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Coming of Age is the debut studio album by American rapper Memphis Bleek.[1] It was released by Get Low Records, Roc-A-Fella, and Def Jam on August 3, 1999. The album spawned the hit single "Memphis Bleek Is...". The album was certified Gold by the RIAA on September 14, 1999 for shipment of over 500,000 units.

Coming of Age
Studio album by Memphis Bleek
Released	August 3, 1999
Recorded	1998–1999
Studio	Roc-A-Fella Center Studio (New York City)
Genre	Hip hop
Length	50:13
Label	Get Low Roc-A-Fella Def Jam
Producer	Shawn Carter (executive producer), Damon Dash (also executive producer), Kareem Burke (also executive producer)
Memphis Bleek chronology
Coming of Age (1999) The Understanding (2000)
Singles from Coming of Age
"Memphis Bleek Is..." Released: June 8, 1999 "What You Think Of That" Released: October 6, 1999 "My Hood To Your Hood" Released: January 3, 2000

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[3]
Rolling Stone	[4]
USA Today	[5]

Matt Diehl of Entertainment Weekly praised Bleek for holding his own lyrically alongside guest artists Ja Rule and N.O.R.E., and displaying striking sensitivity on "Regular Cat". He also noted how the album's production of "ominous inner-city symphonies and raw street beats" was ageless.[3] Keith Farley from AllMusic noted how Bleek's vocal delivery was more "street-level" than Jay-Z's, along with the album containing an "urban funk" style like most of his material, concluding that "Still, Coming of Age is a fine debut that shows Memphis Bleek already leaps and bounds ahead of most rappers."[2] In a dual review with Ja's Venni Vetti Vecci, Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield felt that Bleek came across as a cliché-filled rapper that lacked witticism in his lyrics and wasted the beats given to him by his producers.[4]

Track listing

Samples

Regular Cat

• "Love and Let Love" by Roberta Flack

Stay Alive in NYC

• "Summer Is the Coldest Time of Year" by Patti Austin

What You Think of That

• "High Velocity" by Keith Mansfield

Who's Sleeping

• "If This World Were Mine" by Zulema

Personnel

• Juan Allen – Engineer
• B-High – Executive Producer
• Big Jaz – Producer, Executive Producer
• Buckwild – Producer
• Kareem "Biggs" Burke – Executive Producer
• Eric "Ebo" Butler – Mixing
• Eric Butler – Mixing
• Shawn Carter – Executive Producer
• Tim Coyne – Mastering
• Tom Coyne – Mastering
• Da Ranjahz – Performer
• Dark Half – Producer
• Damon Dash – Executive Producer
• Irv Gotti – Producer, Mixing
• J-Runnah – Producer
• Ja Rule – Performer
• Jay-Z – Performer
• Robert "Shim" Kirkland – Producer
• Lil Rob – Producer
• Jonathan Mannion – Photography
• Mr. Fingers – Producer
• Monica Morrow – Stylist
• Noreaga – Performer
• Bernard "Big Demi" Parker – Producer
• Joe Quinde – Engineer, Mixing
• Beanie Sigel – Performer
• Chico Spades – Engineer
• Swizz Beatz – Producer
• Tai – Multi Instruments, Producer
• Darold Trotter – Producer
• Patrick Viala – Producer, Engineer, Mixing
• Carlisle Young – Engineer

Charts

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[9]	Gold	500,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

• List of number-one R&B albums of 1999 (U.S.)

References

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