Vibes (Theophilus London album)

Vibes
Studio album by Theophilus London
Released	November 4, 2014
Recorded	2012–14; BMT Studios, (Palm Springs) Kouz Production, (Paris) New Look, (New York) Question de Son Studio, (Paris) Peter Fox Studio, Berlin, (Germany)
Genre	Hip hop electronic
Length	41:53
Label	Warner Bros. Records
Producer	Kanye West (exec.) Leon Ware (exec.) Theophilus London (exec.) Adam Pavao Club Cheval Brodinski 88-Keys Cid Rim (aka Clemens Bacher) Pierre Baigorry
Theophilus London chronology
Timez Are Weird These Days (2011) Vibes (2014)
Singles from Vibes
"Tribe" Released: September 2, 2014

Vibes is the second studio album by American rapper Theophilus London. The album was released on November 4, 2014, by Warner Bros. Records. The album features guest appearances from Leon Ware, Kanye West, Jesse Boykins III, Soko, Devonte Hynes and Force MDs. The album was supported by the single "Tribe".

Background

In November 2014, in an interview with Nah Right, he spoke about how long it took to make the album, saying: "Two years. The first six months I would say I started the early production meetings with the people I wanted to work with. This album is like my very first album because nobody from the label or nobody said, “Yo, go write with this person.” This is all pre-thought like, “Who do I want to pick and start the ideas with?” When it comes to making music I’m very timid. I’m not nervous but I’m very timid. I know that I have to do good. Without Kanye’s name attached to it, trust me I would have put out a raw as fuck album and people would be like, “Yo let’s go, let’s do this!” That’s me, I’m going to build a vibe and go. So the people I got to work with really shaped the album."^[1]

He also spoke about Kanye West executive producing the album, saying: "It’s super special. He doesn’t executive produce nobody’s album. He just do features. And in the next few years he’s just focused on Yeezy season and nobody’s going to drop an album when he does [laughs] and I’m going to be super irrelevant. I’m glad my album came out right now and not when his album is about to come out. It’s dope though. It’s like sometimes I want to pinch myself. It’s one of those moments man. It’s like if I were to work with Michael Jackson and shit. I’m happy I get to do business with people, I know people can’t listen to my album in one day and have 700+ replies to me saying, “This is the most incredible album of the year, 10/10.” I get more people excited that one of the highest brow artists and one of the lowest brow artists meet up. People are excited about that, that’s dope for me–that Kanye would work with a kid like me, that’s a great message."^[1]

Singles

On September 2, 2014, the album's first single "Tribe" featuring Jesse Boykins III was released.^[2] On November 4, 2014, the music video was released for "Tribe" featuring Jesse Boykins III.^[3]

Critical response

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	72/100[4]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Exclaim!	5/10[6]
HipHopDX	[7]
Music Connection	5/10[8]
Now	NNNNN[9]
PopMatters	[10]
XXL	3/5 (L)[11]
Wondering Sound	[12]

Vibes received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 71, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on 6 reviews.^[4] Scott Simpson of Exclaim! said, "Does Vibes serve as the great artistic outlet London makes it out to be? No. But what the album does have going for it is its overarching aesthetic: It's an album that has a nice enough groove throughout, and again, the quality of the production really cannot be overstated. Maybe London should have let the album speak for itself."^[6] Steven Goldstein of HipHopDX said, "Time off, a tighter central theme and spirited assists from some legendary producers makes Theophilus London’s second full-length his best yet. What’s being escaped is up to you, but Vibes succeeds in getting its listener to flourish in a world of champagne toasts, faceless women and impulsive dancing."^[7] Eli Schwadron of XXL stated, "Theophilus London’s musical ability is evident throughout Vibes, a mesh-mash of genres that come together to form one of the better listenings of 2014. The album sounds like a bit of a throwback at times, yet London makes it feel new at the same time. He poses a dual threat—singer/rapper—which results in wider appeal. Vibes is a breath of fresh air."^[11]

