King of Hearts is the only studio album by American rapper and producer Camu Tao, who died of lung cancer in 2008. It was released posthumously via Fat Possum Records and Definitive Jux on August 17, 2010.[8][9]
| King of Hearts | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 17, 2010 | |||
| Genre | Hip hop, electronic | |||
| Length | 42:17 | |||
| Label | Fat Possum Records, Definitive Jux | |||
| Producer | Camu Tao | |||
| Camu Tao chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 71/100[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [2] |
| The Phoenix | [3] |
| PopMatters |   [4] |
| Potholes in My Blog | [5] |
| Spectrum Culture | 4.0/5.0[6] |
| URB | [7] |
Critical reception
editAt Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, King of Hearts received an average score of 71% based on 6 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[1]
Josh Langhoff of PopMatters gave the album 6 stars out of 10, describing it as "the sound of Camu [Tao] reaching out, trying to connect with people while grappling with the most personal elements of his life."[4]
Camu Tao’s friend and fellow rapper Cage, began a close working relationship in 2010 with another Ohio native Kid Cudi. During that time he showed Cudi the demos for the posthumous Tao album, with Cage telling El-P (a mutual friend of Cage and Tao) that Cudi was “super into the record and really into Camu and felt really connected to the music.”[10] El-P and Cage asked Cudi if he would give them a quote for the record:
"These songs are so before their time it’s ridiculous. The melodies and harmonies are very clever, the lyrics are quick witted and his vocal arrangements are genius. People need to hear this shit and know this man’s story. Camu was a great future Ohio talent who I’m sure would have made a huge mark in this mediocre industry."[11] – Kid Cudi
Track listing
editAll tracks written and produced by Camu Tao.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Be a Big Girl" | 2:33 |
| 2. | "Bird Flu" | 3:39 |
| 3. | "Death" | 2:27 |
| 4. | "Fonny Valentine" | 2:19 |
| 5. | "Actin' a Ass" | 0:33 |
| 6. | "Get at You" | 3:07 |
| 7. | "Ind of the World" | 2:28 |
| 8. | "Intervention" | 1:10 |
| 9. | "King of Hearts" | 2:15 |
| 10. | "Major Team" | 3:29 |
| 11. | "Plot a Little" | 2:58 |
| 12. | "The Moment" | 2:31 |
| 13. | "The Perfect Plan" | 2:25 |
| 14. | "Play O Run" | 2:08 |
| 15. | "When You're Going Down" | 4:17 |
| 16. | "Kill Me" | 3:58 |
Charts
edit| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[12] | 23 |
References
edit- ^ a b "King of Hearts by Camu Tao". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on October 13, 2017. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
- ^ Brown, Marisa. "Camu Tao - King of Hearts". AllMusic. Archived from the original on September 19, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
- ^ Graham, Andrew (September 7, 2010). "Review: Camu Tao - King of Hearts". The Phoenix. Archived from the original on April 23, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
- ^ a b Langhoff, Josh (September 26, 2010). "Camu Tao: King of Hearts". PopMatters. Archived from the original on April 22, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
- ^ Jenkins, Craig (October 2, 2010). "Album Review: Camu Tao – King of Hearts". Potholes in My Blog. Archived from the original on November 18, 2014. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
- ^ Kangas, Chaz (August 16, 2010). "Camu Tao: King of Hearts". Spectrum Culture. Archived from the original on August 20, 2020. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
- ^ Uddenberg, Brett (August 31, 2010). "Camu Tao: King Of Hearts (Review)". URB. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
- ^ Young, Alex (May 29, 2010). "Camu Tao's debut LP gets posthumous release". Consequence of Sound. Archived from the original on April 27, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
- ^ Breihan, Tom (June 10, 2010). "New Release: Camu Tao: King of Hearts". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on April 20, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
- ^ "El-P on Camu Tao's legacy". 18 August 2010.
- ^ "[Download] Camu Tao - "Perfect Plan"".
- ^ "Camu Tao - Chart history - Dance/Electronic Albums". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 3, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
External links
edit- King of Hearts at Discogs (list of releases)