2003 studio album by The Diplomats
Diplomatic Immunity
Released March 25, 2003 (2003-03-25 ) Studio
Genre Length 1 :47 :09
Label
Producer
"Built This City" Released: January 14, 2003
"Dipset Anthem" Released: 2003
Diplomatic Immunity is the debut studio album by American hip hop group
The Diplomats , released via
The Island Def Jam Music Group ,
Jay-Z 's
Roc-A-Fella Records , and
Cam'ron 's
Diplomats Records .
The album debuted at number 8 on the
Billboard 200 and topped the
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums , selling 92,000 copies in its first week in the United States.
[5] By May 19, 2003, it was certified Gold by the
Recording Industry Association of America for selling 500,000 units in the US alone. In 2012,
Complex named the album one of the classic albums of its decade.
[6]
Background
After the release of group leader
Cam'ron 's third studio album
Come Home with Me for Roc-A-Fella Records, the collective composed of
Jim Jones ,
Juelz Santana and
Freekey Zekey teamed up to release their first collaborative effort.
Originally scheduled for a March 4, 2003 release,
[7] the album's release date was delayed to March 11, 2003. After the release date was again delayed, the album was ultimately released March 25, 2003. Recording sessions took place at Baseline Studios, Quad Recording Studios,
Sony Music Studios and
The Hit Factory in
New York City , and at Galaxy Studios in
Newark, New Jersey .
Production was handled by
The Heatmakerz , DR Period,
Just Blaze , Brian "All Day" Miller, Charlemagne, Hiroshima, Jamahl,
Kanye West ,
KLC , Mafia Boy, Paperchase Inc, Ralph Random, Spike and E-Bass, with
Cam'ron and
Jim Jones serving as executive producers. It features
guest appearances from
DMX ,
Freeway ,
Master P , Monique Chandler, Shaniqua Williams,
Toya and Un Kasa. The album spawned three singles: "Bout It Bout It... Part III", "Built This City" and "Dipset Anthem".
Diplomatic Immunity is the only album by The Diplomats under Island Def Jam, Def Jam and Roc-A-Fella. In 2004, The Diplomats signed to
Koch Records for distribution, though the company stayed on Diplomat Records.
Cam'ron described the album as "
9/11 music",
[8] and it antagonised the country in the attack's aftermath while adopting its imagery. On "Gangsta", Juelz Santana compares himself to
Osama bin Laden , and an original version of "I Love You" made references to
Mohamed Atta .
[9]
Track listing
Title Writer(s) Producer(s) 1. "Un Casa" (featuring Un Kasa) 3:38 2. "Juelz Santana (Interlude)" 0:56 3. "Who I Am"
The Heatmakerz 4:19 4. "Ground Zero" 5:13 5. "Real Niggas (Interlude)" (featuring Monique Chandler) 1:28 6. "Real Niggas" DR Period 3:46 7. "Have You Seen Juelz Santana (Interlude)" (featuring Shaniqua Williams) 0:44 8. "More Than Music" The Heatmakerz 4:08 9. "Beautiful Noise" Jones Giles Henri Charlemagne Michael Durio 4:39 10. "Dipset Anthem" The Heatmakerz 4:09 11. "
Hey Ma (Remix)" (featuring
Toya ) 5:17 12. "Hell Rell (Interlude)" 2:03 13. "This Is What I Do" The Heatmakerz 4:05 14. "Gangsta" Ralph Random 5:14 15. "Hell Rell Freestyle" 1:46 16. "I Really Mean It"
Just Blaze 4:21 17. "My Love" (featuring
Freeway ) The Heatmakerz 3:22 18. "I Love You" The Heatmakerz E-Bass (
co. ) 4:11 19. "Purple Haze" The Heatmakerz 4:38 20. "The First" Hiroshima 4:55 21. "Juelz Santana the Great" The Heatmakerz 4:57 22. "DJ Enuff Freestyle" Giles James Jones Green Thomas Earl Randle Renee Kirk The Heatmakerz 5:11 23. "What's Really Good" (featuring
DMX ) Paperchase Inc. E-Bass (
co. ) 6:02 24. "I'm Ready" The Heatmakerz 4:41 25. "Bout It Bout It...Part III" (featuring
Master P )
KLC 5:20 26. "Built This City" Just Blaze 6:03 27. "Let's Go" The Heatmakerz 2:03 Total length: 1:47:09
Notes
Built This City features an uncredited guest appearance from
Hell Rell
Sample credits
Personnel
Cameron "
Cam'Ron " Giles – vocals (tracks: 1, 4, 6, 9-11, 13-16, 18-20, 22-27) , executive producer, A&R
LaRon "