Track listing

Credits adapted from London's official website.^[13]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Water Me" (featuring Leon Ware)	Leon Ware Theophilus London The Force MD’s Soko	Leon Ware Adam Pavao	5:08
2.	"Neu Law"	London Andrew Watt Miri Ben-Ari John Maus Adam Pavao	Adam Pavao Theophilus London	2:38
3.	"Take and Look"	London Pavao Mike Moore Andrew Watt Alain Seghir Brigitte Balian Catherine Loy	Adam Pavao Theophilus London	3:10
4.	"Can't Stop" (featuring Kanye West)	London Kanye West Charles Njapa Club Cheval Brodinski Brittany Barber Miri Ben-Ari Norman Feels James Smith	Club Cheval Brodinski 88-Keys (co.)	4:51
5.	"Get Me Right"	London Ware The Force MD’s Soko Adam Pavao	Cid Rim (aka Clemens Bacher) Adam Pavao Kyle Ross (ass.)	3:14
6.	"Heartbreaker"	London Sarah Ruba Pavao	Adam Pavao Kyle Ross (ass.)	2:51
7.	"Do Girls"	London West Watt	Cid Rim (aka Clemens Bacher) Kyle Ross (ass.)	3:38
8.	"Tribe" (featuring Jesse Boykins III)	London Jesse Boykins III Brodinski Club Cheval	Club Cheval Brodinski Kyle Ross (ass.)	2:30
9.	"Smoke (Interlude)" (featuring Soko)	London Soko Pavao	Adam Pavao	2:42
10.	"Smoke Dancehall"	London Soko Pavao	Pierre Baigorry	3:40
11.	"Need Somebody" (featuring Leon Ware)	London Ware Pavao Mike Moore Soko The Force MD’s	Pierre Baigorry	3:23
12.	"Figure It Out" (featuring Devonte Hynes and Force MDs)	London Devonte Hynes The Force MD’s Brodinski Sarah Ruba Mason Betha Sean Combs Curtis Mayfield Nashiem Myrick Keisha Spivey	Leon Ware	4:07
Total length:				40:33

Sample credits

• "Neu Law" contains a portion of the composition “The Law” written by John Maus as performed by John Maus.
• "Take and Look" contains a portion of the composition “Take a Look” written by Alain Seghir, Brigitte Balian, and Catherine Loy as performed by Martin Dupont.
• "Can’t Stop" contains a portion of the composition “You Can’t Stop My Love” written by Alain Seghir, Brigitte Balian, and Catherine Loy as performed by Martin Dupont.
• "Figure It Out" contains a portion of the composition “What You Want” written by Mason Betha, Sean Combs, Curtis Mayfield, Nashiem Myrick, and Keisha Spivey as performed by Mase from album Harlem World.

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.^[13]

• Theophilus London — A&R, composer, creative director, creative producer, lyricist, primary artist, producer, vocals
• Kanye West — arranger, composer, executive producer, featured artist
• Leon Ware — composer, creative producer, featured artist, producer
• 88-Keys — composer, producer
• Virgil Abloh — creative director
• Pierre Baigorry — producer
• Brigitte Balian — composer
• Brittany Barber — composer, vocals (background)
• Miri Ben-Ari — composer, string arrangements, strings, violin, violin arrangement
• Mason Betha — composer
• Jesse Boykins III — composer, featured artist
• Brodinski — composer, producer
• Cid Rim — producer
• Club Cheval — composer, producer
• Sean Combs — composer
• Paul Falcone — mixing
• Norman Feels— composer
• Jeff Fenster — A&R
• The Force M.D.'s — composer, featured artist
• Devonté Hynes — composer, featured artist
• Anthony Killhoffer — mixing
• Karl Lagerfeld — art direction, photography
• Catherine Loy — composer
• John Maus — composer
• Curtis Mayfield — composer
• Jack Minihan — A&R
• Mike Moore — composer
• Nashiem Myrick — composer
• Adam Pavao — composer, producer
• Kyle Ross — mixing assistant
• Sarah Ruba — composer
• Alain Seghir — composer
• James Smith — composer
• Soko — composer, featured artist
• Keisha Spivey — composer
• Andrew Watt — composer

References

1. "Interview: Theophilus London "Vibes" with Kanye West & Leon Ware for Sophomore LP - Nah Right". Nah Right. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
2. "iTunes - Music - Tribe (feat. Jesse Boykins III) - Single by Theophilus London". iTunes. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
3. "Theophilus London". Exclaim!. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
4. "Reviews for Vibes! by Theophilus London - Metacritic". Retrieved 8 November 2014.
5. Andy Kellman. "Vibes! - Theophilus London - Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
6. "Theophilus London - Vibes". Exclaim!. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
7. "Theophilus London - Vibes". HipHopDX. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
8. Mesecher, Andy (23 December 2014). "Album Review: Theophilus London – Vibes (Score: 5/10)". Music Connection. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
9. Leconte, Julia (12 November 2014). "Theophilus London". Now. Now Communications. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
10. Wallace, Emanuel (27 March 2015). "Theophilus London: Vibes". Popmatters. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
11. "Theophilus London Is A Breath Of Fresh Air On New Album ‘Vibes’". XXL. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
12. Reeves, Mosi (4 November 2014). "Theophilus London, Vibes". Wondering Sound. eMusic. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
13. "Vibes credits". Vibes (album notes). Theophilus London. Warner Bros. Records. 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2014.