In the City (Kevin Rudolf album)


In the City is the debut album by American singer-songwriter and producer Kevin Rudolf. It was released nationwide, physically and digitally, on November 24, 2008 via Cash Money Records and Universal Republic. Every song on the album was produced and written by Rudolf. "She Can Get It" was a production collaboration between Rudolf and Chad Hugo of The Neptunes. "Let It Rock" was the first single released from the album. The song "NYC" was featured on an episode of and "Let It Rock" was featured on the Melrose Place pilot and The Hills as well as being featured as the theme song for the 2009 WWE Royal Rumble. The album has sold 102,000 copies in the US.
The album's first single, "Let It Rock" reached number 2 on the Canadian Hot 100, number 5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, number 3 on the Australian ARIA charts and number 4 on the Irish Singles Chart.
"Welcome to the World", the version featuring Kid Cudi, is the second single released in February 2009, and reached number 58 on the US Hot 100 and peaked at number 42 on Australia's Aria Singles Chart.

Critical reception

In the City garnered mixed reviews from music critics. Mikael Wood from Entertainment Weekly said that Rudolf "steps out with a weirdly infectious debut that mixes his rap-track know-how with his love of guitar-god theatrics. " Billboard writer Gary Graff noted how the record consisted of songs ranging from the "thumping, synthesizer-heavy club anthems" found in the featured rap collaborations to the more "mellower moments ". He concluded that the closing track "Great Escape" "displays some of the chops that could ultimately separate him from the pack." AllMusic's David Jeffries highlighted the Lil Wayne and Rick Ross-featured tracks but felt the album overall was filled with "cringe-worthy" lyrics and "so-so filler", concluding that "In the City gets by on hooks and hugeness, like an irony-free Andrew W.K., Timbaland working with Aerosmith, or a jaded version of the Jonas Brothers now willing to drop the F-bomb." Alex Sheremet of RapReviews said, "In the City offers good production, excellent melodies, and - of course - the same song, idea, and kinds of guest appearances many times over. Still, I'd recommend it as a blueprint for potential. It's also good to enjoy on a visceral level, if you're interested in that sort of thing." Rolling Stones Christian Hoard said that despite the Lil Wayne-assisted single, he felt "the rest of Rudolf's self-produced debut is a middling rock record dressed up in sleek digital clothes."

Track listing

All tracks produced by Kevin Rudolf; track 10 co-produced by The Neptunes

Chart performance