Yeeeah Baby

{{Infobox album

| name = Yeeeah Baby

| type = Album

| artist = Big Pun

| cover = Yeeeah Baby coverart.jpg

| alt =

| released = April 4, 2000

| recorded =

| venue =

| studio =

| genre = {{hlist|East Coast hip hop|hardcore hip hop|Latin hip hop}}

| length = 52:08

| label = {{hlist|Columbia|SRC|Terror Squad|Loud}}

| producer = {{hlist|Just Blaze|Buckwild|L.E.S.|Sean C|DJ Shok|Richard "Younglord" Frierson|Knobody|O.Gee|Mahogany|Minnesota|Guy Boogie|KNS|the Infinite Arkatechz}}

| prev_title = Capital Punishment

| prev_year = 1998

| next_title = Endangered Species

| next_year = 2001

| misc = {{Singles

| name = Yeeeah Baby

| type = studio

| single1 = It's So Hard

| single1date = March 30, 2000

| single2 = 100%

| single2date = June 5, 2000

}}

Yeeeah Baby (titled as Yeah Baby on streaming services) is the second and final studio album by rapper Big Pun, released April 4, 2000, through Columbia Records, SRC Records, Loud Records and Fat Joe's Terror Squad Productions. It debuted and peaked at number 3 on the Billboard 200, selling 179,000 units during the first week.{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-apr-13-ca-18923-story.html|title=Big Punisher's 'Yeeeah Baby!' Debuts at No. 3|date=April 13, 2000|website=Los Angeles Times}} It was subsequently certified gold in July 2000, and received platinum certification on October 31, 2017.{{cite web|title=Gold & Platinum|url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/|website=riaa.com|publisher=Recording Industry Association Of America|access-date=2017-11-26|archive-date=2016-01-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105175037/https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/|url-status=live}} Fat Joe served as the executive producer of the album.

Struggling with morbid obesity, Pun experienced breathing problems throughout the album's recording process, slowing down his signature flow. He died at 28 years of age, just two months before the album's release. The album, though released, was unfinished at the time of his death.

Background

In his last magazine interview, conducted by Industry Insider only a week before his death, Pun detailed that his approach on Yeeeah Baby was not as "hardcore" as his previous album Capital Punishment, in an attempt to reach out to an even wider fanbase than his debut album already had.{{Cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1425716/big-pun-remembered-in-final-magazine-interview/|title=Big Pun Remembered In Final Magazine Interview|website=MTV News|access-date=2020-11-08|archive-date=2019-09-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190916045533/http://www.mtv.com/news/1425716/big-pun-remembered-in-final-magazine-interview/|url-status=dead}}

Reception

=Commercial=

Yeeeah Baby posted a strong debut on the Billboard 200, the album sold more than 179,000 copies in its first week in stores to take the third slot on the chart.{{Citation needed|date=August 2010}} It reached Gold status within three months.

=Critical=

{{Music ratings

|rev1 = AllMusic

|rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r471278|pure_url=yes}} AllMusic review]

|rev8 = Rolling Stone

|rev8score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}[https://web.archive.org/web/20070718132726/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/bigpunisher/albums/album/235491/review/6210536/yeeeah_baby Rolling Stone review]

|rev6 = Q

|rev6score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=8739799&style=music|title=Big Punisher - Yeeeah Baby CD Album MP3|website=www.cduniverse.com|access-date=2020-11-08|archive-date=2020-11-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108060509/https://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=8739799&style=music|url-status=live}}

|rev5 = NME

|rev5score = 7/10{{Cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews-nme-2189-338887|title=Yeeeah Baby | NME|website=NME|date=September 12, 2005|access-date=November 8, 2020|archive-date=November 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108060602/https://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews-nme-2189-338887|url-status=live}}

|rev7 = RapReviews

|rev7score = 8.5/10{{Cite web|url=http://www.rapreviews.com/archive/2000_04_yeeeahbaby.html|title=Big Punisher :: Yeeeah Baby :: Loud|website=www.rapreviews.com|access-date=2009-11-22|archive-date=2009-07-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090723022907/http://www.rapreviews.com/archive/2000_04_yeeeahbaby.html|url-status=live}}

|rev3 = Robert Christgau

|rev3score = {{Rating-Christgau|hm2}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=big+punisher|title=Robert Christgau: CG: big punisher|website=www.robertchristgau.com|access-date=2012-10-12|archive-date=2016-03-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303175548/http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=big+punisher|url-status=live}}

