Certified (David Banner album)
| Certified | ||||
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| Studio album by David Banner | ||||
| Released | September 20, 2005 | |||
| Recorded | 2003-2005 | |||
| Genre | Southern hip hop, gangsta rap, rap rock | |||
| Length | 68:36 | |||
| Label | SRC, Universal Records | |||
| Producer | Billy Hume, Craig Love, Cyber Sapp, Down Beat, David Banner, Get Cool, Jazze Pha, Jake Arnold, Kevin Rudolf, Lil Jon, Mr. Collipark, Maestro, Mike Hartnett | |||
| David Banner chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Certified | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 71/100 |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Entertainment Weekly | B- |
| MusicOMH | |
| Okayplayer |  |
| Pitchfork Media | 8.4/10 |
| PopMatters |   |
| RapReviews | 9/10 |
| Stylus Magazine | B- |
| USA Today | |
| Vibe | |
Certified is the fourth studio album by American rapper and record producer David Banner. It was released on September 20, 2005, by SRC and Universal Records. Most of the album's production was handled by Banner. The album features guest appearances from Jadakiss, Jazze Pha, Talib Kweli, Twista and Jagged Edge, among others. The first single was "Ain't Got Nothing" (backed with "Certified"). The second single was "Play" (backed with "Westside") which reached number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. In early 2006 promotional "Gangsta Walk" and "On Everything" (backed with "Fucking") were released.
Certified garnered positive reviews from music critics who praised Banner's approach to over-the-top hip-hop stories and insightful political tracks. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream crtics, the album received an average score of 71, based on 13 reviews.
Pedro Hernandez of RapReviews gave high praise to Banner for building upon his previous material and delivered an album with solid production, balanced themes and capable guest artists, concluding that "Certified treads a fine line between keeping it real and selling units, but Banner treads that line very well. Though it is his best album to date, hopefully this is only the beginning for the game's most conscious rapper." Andy Kellman of AllMusic said that despite the cluttered list of guest artists, the album delivers on Banner's established material with higher production values and gusto conviction, saying that "Certified certifies that Banner is as crucial to hip-hop in the early 2000s as any other MC." Dan Nishimoto of PopMatters admired Banner's approach of crafting a mainstream hip-hop album that over-exaggerates tropes while delivering serious topics in disguise, saying that "Certified's appeal lies in this tightrope act. Fully aware of his captive audience, Banner goes for broke to bring in as wide a swath as possible."
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Wikipedia