Born to Reign

Born to Reign is the third studio album released by American actor and rapper Will Smith. The album was released on Columbia Records in the United States on June 25, 2002 and was considered a drop from his previous level of success, having only reached Gold status by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), whereas Big Willie Style and Willennium both reached multi-platinum status. This album includes "Black Suits Comin' (Nod Ya Head)", which was also the lead single from the original motion picture soundtrack of Men in Black II. The album also spawned the European hit single "1000 Kisses", which features vocals from Smith's wife Jada Pinkett Smith.

Born to Reign
Studio album by Will Smith
Released	June 25, 2002
Recorded	2000–2002
Genre	Pop-rap[1]
Length	57:12
Label	Columbia
Producer	Tim & Bob, L.E.S., Jerry Allen, Rico Anderson, Rob Chiarelli, Tony Dofat, Ron Feemster, Herb Middleton, Jimane Nelson, Gregg Pagani, Poke, Rick Rock, Mark Sparks
Will Smith chronology
Willennium (1999) Born to Reign (2002) Greatest Hits (2002)
Singles from Born to Reign
"Black Suits Comin' (Nod Ya Head)" Released: June 11, 2002 "1000 Kisses" Released: December 23, 2002

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Blender	[2]
Entertainment Weekly	B−[3]
The Guardian	[4]
HipHopDX	2.5/5[5]
Q	[6]
RapReviews	7.5/10[7]
Rolling Stone	[8]
Slant Magazine	[9]
USA Today	[10]

Reception

Critical

AllMusic gave the album a four-star rating, claiming:

"It'd be inaccurate to call Will Smith's third album the musical equivalent of Ali -- a bid for artistic credibility from an artist so assured and smooth, it's been easy to pigeonhole him as merely a pop artist -- but given the range and harder edge on Born to Reign, it's hard not to think of it at first. Make no mistake, this is not as serious as Ali, nor is it a record whose first intent is to enlighten and educate. It's a fun, pop-leaning record, much like his first two records, and never is it afraid to return to the sounds and styles that brought the former Fresh Prince big hits, but among comfortably familiar jams, Smith stretches his legs. Some of the hip-hop hits harder; there's a touch of reggae; he even appropriates a bit of a Ricky Martin vibe on "I Can't Stop.

It's a small but significant change, and while it doesn't result in a record that flows as effortlessly, or giddily, as Willennium, it's easy to appreciate the effort to stretch, because even if all the experiments aren't necessarily successful, however, sometimes, the idea is better than the execution, it does reinvigorate the Smith signature pop-rap sound, apart, oddly, from the theme for Men in Black 2, "Black Suits Comin'," the only cut in this vein to fall flat, and results in another solid record from Smith. Maybe not as consistent as its predecessors, but still enjoyable in its familiar turf, while provoking admiration for its ambition, even when it's not always satisfying. Not a bad way to stretch."^[1]

Commercial

Born to Reign debuted at number 13 on the US Billboard 200, selling 60,000 copies in its first week.^[11] On July 26, 2002 the album has been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). As of April 2005, the album sold 237,000 copies in the US.^[11]