|rev9 = The Source

|rev9score = {{Rating|4|5}}

|rev4 = Entertainment Weekly

|rev4score = C{{Cite web|url=https://ew.com/article/2000/04/03/yeeeah-baby/|title=Yeeeah Baby|website=EW.com|access-date=2020-11-08|archive-date=2019-08-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190820100629/https://ew.com/article/2000/04/03/yeeeah-baby/|url-status=live}}

|rev2 = Billboard

|rev2score = (Favorable){{Cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4w4EAAAAMBAJ&dq=big+pun+yeeeah+baby+spin+2000&pg=PA24|magazine=Billboard|title=Reviews|date=April 15, 2000|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|via=Google Books|access-date=October 13, 2016|archive-date=November 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108060505/https://books.google.com/books?id=4w4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA24&dq=big+pun+yeeeah+baby+spin+2000&hl=en&ei=Sq2STKShNIOQjAeElOCSBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAw|url-status=live}}

}}

Yeeeah Baby received favorable reviews from music critics.

Rolling Stone (4/13/00, p. 128) – 3.5 stars out of 5 – "... [Pun] has gone out with a bang. He attacked standard hip-hop topics with witty, unpredictable elasticity. ... Pun is at his habanero hottest ..."
Q (7/00, p. 111) – 3 stars out of 5 – "... Would have established [him] as both a radio-friendly commercial force and rebellious icon ..."
CMJ (4/24/00, p. 30) – "... Beams the spotlight on the Boricua bomber's unparalleled breath control and hilarious jaw-dropping wordplay."
Vibe (6/00, p. 214) – "... A triumphant final effort for one of the Boogie Down Bronx's favorite super-lyrical sons....[It] showcases Pun's matured artistic vision and newly mastered flows but never ceases to move bodies and minds ..."{{Cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SSgEAAAAMBAJ&dq=Yeeeah+Baby+Big+Pun+vibe&pg=PA214 |title=Vibe review |magazine=Vibe |access-date=2016-10-13 |archive-date=2020-11-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108060505/https://books.google.com/books?id=SSgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA214&dq=Yeeeah+Baby+Big+Pun+vibe&cd=1 |url-status=live }}
The Source (5/00, p. 186) – 4 mics out of 5 – "... An even more in-depth peep inside the heart and soul of a man in constant struggle with himself. ... a backstage pass to the all-out jam that was Pun's personality: street-wise, intellectually sharp, sex-crazed – and funny as hell ..."
NME (4/29/00, p. 35) – 7 out of 10 – "... [A] raucous final musical statement. ... like a library of every cool contemporary hip-hop sound squeezed onto one compact disc. ... One for delinquent work experience boys everywhere."

Track listing

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.{{cite AV media notes|title= Yeeeah Baby |year= 2000 |type= booklet |publisher= Terror Squad, Loud}}

{{Track listing

| extra_column = Producer(s)

| title1 = The Creation

| note1 = intro

| writer1 =

| extra1 =

| length1 = 1:29

| title2 = Watch Those

| note2 =

| writer2 = {{hlist|Christopher Rios|Jerome Foster|Tom Scott}}

| extra2 = Knobody

| length2 = 3:20

| title3 = Off wit His Head

| note3 = featuring Prospect and Opera Steve

| writer3 = {{hlist|Rios|Richard Perez|Justin Smith}}

| extra3 = Just Blaze

| length3 = 4:06

| title4 = It's So Hard

| note4 = featuring Donell Jones

| writer4 = {{hlist|Rios|Richard Frierson|Jay Garfield}}

| extra4 = {{hlist|Younglord|Jay Garfield{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length4 = 2:52

| title5 = We Don't Care

| note5 = featuring Cuban Link

| writer5 = {{hlist|Rios|Felix Delgado|Frierson|Colin Blunstone|David Jones}}

| extra5 = Younglord

| length5 = 3:12

| title6 = New York Giants

| note6 = featuring M.O.P.

