Coming of Age (Memphis Bleek album)


Coming of Age is the debut studio album by American rapper Memphis Bleek. It was released by Get Low Records, Roc-A-Fella Records, and Def Jam Recordings on August 3, 1999. The album spawned the hit single "Memphis Bleek Is...". As of January 2001, the album has been certified Gold by the RIAA for shipment of over 500,000 units.

Critical reception

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. 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." In a dual review with Ja's Venni Vetti Vecci, Rolling Stones 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.

Track listing

Samples

Regular Cat
Stay Alive in NYC
What You Think of That
Who's Sleeping