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Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters
Studio album by Redman
Released	December 10, 1996
Recorded	1995–1996
Studio	Rockin' Reel Recording Studios (New York, NY); Mirror Image Studios (New York, NY);
Genre	East Coast hip hop
Length	1:07:17
Label	Def Jam
Producer	Erick Sermon; Jerry Wonda; Pras; Redman; Rockwilder; Ty Fyffe;
Redman chronology
Singles from Muddy Waters
	"It's Like That"; Released: 1996; "Whateva Man"; Released: January 28, 1997; "Pick It Up"; Released: May 13, 1997; "Smoke Buddah"; Released: 1997;

Muddy Waters is the third studio album by American rapper Redman. It was released on December 10, 1996, through Def Jam Recordings. Recording sessions took place at Mirror Image and Rockin' Reel Recording Studios in New York City. Production was handled by Erick Sermon, who also served as executive producer, Rockwilder, Jerry Duplessis, Pras, Ty Fyffe, and Redman himself. It features guest appearances from Erick Sermon, Jamal, Keith Murray, K-Solo, Method Man, Napalm and Rockwilder. The album debuted at number 12 on the Billboard 200 and topped the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart in the United States. It was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on February 12, 1997 for exceeding shipments of 500,000 copies. The album spawned three charted singles: "It's Like That", "Whateva Man" and "Pick It Up" and a promotional single "Smoke Buddah".

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	^[3]
Muzik	8/10^[4]
Q	^[5]
RapReviews	10/10^[6]
The Source	^[7]

Muddy Waters was met with generally favourable reviews from music critics. Steve Huey of AllMusic, though critical of the album's numerous interludes, stated that "lyrically, Redman is as strong as ever", and of the overall work, remarked that "Muddy Waters solidifies Redman's growing reputation as one of the most consistent rappers of the '90s".^[2]

Redman has stated that he had planned on releasing a sequel to the album entitled Muddy Waters 2, considering it is his most classic work.^[8]

Commercial performance

In the United States, the album debuted at number 12 on the Billboard 200 on the week of December 28, 1996 and stayed on the chart for 17 weeks. On the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, Muddy Waters repeated the success of his predecessor, Dare Iz a Darkside, also debuting at number-one. A little more than 2 months later, on February 12, 1997, the album received gold status from the RIAA for selling half a million units. As of October 2009, the album has 767,000 copies sold in the US alone.^[9]

The album's lead single, a reunion duet with former Hit Squad group-mate K-Solo "It's Like That", peaked at number 95 on the Billboard Hot 100. A follow-up single from the album, "Whateva Man", reached number 42 on the same chart. The third and final single off of the project, "Pick It Up", did not made it to the Hot 100, however, it found mild success on R&B/Hip-Hop and Rap Songs charts.

In the United Kingdom, the album managed to debut only on the Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart at number 27. The album repeated its success twice, again climbing to the 27th spot on this chart in the weeks ending January 25 and February 1, 1997. None of its singles went charted.

The album eventually debuted in Germany at number 100 on the chart in the week of February 10, 1997, becoming the rapper's first album to break through in the country.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro"	Reggie Noble	Redman	2:17
2.	"Iz He 4 Real"	Noble Erick Sermon Jack McNair Jahmal Bush Dashawn Yates Sean Price Barret Powell Paul Hendricks	Erick Sermon Redman	1:36
3.	"Rock Da Spot"	Noble Sermon Tyrone Fyffe Christopher Wallace Robert Kelly Chris Martin Trevor Smith Galt MacDermot Parrish Smith Roger Troutman	Erick Sermon Sugarless	4:11
4.	"Welcome" (Interlude)	Noble Sermon	Erick Sermon	2:06
5.	"Case Closed" (featuring Napalm and Rockwilder)	Noble A. Stanton Dana Stinson	Rockwilder	2:58
6.	"Pick It Up"	Noble Sermon	Erick Sermon	4:11
7.	"N.I.N. (Skit)" (featuring Chris Tricarico)	Noble	Redman	0:57
8.	"Smoke Buddah"	Noble Rick James	Redman	2:34
9.	"Whateva Man" (featuring Erick Sermon)	Noble Sermon	Erick Sermon	3:09
10.	"Chicken Head Convention" (Skit)	Noble	Redman	1:17
11.	"On Fire"	Noble Sermon	Erick Sermon	3:50
12.	"Do What U Feel" (featuring Method Man)	Noble Clifford Smith Pras Michel	Pras Te-Bass	4:14
13.	"The Stick Up" (Skit)	Noble	Redman	0:55
14.	"Creepin'"	Noble	Redman	4:00
15.	"It's Like That (My Big Brother)" (featuring K-Solo)	Noble Kevin Madison Joseph Williams Kurtis Khaleel	Redman	2:55
16.	"Da Bump"	Noble Sermon Isaac Hayes Darryl Ellis Paul Richmond Ruben Locke Jr.	Erick Sermon	4:11
17.	"Uncle Quilly (Skit)" (featuring Naja)	Noble George Clinton	Redman	0:59
18.	"Yesh Yesh Ya'll"	Noble Sermon Lonnie Lynn Dion Wilson James Savage Jason Mizell Anthony Pearyer William Patterson	Erick Sermon	3:59
19.	"What U Lookin' 4"	Noble Stinson Ernie Isley Marvin Isley O'Kelly Isley Jr. Ronald Isley Rudolph Isley Chris Jasper	Rockwilder Redman (co.)	4:07
20.	"Soopaman Luva 3 Interview" (Skit)	Noble Sermon Alfonzo Hunter Bill Withers Stanley McKenney	Redman	0:55
21.	"Soopaman Luva 3"	Noble Sermon Jimmy Heath	Erick Sermon Redman	4:12
22.	"Rollin'"	Noble Sermon Eric Barrier William Griffin	Erick Sermon	4:09
23.	"Da Ill Out" (featuring Jamal and Keith Murray)	Noble Jamal Phillips Keith Murray Sermon	Erick Sermon	3:35
Total length:				1:07:17

Personnel

Reginald "Redman" Noble – vocals, producer (tracks: 1, 2, 7, 8, 10, 13–15, 17, 20, 21), co-producer (track 19)
Dana "Rockwilder" Stinson – vocals (track 5), producer (tracks: 5, 19)
A. "Napalm" Stanton – vocals (track 5)
Chris Tricarico – vocals (track 7)
Erick Sermon – vocals (track 9), producer (tracks: 2–4, 6, 9, 11, 16, 18, 21–23), executive producer
Clifford "Method Man" Smith – vocals (track 12)
Kevin "K-Solo" Madison – vocals (track 15)
Naja – vocals (track 17)
Jamal "Mally G" Phillips – vocals (track 23)
Keith Murray – vocals (track 23)
Tyrone "Ty" Fyffe – producer (track 3)
Prakazrel "Pras" Michél – producer (track 12)
Jerry "Wonda" Duplessis – producer (track 12)
Dave Greenberg – recording (tracks: 1, 2, 5, 7, 10, 13, 14, 17, 19, 21, 23), mixing (tracks: 1, 7, 10, 12, 13, 14, 17, 19)
Troy Hightower – recording (tracks: 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 15, 16, 18, 20–22), mixing (tracks: 2–6, 8, 9, 11, 15, 16, 18, 20–23)
Tony Dawsey – mastering
The Drawing Board – art direction, design
Nina Schultz – photography
Kevin Liles – A&R