Ill Na Na

Ill Na Na is the debut studio album by American rapper Foxy Brown, released on November 19, 1996 by Def Jam Recordings. It was reissued on September 29, 1997 in the United Kingdom with an addition of the song "Big Bad Mamma". Brown began working on the album after being discovered by the production team Trackmasters and appearing on a number of singles by other artists, such as LL Cool J, Case and Jay Z. The immediate success of the singles led to a bidding war at the beginning of 1996, and in March, Def Jam Recordings won and signed the then 17-year-old rapper to the label. Mostly produced by Trackmasters, Ill Na Na features guest appearances from Blackstreet, Havoc, Method Man, Kid Capri and Jay Z. Lyrically, the album mainly focuses on themes of fashion, sex and mafia.

Ill Na Na
Studio album by
Foxy Brown
ReleasedNovember 19, 1996 (1996-11-19)
Recorded1995–1996
Studio
Length41:11
Label
Producer
Foxy Brown chronology
Ill Na Na
(1996)		 The Album
(1997)
Singles from Ill Na Na
  1. "Get Me Home"
    Released: September 15, 1996
  2. "I'll Be"
    Released: March 4, 1997
  3. "Big Bad Mamma"
    Released: July 28, 1997
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Christgau's Consumer Guide[2]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[3]

Released exactly one week after Lil' Kim's debut album Hard Core, the album received generally positive reviews from music critics, heavily comparing the two albums. Ill Na Na debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200 with 109,000 copies sold in its first week. It has sold over a million copies and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and over 3 million copies worldwide.

Three singles were released from the album. "Get Me Home" was released on September 15, 1996. It peaked at number 42 on the Billboard Hot 100. The second single, "I'll Be", released on March 4, 1997, also noted a commercial success. It peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Brown's highest charting single. The song was ranked number 52 on VH1's 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs. Another song, "Big Bad Mamma" was released July 28, 1997 and was featured on the soundtrack to the film How to Be a Player (1997). Though not released on the original album, it was added to the European reissue in 1997. It peaked at number 53 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Background and recording

Brown went into the recording studio in 1996 to record her debut studio album. The album featured guest appearances by Blackstreet, Havoc, Method Man, Kid Capri, and Jay-Z with a majority of the production by the Trackmasters. Ill Na Na produced two hit singles, "Get Me Home" featuring Blackstreet, and "I'll Be" featuring Jay-Z. Ill Na Na was re-released in 1997.

The song "I'll Be" was ranked number 52 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop.

Singles

"Get Me Home" is the first single from Ill Na Na. The song peaked at number 42 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts and number 10 on the U.S. Billboard R&B charts.

"I'll Be" is the second single released from Ill Na Na, produced by the Trackmasters and featuring Jay-Z. Released on March 4, 1997, "I'll Be" quickly became a hit, peaking at 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, at the time becoming both Foxy Brown and Jay-Z's highest charting single. Two months after its release on May 2, "I'll Be" was certified gold by the RIAA for sales of over 500,000 copies. To date it remains Foxy Brown's only solo top 40 single and her only to earn a certification.

"Big Bad Mamma" is the final single on the Ill Na Na, performed by American rapper Foxy Brown and American R&B group Dru Hill and from the soundtrack to the 1997 film, How to Be a Player. The song also appeared on the re-issue of Ill Na Na. The song, which was produced by the Trackmasters and based around an interpolation of Carl Carlton's "She's a Bad Mama Jama", became a semi-successful hit, peaking at 53 on the Billboard Hot 100, Foxy's second highest charting single as a solo artist. The single was released with the recently reunited EPMD's "Never Seen Before" as the B-side.

Commercial performance

In the United States, Ill Na Na debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200 and at number two on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. It sold 109,000 copies in its first week and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) within three months of its release. According to Nielsen SoundScan, the album has sold 1 million copies in the United States.[4][5] In Canada, it was certified gold by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA). In the United Kingdom, it debuted at number 98 on the UK Albums Chart and was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Intro...Chicken Coop"
  • Rich Nice
3:17
2."(Holy Matrimony) Letter to The Firm"
3:26
3."Foxy's Bells"
  • Trackmasters
3:20
4."Get Me Home" (featuring Blackstreet)
  • Carter
  • Olivier
  • Barnes
  • McKinley Horton
  • Ronald Broomfield
3:49
5."The Promise" (featuring Havoc)
4:20
6."Interlude...The Set Up"
  • Jackson
  • Olivier
  • Barnes
  • Nice
  • George Pearson
  • Trackmasters
1:00
7."If I..."
  • Trackmasters
3:42
8."The Chase"
  • Marchand
  • Olivier
  • Barnes
  • Trackmasters
3:18
9."Ill Na Na" (featuring Method Man)
  • Charly "Shuga Bear" Charles
3:06
10."No One's"
  • China Black
  • Divine Allah
3:42
11."Fox Boogie" (featuring Kid Capri)
  • Marchand
  • Olivier
  • Barnes
  • Trackmasters
4:31
12."I'll Be" (featuring Jay Z)
  • Trackmasters
2:58
13."Outro"
  • Hayes
  • Jackson
  • Nice
0:42
Total length:41:11
1997 European reissue
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
14."Big Bad Mamma" (featuring Dru Hill)
  • Trackmasters
3:53
Total length:45:04

Sample credits

Notes

  • Some enhanced editions of the album include the music videos for "I'll Be" & "Get Me Home" as tracks fifteen and sixteen.

Personnel

Adapted from the Ill Na Na liner notes.[6]

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (1996–1997) Peak
position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[7] 27
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[8] 80
UK Albums (OCC)[9] 98
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[10] 15
US Billboard 200[11] 7
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[12] 2

Year-end charts
Chart (1997) Position
German Albums Chart[13] 58

Certifications and sales
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[14] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[15] Silver 60,000*
United States (RIAA)[16] Platinum 1,000,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References
  1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Ill Na Na - Foxy Brown", AllMusic, All Media Network. Retrieved 2015-02-24.
  2. Christgau, Robert. "CG: Foxy Brown", Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2015-02-24.
  3. Farber, Jim. "Ill Na Na", Entertainment Weekly, Time Inc. Retrieved 2015-02-24.
  4. Samuels, Anita M. "Foxy Brown Unwraps 'China Doll'", Billboard, Prometheus Global Media, November 14, 1998.
  5. XXL Staff. "Lil’ Kim’s Hard Core vs. Foxy Brown’s Ill Na Na", XXL, November 18, 2011.
  6. Ill Na Na (liner notes). Foxy Brown. Def Jam. 1996.CS1 maint: others (link)
  7. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved May 14, 2016.
  8. "Dutchcharts.nl – Foxy Brown – Ill Na Na" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 14, 2016.
  9. "Foxy Brown | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved May 14, 2016.
  10. "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  11. "Foxy Brown Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 14, 2016.
  12. "Foxy Brown Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 14, 2016.
  13. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  14. "Canadian album certifications – Foxy Brown – Ill Na Na". Music Canada. Retrieved May 14, 2016.
  15. "British album certifications – Foxy Brown – Ill Na Na". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved May 14, 2016. Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Ill Na Na in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  16. "American album certifications – Foxy Brown – Ill Na Na". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved May 14, 2016. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
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