| writer6 = {{hlist|Rios|Mark Richardson|Jamal Grinnage|Eric Murray|Anne Dudley|Malcolm McLaren}}

| extra6 = {{hlist|Minnesota|Mahogany}}

| length6 = 3:30

| title7 = My Dick

| note7 = featuring Tony Sunshine

| writer7 = {{hlist|Rios|K. Streaks|G. Rodriguez|Eric Smith|Eric McCaine|Gino Vannelli}}

| extra7 = {{hlist|KNS|Guy Boogie}}

| length7 = 3:19

| title8 = Leatherface

| note8 =

| writer8 = {{hlist|Rios|Michael Dewar|Collin Dewar|Bill Conti|Earl Simmons|Sean Jacobs|Jason Phillips|Mason Betha|David Styles|Damon Blackman}}

| extra8 = The Infinite Arkatechz

| length8 = 3:25

| title9 = Air Pun

| note9 = skit

| writer9 =

| extra9 =

| length9 = 0:51

| title10 = 100%

| note10 = featuring Tony Sunshine

| writer10 = {{hlist|Rios|Deleno Matthews|Lalo Schifrin}}

| extra10 = Sean Cane

| length10 = 3:51

| title11 = Wrong Ones

| note11 = featuring Sunkiss

| writer11 = {{hlist|Rios|DeShawn Barzey|J. Smith}}

| extra11 = Just Blaze

| length11 = 4:07

| title12 = Laughing at You

| note12 = featuring Tony Sunshine

| writer12 = {{hlist|Rios|Gary Scott|Steve Schiff|Keith Forsey}}

| extra12 = Ogee

| length12 = 4:26

| title13 = Nigga Shit

| note13 =

| writer13 = {{hlist|Rios|Anthony Best}}

| extra13 = Buckwild

| length13 = 1:45

| title14 = Ms. Martin

| note14 = featuring Remi Martin

| writer14 = {{hlist|Rios|Michael Gomez}}

| extra14 = DJ Shok

| length14 = 4:16

| title15 = My Turn

| note15 =

| writer15 = {{hlist|Rios|Leshan Lewis|Al West}}

| extra15 = {{hlist|L.E.S.|Al West{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length15 = 3:48

| title16 = You Was Wrong

| note16 = featuring Drag-On, Fat Joe, & Remi Martin

| writer16 = {{hlist|Rios|Gomez|Melvin Smalls}}

| extra16 = DJ Shok

| length16 = 3:51

}}

Notes

{{sup|{{note|a|[a]}}}} signifies a co-producer

Sample credits

"Watch Those" contains a sample of "Gotcha (Theme from Starsky & Hutch)", written and performed by Tom Scott.
"We Don't Care" contains excerpts from "Exclusively for Me", written by Colin Blunstone and David Jones.
"New York Giants" contains a sample of "World Famous", written by Anne Dudley and Malcolm McLaren, performed by Malcolm McLaren.
"My Dick" contains excerpts from "2 Hype", written by Eric Smith and Eric McCaine; and contains samples of "Jo Jo", written and performed by Gino Vannelli.
"Leather Face" contains excerpts from "Redemption", written and performed by Bill Conti; and contains a sample from "Niggaz Done Started Something", written by Earl Simmons, Sean Jacobs, Jason Phillips, Mason Betha, David Styles, and Damon Blackman, performed by DMX featuring the Lox and Mase.
"100%" contains samples from "Anita", written and performed by Lalo Schifrin.
"Laughing at You" contains excerpts from "Don't You (Forget About Me)", written by Steve Schiff and Keith Forsey.

Album chart positions

=Weekly charts=

scope="col"\| Chart (2000) ! scope="col"\| Peak position
class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
scope="row"\|Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan){{cite web\|url= http://www.jamshowbiz.com/JamMusicCharts/RANDB.html\|title=R&B : Top 50\|website=Jam!\|date=May 22, 2000\|access-date=January 29, 2023\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000523214517/http://www.jamshowbiz.com:80/JamMusicCharts/RANDB.html\|archive-date=May 23, 2000}} \|style="text-align:center;"\|15
{{album chart\|Billboard200\|3\|artist=Big Punisher\|rowheader=true\|access-date=August 18, 2020}}
{{album chart\|BillboardRandBHipHop\|1\|artist=Big Punisher\|rowheader=true\|access-date=August 18, 2020}}

=Year-end charts=

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

scope="col"| Chart (2000)

! scope="col"| Position

scope="row"| US Billboard 200{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2000/top-billboard-200-albums|title=Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2000|magazine=Billboard|date=2 January 2013|access-date=August 18, 2020|archive-date=May 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180526051757/https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2000/top-billboard-200-albums|url-status=live}}

| 123

scope="row"| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard){{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2000/top-r-and-b-hip-hop-albums|title=Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2000|magazine=Billboard|date=2 January 2013|access-date=August 18, 2020|archive-date=May 8, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180508104317/https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2000/top-r-and-b-hip-hop-albums|url-status=live}}

| 45