Every Hero Needs a Villain is the second studio album by American hip hop trio Czarface, which consists of rapper and Wu-Tang Clan member Inspectah Deck and underground hip hop duo 7L & Esoteric. The album was released on June 16, 2015, by Brick Records.[1] The album's lead single "Deadly Class" featuring Meyhem Lauren was released on April 7, 2015.[2] The album features guest appearances from Method Man, Large Professor, JuJu, GZA, MF Doom, Meyhem Lauren and R.A. the Rugged Man.
| Every Hero Needs a Villain | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 16, 2015 | |||
| Recorded | 2014–2015 | |||
| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 55:03 | |||
| Label | Brick Records | |||
| Producer | The Czar-Keys | |||
| Czarface chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Every Hero Needs a Villain | ||||
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Critical reception
edit| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 79/100[3] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| The Boston Globe | (positive)[4] |
| Exclaim! | 8/10[5] |
| HipHopDX |    [6] |
| RapReviews | 7/10[7] |
| Record Collector | [8] |
Every Hero Needs a Villain received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 79, based on 5 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[3] Kyle Mullin of Exclaim! said, "7L handles the no-frills production, which is rife with early '90s RZA homages on 'Night Crawler' and the aforementioned 'World Premiere.' But the Bostonian beatsmith also experiments with crunchy classic rock style guitar riffing on 'Czartacus' and 'The Great (Czar Guitar).' Those beats prove to be a dynamic soundtrack for Esoteric and Deck's shameless, endlessly entertaining punch lines, which are bizarrely charming enough to leave you rooting for the bad guy."[5] Justin Ivey of HipHopDX said, "Every Hero Needs a Villain is one of the rare sequels that matches the original in quality. The chemistry built on the first CZARFACE album carries over seamlessly to their second effort as Inspectah Deck, 7L & Esoteric seem tailor made to work with one another. 7L’s underrated production shines and perfectly complements the styles of Deck and Esoteric. CZARFACE may know they're playing to a niche audience who desires a return to glory days of the ‘90s, but the execution is where CZARFACE differs from most nostalgic acts."[6]
Commercial performance
editThe album debuted at number 15 on the US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums in the first week of its release.[9]
Track listing
editAll tracks are produced by The Czar-Keys
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Don the Armor" | 1:18 |
| 2. | "Czartacus" | 2:37 |
| 3. | "Lumberjack Match" | 2:46 |
| 4. | "Nightcrawler" (featuring Method Man) | 3:22 |
| 5. | "World Premier" (featuring Large Professor) | 2:50 |
| 6. | "The Great (Czar Guitar)" | 2:25 |
| 7. | "Red Alert" | 3:46 |
| 8. | "Junkyard Dogs" (featuring JuJu) | 3:33 |
| 9. | "Sgt. Slaughter" | 2:10 |
| 10. | "When Gods Go Mad" (featuring GZA) | 4:16 |
| 11. | "Ka-Bang!" (featuring MF Doom) | 2:52 |
| 12. | "Deadly Class" (featuring Meyhem Lauren) | 2:59 |
| 13. | "Escape from Czarkham Asylum" | 8:18 |
| 14. | "Sinister" | 2:59 |
| 15. | "Good Villains Go Last" (featuring R.A. the Rugged Man) | 3:52 |
| 16. | "Deviatin' Septums" (Digital Exclusive) | 2:49 |
| 17. | "Sinister (Revenge of Yorgo Remix)" (Digital Exclusive) | 2:11 |
| Total length: | 55:03 | |
Charts
edit| Chart (2015) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[10] | 15 |
| US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[11] | 15 |
| US Independent Albums (Billboard)[12] | 19 |
| US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[13] | 4 |
References
edit- ^ Grefe, Cliff (2015-04-21). "Czarface "Every Hero Needs A Villain" Release Date, Cover Art, Tracklist & Pre-Order". HipHopDX. Retrieved 2015-06-11.
- ^ "iTunes - Music - Deadly Class (feat. Meyhem Lauren) - Single by CZARFACE". Itunes.apple.com. 2015-04-07. Retrieved 2015-06-11.
- ^ a b "Reviews for Every Hero Needs a Villain by Czarface". Metacritic. 2015-06-18. Retrieved 2015-06-27.
- ^ Caballero, Martin (June 16, 2015). "Album review: Czarface, 'Every Hero Needs a Villain'". The Boston Globe. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
- ^ a b Mullin, Kyle (June 16, 2015). "Czarface (Inspectah Deck + 7L & Esoteric) Every Hero Needs A Villain". Exclaim!. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
- ^ a b Ivey, Justin (June 18, 2015). "CZARFACE – Every Hero Needs a Villain". HipHopDX. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
- ^ Shackleford, Sy (June 16, 2015). "Czarface :: Every Hero Needs a Villain". RapReviews. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
- ^ Bowler, Paul (September 2015). "Every Hero Needs A Villain". Record Collector. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
- ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums : Page 4". Billboard.
- ^ "Czarface Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
- ^ "Czarface Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
- ^ "Czarface Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
- ^ "Czarface Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 2, 2015.