IV Play

IV Play is the fifth studio album by American recording artist The-Dream. The album was released on May 28, 2013, by Radio Killa Records and Def Jam Recordings.[1] It features guest appearances from Jay-Z, Big Sean, Beyoncé, Pusha T, 2 Chainz, Kelly Rowland, Gary Clark Jr. and Fabolous. IV Play is an R&B album with overtly sexual themes.[2]

IV Play
Studio album by
The-Dream
ReleasedMay 28, 2013
GenreR&B
Length58:51
LabelRadio Killa, Def Jam
ProducerThe-Dream, Carlos McKinney
The-Dream chronology
1977
(2011)		 IV Play
(2013)		 Ménage à Trois: Sextape Vol. 1, 2, 3
(2018)
Singles from IV Play
  1. "Slow It Down"
    Released: March 5, 2013
  2. "IV Play"
    Released: April 9, 2013
  3. "High Art"
    Released: May 15, 2013

Background

Prior to the release of his 2010 album Love King, The-Dream announced in interviews that it would be his final solo album. When the album was released, the song "Sex Intelligent (Remix)" featured a line in which the artist sang that he would release another album, titled Love Affair, on June 7, 2011. However, multiple delays pushed back the album's release for nearly two years and several different album titles were reported.[3]

On the album's original release date, June 7, 2011, he released a promotional single free on the Internet, a medley of two new tracks titled "Body Work / Fuck My Brains Out." [4] On August 31, he released the album 1977 for free online. The album was later retitled Terius Nash: 1977 and released commercially with a modified track list by Def Jam Recordings on December 18, 2012.

While backstage at the 2013 Grammy Awards, The-Dream revealed the final title to Billboard.[5] In an interview on 106 & Park on April 2, 2013, The-Dream announced that Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, Big Sean, and Jay-Z would appear on the album.[6] On May 13, 2013 the track listing was revealed, including guest appearances by Pusha T, Gary Clark Jr. and 2 Chainz.[7]

Marketing and sales

In June 2011, The-Dream released a double promotional single titled "Body Work / Fuck My Brains Out." In 2012, he released "Roc" (initially reported to be the album's lead single,[8] although the first single that appeared on the final version of the album was "Slow It Down", released as a digital download on March 5, 2013.[9] On April 2, the official music video was released.[10] The album's title track was released as the second single on April 9,[11] and its music video was released on May 16.[12] A music video for "Too Early", featuring Gary Clark Jr., was released on August 16.[13] On May 15, the third single "High Art" was released.[14]

In support of the album, he co-headlined the "Lights Out" tour[15] with Kelly Rowland, though most of the tour dates were canceled after Rowland was hired as a judge on The X Factor.[16] On May 20, 2013, The-Dream performed the song "Where Have You Been" with Rowland on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.[17] The following day, the album became available for streaming via The-Dream's VEVO channel.[18]

IV Play sold 23,000 copies in its first week of release, debuting at number 16 on the Billboard 200 chart on June 5, 2013.[19] By the end of the month, it had sold 42,000 in the US.[20] In June 2015, it reached 68,000 copies sold there.[21]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[22]
The A.V. ClubB+[23]
Consequence of Sound[24]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[25]
Fact3.5/5[26]
The Guardian[27]
Pitchfork6.9/10[28]
Rolling Stone[29]
Slant Magazine[30]
Spin7/10[31]

IV Play was met with a lukewarm response from critics. According to Treble journalist Connor Brown, it was "without a doubt the worst reception that any of The-Dream’s records have received".[32] At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from professional critics, the album received an average score of 62 — indicating "generally favorable reviews" based on 19 reviews.[33]

Reviewing in May 2013, Spin magazine's Jordan Sargent said IV Play is "a very good album" and also one that lacks the level of experimentation featured on The-Dream's previous records, observing "too many songs here propped up on one simplistic notion".[31] Jesse Cataldo of Slant Magazine applauded the second half of songs as "densely layered, immaculately produced, and frequently luminous", although he found the guest-heavy first half to be uneven.[30] Pitchfork reviewer Andrew Ryce also criticized the "string of clunkers" early in the album, but felt that its highlights show that "the brilliant auteur we fell in love with is still in here somewhere."[28] Alex Macpherson of The Guardian was more critical, saying it lacks the "panache" and "commitment" of The-Dream's past work while calling him "a grotesquely diminished figure promising bad sex in return for retreads of old ideas".[27] AllMusic's Andy Kellman found the plentiful guest appearances "trivial", as well as the album itself.[22]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."High Art" (featuring Jay-Z)Terius Nash, Shawn CarterThe-Dream4:29
2."IV Play"NashThe-Dream5:38
3."Equestrian"NashCarlos McKinney, The-Dream4:23
4."Pussy" (featuring Big Sean & Pusha T)Nash, Sean Anderson, Terrence ThorntonThe-Dream3:58
5."Turnt" (featuring Beyoncé & 2 Chainz)Nash, Beyoncé Knowles, Tauheed EppsThe-Dream3:46
6."Where Have You Been" (featuring Kelly Rowland)Nash, Kelly RowlandThe-Dream, Da Internz, Miykal Snoddy3:51
7."Too Early" (featuring Gary Clark Jr.)NashThe-Dream, Bart Schoudel5:36
8."Michael"NashThe-Dream4:54
9."Loving You / Crazy"NashThe-Dream6:52
10."New Orleans"NashThe-Dream4:07
11."Self-Conscious"NashCarlos McKinney, The-Dream3:07
12."Holy Love"NashCarlos McKinney, The-Dream3:37
13."Outro"NashThe-Dream0:23
14."Slow It Down" (featuring Fabolous)Nash, John JacksonThe-Dream4:10
Total length:58:51
Deluxe edition bonus tracks[34]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
15."Divine"NashThe-Dream4:25
16."Y'all"NashThe-Dream5:31
17."Tron"NashThe-Dream3:38
18."Psycho"NashThe-Dream4:17
Climax bonus EP[35]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Com'On"NashThe-Dream4:17
2."Roc"NashThe-Dream5:30
3."Dope Bitch" (featuring Pusha T)Nash, Terrence ThorntonThe-Dream4:35
4."Thirsty Whore"NashThe-Dream4:03

