Pre-Life Crisis
 | This article needs more citations. (June 2024) |
| Pre-Life Crisis | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1995 | |||
| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 54:40 | |||
| Label | Work | |||
| Producer | Count Bass D | |||
| Count Bass D chronology | ||||
| ||||
Pre-Life Crisis is the debut album by the American rapper and musician Count Bass D, released in 1995. Count Bass D played the majority of the instruments on the album. The album's only single, "Sandwiches (I Got a Feeling)", received moderate radio and video airplay, in addition to being released on vinyl and CD, along with the B-side "T-Boz Tried to Talk to Me".
Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club describes Pre-Life Crisis as "one of the strangest major-label rap albums of all time," but note that the rapper was dropped by Sony following its release.
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    |
| Spin | 7/10 |
The International Herald Tribune noted that Count Bass D's "raps are hard-hitting but mellifluous, minimum-expletive and laugh-sprinkled." In 2003, Rolling Stone wrote that the "hyperquirky debut ... imagined an esoteric, fully live hip-hop wonder world that transcended the generic boombap."
Retrospectively, Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club praised Pre-Life Crisis as "[one] of the most original debuts in rap history," writing that it "suggested the work of a loopy cocktail-jazz pianist who decided to replace his repertoire of Burt Bacharach favorites with goofy rap odes to T-Boz and Carmex." Andrew Martin PopMatters named it a "groundbreaking and original debut" on which "Count basically made it clear that hip-hop would not be pigeonholed as long as he’s around."
The album sold poorly, resulting in Count Bass D being dropped from his label, but gave the rapper a cult following.
Track listing
| # | Title | Length | Songwriter(s) | Producer(s) | Performer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Dozens | 3:38 | Dwight Conroy Farrell | Count Bass D | Count Bass D |
| 2 | Sandwiches (I Got a Feeling) | 4:39 | Dwight Conroy Farrell | Count Bass D | Count Bass D, (Mark Nash (musician) on Lead Guitar) |
| 3 | T-Boz (Part 1/2) | 0:35 | Dwight Conroy Farrell | Count Bass D | Count Bass D, (Rod McGahaw on Flugelhorn) |
| 4 | Shake | 4:08 | Dwight Conroy Farrell | Count Bass D | Count Bass D, (Mark Nash on Lead Guitar), (Rod McGahaw on Trumpet), (Kismick Martin on Additional Background Vocals & Freestyle on Vamp), (Vincent Sims on Additional Background Throat) |
| 5 | T-Boz Tried to Talk to Me! | 4:42 | Dwight Conroy Farrell | Count Bass D | Count Bass D, (Rod McGahaw on Flugelhorn) |
| 6 | Carmex | 5:17 | Dwight Conroy Farrell | Count Bass D | Count Bass D |
| 7 | I Got Needs | 4:24 | Dwight Conroy Farrell | Count Bass D | Count Bass D, (Mark Nash on Lead Guitar), (Roger "Rock" Williams on Soprano Saxophone) |
| 8 | Broke Thursday | 4:02 | Dwight Conroy Farrell | Count Bass D, Coolout (co-producer) | Count Bass D, Herbie Hancock, M. Ragin, P. Jackson |
| 9 | Agriculture | 4:47 | Dwight Conroy Farrell & Vincent Sims | Count Bass D | Count Bass D, Vincent Sims (Roger "Rock" Williams on Alto Flute) |
| 10 | Brown | 4:01 | Dwight Conroy Farrell | Count Bass D | Count Bass D, (DJ Reggie (Reg) Mason & Vincent Sims on Background Throat) |
| 11 | The Hate Game | 4:43 | Dwight Conroy Farrell | Count Bass D | Count Bass D (Psalm 109 on inspiration) |
| 12 | Pink Tornado | 3:15 | Dwight Conroy Farrell | Count Bass D | Count Bass D, Jaco Pastorius |
| 13 | Sunday School | 5:35 | Dwight Conroy Farrell | Count Bass D | Count Bass D (Psalm 118:24 on inspiration) |
| 14 | Baker's Dozen (Instrumental) | 1:01 | Dwight Conroy Farrell | Count Bass D | Count Bass D |
References
- ↑ Ehrlich, Dimitri (March 1995). "A count of his own". Interview. Vol. 25, no. 3. p. 46.
- ↑ Orr, Jay (September 29, 1995). "New stuff". Nashville Banner. p. C1.
- ↑ Nelson, Havelock (March 4, 1995). "Count Bass-D breaks hip-hop mold". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 9. p. 28.
- ↑ Rabin, Nathan (January 5, 2007). "Inventory: 10 Unjustly Overlooked Hip-Hop Classics". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
- ↑ "Pre-Life Crisis Count Bass D". AllMusic. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
- ↑ Rubin, Mike (June 1995). "Spins". Spin. Vol. 11, no. 3. p. 104.
- ↑ Zwerin, Mike (February 14, 1996). "Count Bass D: Rap for People Who Like Music". Features. International Herald Tribune. p. 22.
- ↑ Caramanica, Jon (February 20, 2003). "Free verse". Rolling Stone. No. 916. p. 64.
- 1 2 Rabin, Nathan (May 28, 2002). "Count Bass D: Dwight Spitz". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
- ↑ Martin, Andrew (February 9, 2009). "Count Bass D: L7". PopMatters. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
External links
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