2000 B.C. (Before Can-I-Bus)

2000 B.C. (Before Can-I-Bus)
Studio album by Canibus
Released July 18, 2000
Recorded 1999–2000
Genre Hip hop
Length 55:51
Label Universal
Producer
Canibus chronology
Can-I-Bus
(1998)		 2000 B.C.
(2000)		 C! True Hollywood Stories
(2001)
Singles from 2000 B.C. (Before Can-I-Bus)
  1. "2000 B.C."
    Released: 2000
  2. "Mic-Nificent"
    Released: 2000
  3. "Life Liquid"
    Released: 2000
  4. "Watch Who U Beef Wit"
    Released: 2000

2000 B.C. (Before Can-I-Bus) is the second studio album by rapper Canibus, released on July 18, 2000 through Universal Records.

Considered to have been a significant improvement over his debut album, Can-I-Bus, 2000 B.C. featured multiple record producers and greater differentiation. On the title track, Canibus blames the commercial failure of his first album on the bland beats by Wyclef Jean whom he severed ties with to team up with various producers, ranging from Ty Fyffe to Irv Gotti. Allegedly, rapper Eminem was to be featured on the track "Phuk U", but turned down the offer.[1]

Universal Records was reportedly underwhelmed by sales of the second release (the album was bootlegged heavily before the release), and the label's contract with Canibus was terminated following the release of 2000 B.C. The album's only charting single was "Mic-Nificent", which peaked at number 23 on the Hot Rap Singles chart.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic60/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
The A.V. ClubFavorable[4]
Entertainment WeeklyD[5]
NME6/10[6]
RapReviews8/10[7]
Rolling Stone[8]
SonicNet2/5[9]
VibeUnfavorable[10]
Wall of Sound71/100[11]

2000 B.C. received mixed reviews from music critics, calling it an improvement over his debut album but still found problems with Canibus' lack of engaging topics, monotonous flow and subpar production. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 60, based on 9 reviews.[2]

Steve 'Flash' Juon of RapReviews praised the album's production for its bass-heavy underground approach and Canibus' lyrics for containing more vile and vitriol than his debut's pop rap content, saying that, "As a whole this sophomore album is easily as good or better than the first, but whether this will satisfy the people who've already written off Canibus is still anyone's guess."[7] Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club, despite finding the production uneven, the featured guests lacking lyrically and the use of a song structure missing, praised Canibus for lacing the songs by amplifying his battle-rapping style with imaginative content, saying that he "invests his rhymes with such dark humor, vivid imagery, and controlled passion that his lack of thematic ambition is forgivable."[4] Wall of Sound's Jackie McCarthy praised the production for being subtle and using samples sparingly and Canibus' lyrical content, concluding that, "If 2000 B.C. is Canibus' attempt to rewrite his own musical history, erasing his missteps with LL Cool J and Wyclef, it'll be interesting to see who his next target will be."[11]

Matt Conaway of AllMusic was mixed about the album, praising Canibus' delivery and battle rhymes for being attention-grabbing to the ears, but felt indifferent to the drum tracks conducted by the new producers, concluding that his "vast potential remains largely unrealized thanks to bland production."[3] NME also commented on the production, saying that outside "The C-Quel" and the title track, it feels monotonous afterwards, saying that, "There's just not enough concepts or ideas on show - every song is a fist-fight to the death."[6] Tony Green of Rolling Stone praised the album's first-half for being able to match the production with Canibus' angry-filled lyrics but felt that the aggression depletes later on, concluding that, "Still, 2000 is a cut above his debut, making it the kind of second chance that you don't often get in the music biz."[8]