Juelz Santana " James – vocals (tracks: 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 14, 15, 17, 18, 20-24, 26, 27) , A&R
Joseph "
Jimmy " Jones – vocals (tracks: 2, 4, 6, 9, 15, 16, 20, 21-26) , executive producer, A&R, management
Ezekiel "
Freekey Zekey " Giles – vocals (tracks: 2, 5, 7, 12)
Durell "
Hell Rell " Mohammed – vocals (tracks: 12, 13, 15, 26)
Antonio "Un Kasa" Wilder – vocals (track 1)
Monique Chandler – vocals (track 5)
Shaniqua Williams – vocals (track 7)
LaToya "
Toya " Rodriguez – vocals (track 11)
Leslie "
Freeway " Pridgen – vocals (track 17)
Earl "
DMX " Simmons – vocals (track 23)
Percy "
Master P " Miller – vocals (track 25)
Brian "All Day" Miller – producer (track 1)
Kanye West – producer (track 1)
Gregory "Rsonist" Green – producer (tracks: 3, 8, 10, 13, 17-19, 21, 22, 24, 27)
Sean "Thrilla" Thomas – producer (tracks: 3, 8, 10, 13, 17-19, 21, 22, 24, 27)
Kenneth "Spike" Cunningham – producer (track 4)
Jamahl Rashid Rye – producer (track 4)
Darryl "DR Period" Pittman – producer (tracks: 6, 11)
Henri Charlemagne – producer (track 9)
Mafia Boy – producer (track 11)
Ralph "Random" Cheuveret – producer (track 14)
Justin "
Just Blaze " Smith – producer (tracks: 16, 26)
DJ HirOshima – producer (track 20)
Aquanza "Paperchase Inc." Jones – producer (track 23)
Craig "
KLC " Lawson – producer (track 25)
Eric "E-Bass" Johnson – co-producer (tracks: 1, 9, 18, 23)
George "
DukeDaGod " Moore – recording (tracks: 1, 4, 6, 8, 13, 21) , A&R
Shane "Bermuda" Woodley – recording (tracks: 3, 9, 17, 18, 20)
Carlisle Young – recording (tracks: 10, 19) , mixing (tracks: 1, 3, 6, 8, 9, 18-22, 27)
Eric "Ibo" Butler – recording (tracks: 11, 14, 22, 23) , mixing (tracks: 4, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 23-25)
Gimel "
Young Guru " Keaton – recording (tracks: 16, 24-26) , mixing (track 26)
Tony Dawsey – mastering
Akisia Grigsby – art direction
Jonathan Mannion – photography
Tara Podolsky – A&R
Darcell Lawrence – A&R
Ramses Francois – A&R assistant
Travis Cumming – A&R assistant
Jamel George – A&R assistant
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
References
^ Bush, John.
"Cam'ron, The Diplomats - Diplomatic Immunity Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic" .
AllMusic . Retrieved September 6, 2023 .
^ Johnson, Sherman (April 1, 2003).
"Cam'Ron Presents The Diplomats - Diplomatic Immunity" .
HipHopDX . Retrieved September 6, 2023 .
^ Juon, Steve 'Flash' (March 25, 2003).
"The Diplomats :: Diplomatic Immunity – RapReviews" . www.rapreviews.com . Retrieved September 6, 2023 .
^ Lynskey, Dorian (April 11, 2003).
"The Diplomats: Diplomatic Immunity" .
The Guardian .
ISSN
0261-3077 . Retrieved September 6, 2023 .
^
"Linkin Park's 'Meteora' Crashes Chart At No. 1" .
Billboard . Retrieved May 24, 2014 .
^ Moore, Jacob (December 6, 2012).
"25 Rap Albums From the Past Decade That Deserve Classic Status" .
Complex . Retrieved December 8, 2012 .
^ Strong, Nolan (December 23, 2002).
"Cam'ron Strikes Platinum" . AllHipHop.com. Archived from
the original on October 20, 2006. Retrieved October 4, 2006 .
^ Melnick, Jeffrey (September 15, 2011). "Shout-Outs".
9/11 Culture . John Wiley & Sons.
ISBN
978-1-4443-5815-5 .
^ Abdurraqib, Hanif (March 8, 2022).
A Little Devil in America: In Praise of Black Performance . Random House Publishing Group. pp. 53–54.
ISBN
978-1-9848-0120-3 .
^
"The Diplomats Chart History (Billboard 200)" .
Billboard . Retrieved September 6, 2023.
^
"The Diplomats Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)" .
Billboard . Retrieved September 6, 2023.
^
"Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2003" . Billboard . Retrieved September 8, 2020 .
^
"Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2003" . Billboard . Retrieved September 8, 2020 .
^
"American album certifications – Cam'ron Presents The Diplomats – Diplomatic Immunity" .
Recording Industry Association of America .
External links
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