Little Bit More" was released on July 4, 2016. The track was produced by Roman GianArthur, Nana Kwabena and Mark Williams.

The fourth single from the album, called "The Let Out" was released on February 3, 2017. The song features guest vocals from Southern hip hop rapper Quavo from the hip hop group Migos, although Quavo is not featured on the album version. The track was produced by Nana Kwabena.

Other songs

"Knickers" and "Extraordinaire" were released on December 21, 2015, alongside "Long Live the Chief", although they are not featured on the album and are only dubbed as standalone singles.

The album's first promotional single, "Bambi", was released on February 9, 2017. The song was produced by Jidenna himself and Nate "Rocket" Wonder.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	71/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Exclaim!	8/10
The Guardian
HipHopDX	3.7/5
The New York Times	(favorable)
Pitchfork	5.8/10
Filter Free Nigeria

The Chief received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 71, based on 7 reviews. Erin Lowers of Exclaim! said, "Just as Jidenna uses hip-hop music to convey the story of an immigrant, he reaches across the globe to pull from seemingly disparate genres as he tells his tales. Surprisingly, Jidenna makes it work, commanding the listener's attention from start to finish." Eric Diep of HipHopDX said, "While The Chief sets him up for a more focused sophomore effort, Jidenna’s genre-hopping album is merely a sliver of his versatility as an entertainer." Andy Kellman of AllMusic said, "What's thrown, including tepid trap beats, passable tropical pop-house, and overly fanciful retro-contemporary touches, doesn't always stick, yet Jidenna's charismatic flair and sharp writing make almost all of it entertaining, rarely dull." Elias Leight of Pitchfork said, A versatile dandy, Jidenna tries on many different musical styles with his debut album—but all that changing quickly grows tiresome."

Commerical performance

The Chief debuted at number 38 on the Billboard 200, selling 13,312 album equivalent units, and 8,387 pure album copies.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"A Bull's Tale"	Jidenna Mobisson Nana Kwabena Tuffuor Nathaniel Irvin III Mark Williams Raul Cubina Andrew Horowitz Nana Afriyie Amaka Izuchi Henry Obiefule Adam Feeney	Nana Kwabena Frank Dukes Mark Williams[a] Volta[a]	4:56
2.	"Chief Don't Run" (featuring Roman GianArthur)	Mobisson Irvin III Williams Tuffuor Roman GianArthur Irvin Cubina Horowitz Joseph Young III Afriyie Milan Wiley Leslie Gray	Nana Kwabena Nate "Rocket" Wonder Mark Williams Jidenna[a]	3:47
3.	"Trampoline"	Mobisson Tuffuor Irvin III Horowitz Obiefule Emmanuel Quist-Fianyeku Feeney Jack Keller Noel Sherman	Jidenna Nana Kwabena Andrew Horowitz Nate "Rocket" Wonder Frank Dukes[b]	5:01
4.	"Bambi"	Mobisson Irvin III Tuffuor Horowitz	Jidenna Nate "Rocket" Wonder Nana Kwabena[a] Horowitz[b]	4:10
5.	"Helicopters / Beware"	Mobisson Tuffuor Irvin III Irvin Carlos St. John Lee Stashenko Michael Williams Carl Taylor Brandon Hamlin Wiley	Nana Kwabena Jidenna f a l l e n Kidd Jupiter Mikey Mike[a] Mark Williams[a] Volta[a]	6:18
6.	"Long Live the Chief"	Julian Nixon Craig Balmoris Mobisson Tuffuor Wiley Eleanor Kateri Tannis	Best Kept Secret	2:40
7.	"2 Points"	Mobisson Chauncey Hollis, Jr. Tuffuor Horowitz	Hit-Boy Nana Kwabena[a] Horowitz[a]	1:38
8.	"The Let Out" (featuring Nana Kwabena)	Mobisson Tuffuor Horowitz Feeney Wiley Brandon Cromwell	Nana Kwabena Horowitz[a] Frank Dukes[a]	3:43
9.	"Safari" (featuring Janelle Monáe, St. Beauty and Nana Kwabena)	Mobisson Janelle Monáe Robinson Tuffuor John M. Webb, Jr. Lacoster Tennant Horowitz	Jon Jon Trax LaCo Music Nana Kwabena[a] Horowitz[a]	4:05
10.	"Adaora"	Mobisson Tuffuor Ra Olusegun Amen Horowitz	Nana Kwabena Jidenna	4:00
11.	"Little Bit More"	Akil King Williams Wiley Mobisson Jaramye Daniels Eddy Kenzo Cubina Irvin Kathryn Buford Tuffuor Tannis Desiré Lynn Gaston	Roman GianArthur Nana Kwabena Mark Williams	3:26
12.	"Some Kind of Way"	Mobisson Tuffuor Grant Newsome Wiley Amen Matthew Bair Jae Choung Virman Coquia Eric Frederic Kevin Nishimura James Roh Andreas Schuller	Nana Kwabena Jidenna Ellis Martin[b]	3:55
13.	"White Niggas"	Mobisson Tuffuor Horowitz Alexander Matthew Lipinski Obiefule Feeney	ADOTHEGOD Jidenna Nana Kwabena Horowitz Frank Dukes[b]	5:25
14.	"Bully of the Earth"	Mobisson Tuffuor Horowitz Nick Seeley Sonny Uwaezuoke	Nana Kwabena Sonny Digital Horowitz Seeley[a]	4:25
Total length:				57:28

Notes

• ^{^[a]} – signifies a co-producer
• ^{^[b]} – signifies an additional producer

Charts

Chart (2017)	Peak position
Canadian Albums (Billboard)	58
US Billboard 200	38
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)	16

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Version	Label	Ref.
Worldwide	February 17, 2017	CD, digital download	Clean Explicit	Wondaland Epic