Christopher O'Connor of SonicNet felt that the album was wasted potential and only exhibited inner male rage, concluding that, "It's ironic that for all of his intelligence, passion and obvious talent, Canibus chose to stoop to the caveman mentality so apparent on this release. 2000 B.C., indeed."[9] Craig Seymour, writing for Entertainment Weekly, criticized Canibus for crafting the album with anger-filled tracks and should utilize his talents to make better songs.[5] Jon Carmanica of Vibe said that despite the album having the appropriate production, Canibus still spits disses like he's going to war and will continue doing so with bloody hands, concluding that, "It's a hollow victory if there ever was one."[10]

Track listing

# Title Producer(s) Featured guest(s) Time
1 "The C-Quel" Pillo Jamel, The Heatmakerz 3:36
2 "2000 B.C. (Before Can-I-Bus)" Ty Fyffe, Laze 3:31
3 "Life Liquid" JuJu Journalist 4:24
4 "Shock Therapy" (interlude) 1:10
5 "Watch Who U Beef Wit" Chaos 4:30
6 "I'll Buss 'Em U Punish 'Em" DJ Clue, Duro Rakim 4:07
7 "Mic-Nificent" Daniel "Danny P" Pierre 3:13
8 "Die Slow" Ty Fyffe Journalist 4:00
9 "Doomsday News" Chaos 3:33
10 "Lost @ "C"" Taiwan Green, Irv Gotti 4:59
11 "Phuk U" Mike "Punch" Harper 4:04
12 "Horsemen" Pharoahe Monch 1:22
13 "Horsementality" Chaos The HRSMN 5:59
14 "100 Bars" Mike "Punch" Harper 4:58
15 "Chaos" Chaos 2:29
Sample credits

Personnel

Credits for 2000 B.C. adapted from AllMusic.[14]
  • Bruce Miller - engineer
  • Jake Ninan - mixing
  • Tony Prendatt - mixing
  • Joe Quimby - engineer, mixing
  • Walter Reed - composer
  • Charles Suitt - executive producer

Charts

Album

Charts (2000) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[15] 23
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[16] 6

Singles

Mic-Nificent

Chart (2000) Peak
position
Hot Rap Singles (Billboard)[17] 23

References

  1. ↑ "Canibus - Eminem's Enemies, Rivals and Beefs". EminemLab. November 19, 2002. Retrieved August 28, 2011.
  2. 1 2 "Reviews for 2000 BC by Canibus". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  3. 1 2 Conaway, Matt. "2000 B.C. - Canibus". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved February 22, 2008.
  4. 1 2 Rabin, Nathan (March 29, 2002). "2000 B.C. · Canibus". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  5. 1 2 Seymour, Craig (September 1, 2000). "Music Review: '2000 B.C. (Before Can-I-Bus)'". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved February 22, 2008.
  6. 1 2 "2000BC (Before Can-I-Bus)". NME. IPC Media. July 27, 2000. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  7. 1 2 Juon, Steve 'Flash' (July 24, 2000). "Canibus - 2000 B.C. (Before Can-I-Bus)". RapReviews. Retrieved May 19, 2008.
  8. 1 2 Green, Tony. "Recordings: Canibus, 2000 B.C., 3 Stars". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Archived from the original on August 28, 2002. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  9. 1 2 O'Connor, Christopher (July 20, 2000). "Cagey Caveman". SonicNet. Archived from the original on May 3, 2001. Retrieved February 22, 2008.
  10. 1 2 Spin Media (August 2000). Vibe. SpinMedia. p. 172. ISSN 1070-4701. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  11. 1 2 McCarthy, Jackie. "Wall of Sound Review: 2000 B.C.". Wall of Sound. Archived from the original on August 15, 2000. Retrieved February 22, 2008.
  12. ↑ "Tracks Sampled in The C-Quel by Canibus". WhoSampled. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  13. ↑ "2000 B.C. (Before Can-I-Bus) - Canibus". WhoSampled. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  14. ↑ "2000 B.C. - Canibus | Credits". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Canibus – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Canibus. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Canibus – Chart history" Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums for Canibus. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  17. ↑ "2000 B.C. - Canibus | Charts & Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
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