Of Cities is the second studio album by American hip hop producer DJ Signify. It was released on Bully Records on January 20, 2009.[1] It features guest appearances from Aesop Rock and Matt Kelly.[1]

Of Cities
Studio album by
ReleasedJanuary 20, 2009 (2009-01-20)[1]
GenreHip hop
Length47:24
LabelBully Records
Producer
DJ Signify chronology
Sleep No More
(2004)
Of Cities
(2009)

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Cyclic Defrostfavorable[2]
Electronic Musician3.5/5[3]
HipHopDX3.5/5[4]
PopMatters          [5]
RapReviews.com8/10[6]
The Strangerfavorable[7]
Tiny Mix Tapes     [8]
XLR8R7/10[9]

Dave Segal of The Stranger gave the album a favorable review, stating, "Signify gives us 16 tracks—including six brief interludes ripe for bumper usage in NPR's hipper segments—on Of Cities that bring the funk, but stoically, with urban grime and urbane grimness."[7] Jennifer Marston of XLR8R said: "He's still pushing his drum-heavy style, which is tight as ever, but he's also reeled in shades of glitch, new wave, Kraut-rock, and other genres for the tracks."[10]

PopMatters named it the 3rd best instrumental hip hop album of 2009.[11]

Track listing

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No.TitleLength
1."The Sickness"5:17
2."Low Tide" (featuring Aesop Rock)4:21
3."Interlude 1"0:52
4."Costume Kids"4:41
5."Delight to the Sadist" (featuring Matt Kelly)3:21
6."Interlude 2"1:18
7."Vanessa"5:00
8."Interlude 3"0:36
9."1993"3:31
10."Interlude 4"0:55
11."Sink or Swim" (featuring Aesop Rock)3:44
12."The Gods Get Dirty"4:27
13."Interlude 5"1:19
14."Bollywood Babies"4:08
15."Interlude 6"0:30
16."Hold Me Don't Touch Me"3:24
Total length:47:24

Personnel

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Credits adapted from liner notes.

  • DJ Signify – turntables, production, arrangement, mixing
  • Aesop Rock – vocals (2, 11), lyrics (2, 11)
  • Matt Kelly – additional arrangement (2, 7, 16), guitar (5), keyboards (5)
  • Blockhead – co-production (4, 9)
  • Joe Beats – engineering
  • Harris Newman – mastering
  • Paul "Quo" Kwiakowski – artwork, layout
  • Todd Lown – photography
  • Chris Bryant – photography

References

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  1. ^ a b c Gillespie, Blake (December 4, 2008). "Listen: DJ Signify, "Low Tide" (feat. Aesop Rock)". Impose. Archived from the original on June 29, 2018. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  2. ^ Stronell, Wayne (December 17, 2008). "DJ Signify – Of Cities (Bully Records)". Cyclic Defrost. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  3. ^ Herman, Max (January 15, 2009). "DJ Signify, Of Cities (Bully)". Electronic Musician. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  4. ^ Gary, Kevin S. (January 23, 2009). "DJ Signify - Of Cities". HipHopDX. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  5. ^ Martin, Andrew (January 15, 2009). "DJ Signify: Of Cities". PopMatters. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  6. ^ Taylor, Patrick (January 26, 2010). "DJ Signify :: Of Cities :: Bully Records". RapReviews.com. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  7. ^ a b Segal, Dave (January 15, 2009). "DJ Signify: Of Cities". The Stranger. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  8. ^ B., Owen. "DJ Signify - Of Cities". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  9. ^ Ivers, Brandon (January 14, 2009). "DJ Signify - Of Cities". XLR8R. Archived from the original on September 22, 2015. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  10. ^ Marston, Jennifer (November 21, 2008). "DJ Signify "Low Tide feat. Aesop Rock"". XLR8R. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  11. ^ Martin, Andrew; Miller, Michael; Huff, Quentin B. (December 14, 2009). "The Best Hip-Hop of 2009 (Page 1 of 4)". PopMatters. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
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