Personnel

Credits for IV Play are adapted from Allmusic.[36]

Charts

Release history
Region Date Format(s) Label Edition(s)
United States[1][40] May 28, 2013 CD, digital download Def Jam Recordings Standard, deluxe

References
  1. "IV Play (Deluxe Explicit): The-Dream: Music". Amazon.com. Retrieved April 18, 2013.
  2. Birkut. "The-Dream - IV Play". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
  3. "New Tracklist: The-Dream "The Love IV"". Vibe. 2012-12-17. Retrieved 2013-04-18.
  4. "Listen: Two New Songs from The-Dream". Pitchfork Media. 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2013-05-14.
  5. "The-Dream Announces Next Album Title". Rap Radar. 2013-02-11. Retrieved 2013-04-18.
  6. "The-Dream Says Beyonce, Jay-Z Will Appear On 'IV Play'". Vibe. 2013-04-03. Retrieved 2013-04-18.
  7. "The-Dream – IV Play (Tracklist)". Illroots. 2013-05-13. Retrieved 2013-05-14.
  8. "The-Dream: "ROC"". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  9. "Slow It Down [Explicit]: The-Dream: Official Music". Amazon.com. Retrieved April 18, 2013.
  10. "Video: The-Dream f/ Fabolous – 'Slow It Down'". Rap Radar. 2013-04-02. Retrieved 2013-04-18.
  11. "IV Play – Single by The-Dream". iTunes Store (United States). Apple. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
  12. "Video: The-Dream – 'IV Play'". Rap-Up.com. 2013-05-16. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
  13. "Video: The-Dream f/ Gary Clark, Jr. – 'Too Early'". Rap-Up.com. 2013-08-16. Retrieved 2013-09-12.
  14. "High Art [feat. JAY Z] [Explicit]: The-Dream: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.com. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  15. "Kelly Rowland and The-Dream Announce 'Lights Out' Tour Dates". Rap-Up. 2013-05-02. Retrieved 2013-05-10.
  16. Pelly, Jenn. "The-Dream and Kelly Rowland Cancel Most of Tour". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
  17. "New Music: The-Dream f/ Kelly Rowland – 'Where Have You Been'". RapUp.com. 2013-05-20. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
  18. "The-Dream – IV Play (Album Stream)". 2dopeboyz. 2013-05-21. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
  19. "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 6/2/2013". HipHopDX. Archived from the original on June 8, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
  20. "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 6/23/2013". HipHopDX. Archived from the original on June 29, 2013. Retrieved June 26, 2013.
  21. "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on June 17, 2015.
  22. Kellman, Andy (2011-06-06). "IV Play - The-Dream : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
  23. Rytlewski, Evan. "The-Dream: IV Play". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
  24. "Album Review: The-Dream – IV Play". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
  25. "Review: IV Play". Entertainment Weekly. New York: 136. May 31, 2013.
  26. "IV Play". Factmag.com. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
  27. Macpherson, Alex (June 6, 2013). "The-Dream: IV Play – review". The Guardian. London. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
  28. Ryce, Andrew. "The-Dream: IV Play". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  29. Jon Dolan. "The-Dream, 'IV Play'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
  30. "The-Dream: IV Play". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
  31. Sargent, Jordan. "The-Dream, 'IV Play' Review". Spin.com. Retrieved 2013-09-12.
  32. "The-Dream : IV Play". Treble. June 7, 2013. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
  33. "IV Play Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
  34. "iTunes – Music – IV Play (Deluxe Version) by The-Dream". iTunes.apple.com (US). May 28, 2013. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
  35. "The-Dream Drops 'Climax' EP". Vibe. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  36. "IV Play - The-Dream : Credits". Allmusic. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
  37. "The-Dream Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  38. "The-Dream Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  39. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2013". Billboard. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  40. "IV Play (Edited): The-Dream: Music". Amazon.com. Retrieved April 18, 2013.
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