Controversy

The album was released as a copy-protected disc, which reportedly not only prevented the contents of the disc from being copied, but froze users' computers after they attempted to listen to it via their CD-ROM drives. This resulted in complaints of lost computer files due to the album's protection element.^[1]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Born to Reign (Intro)"	Will Smith Rick Rock	Rick Rock O.Banga[c]	1:53
2.	"Act Like You Know"	Smith Tim Kelley Bob Robinson Omarr Rambert Richard Iverson Ralf Hutter Emil Schult	Tim & Bob O.Banga[c] Tim Kelley[c]	4:01
3.	"I Can't Stop"	Smith Iverson François Reyes Nicolas Reyes Manitas De Plata Jean Claude Olivier Samuel Barnes	Poke & Tone Rob Chiarelli[b] O. Banga[c]	4:57
4.	"Jaden's (Interlude)"			0:55
5.	"1,000 Kisses" (featuring Jada Pinkett-Smith)	Luther Vandross Smith Jada Pinkett-Smith Olivier Barnes Michael D. Hepburn Marion L. McClain	Poke & Tone Chiarelli[b] O.Banga[c] Sauce[c] Bryon Jones[c]	4:17
6.	"Willow Is a Player"	Smith Tony Dofat Lennie Bennett LeMar Bennett Lance Bennett Ramon Adams Theron Benymon Arthur Brisby Richard Poindexter Robert Poindexter Jackie Members Ray Lewis	Tony Dofat O.Banga[c]	3:48
7.	"Black Suits Comin' (Nod Ya Head)" (featuring Trā-Knox)	Smith Mark Sparks Ron Feemster Lennie Bennett LeMar Bennett Lance Bennett	Mark Sparks Chiarelli Smith Ron Feemster[b]	4:19
8.	"How Da Beat Goes"	Smith Rico Anderson Lennie Bennett LeMar Bennett Lance Bennett Adams Benymon Brisby Maurice Benjamin Cenac	Rico Anderson O.Banga[c]	4:14
9.	"Block Party"	Smith Iverson Nora Payne Leshan Lewis Herb Middleton Sylvester Stewart Robert Ginyard, Jr.	L.E.S. Herb Middleton O.Banga[c]	4:13
10.	"Give Me Tonite"	Smith Kelley Robinson Iverson Adams Benymon Brisby Mason Williams	Tim & Bob O.Banga[c] Kelley[c]	3:41
11.	"I Gotta Go Home"	Smith Jimane Nelson Sparks Lennie Bennett LeMar Bennett Lance Bennett Adams Benymon Brisby	Sparks Chiarelli Jimane Nelson[a]	4:31
12.	"Maybe"	Smith Sparks Lennie Bennett LeMar Bennett Lance Bennett Adams Benymon Brisby	Sparks Chiarelli Erick Walls[b] Jerry Allen[b]	4:07
13.	"Nod Ya Head (The Remix)" (featuring Christina Vidal and Trā-Knox)	Smith Sparks Feemster Lennie Bennett LeMar Bennett Lance Bennett	Chiarelli Gregg Pagani O.Banga[c]	3:43
14.	"Momma Knows"	Smith Curtis Wilson Lennie Bennett LeMar Bennett Lance Bennett	Sauce	3:57
Total length:				57:12

Notes^[12]

• ^{^[a]} signifies a co-producer.
• ^{^[b]} signifies an additional producer.
• ^{^[c]} signifies a vocal producer.

Sample credits^[12]

• "Act Like You Know" - Contains a sample of "Trans-Europe Express" by Kraftwerk
• "I Can't Stop" - Contains a sample of "A Tu Vera" by Manitas de Plata
• "1,000 Kisses" - Contains samples of "Never Too Much" by Luther Vandross and "Future Now" by Pleasure
• "Willow Is a Player" - Contains a sample of "Love Gonna Pack Up (and Walk Out)" by The Persuaders
• "How Da Beat Goes" - Contains a sample of "Jam on It" by Newcleus
• "Block Party" - Contains samples of "Family Affair" by Sly and the Family Stone and "It Takes Two" by Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock
• "Give Me Tonite" - Contains a sample of "Classical Gas" by Mason Williams

Personnel

Personnel credits adapted from liner notes.^[12]

• Annas Allaf – guitar (tracks 3, 5), Rhodes (track 5), Pro Tools engineer (tracks 6, 8, 9, 11)
• Jerry Allen – additional production (track 12)
• Rico Anderson – producer and programming (track 8)
• Chandler Bridges – engineer (tracks 9, 14), Pro Tools engineer (tracks 1-3, 5, 6, 11, 12)
• David Campbell – string arrangements (tracks 3, 5, 11, 12)
• Rob Chiarelli – producer (tracks 7, 11-13), additional production (tracks 3, 5), bass (tracks 5, 6), guitar (track 6), engineer (tracks 1, 5, 6, 8, 11-13), mixing (tracks 1, 3, 5, 7-9, 11)
• Luis Conte – percussion (tracks 3, 11)
• Steve Churchyard – strings engineer (tracks 1, 3, 5, 11, 12), percussion engineer (track 11)
• Tony Dofat – producer (track 6)
• Brandon Duncan – engineer (track 3), Pro Tools engineer (tracks 1, 5, 6)
• Ron Feemster – additional production (track 7)
• Dominique Fillan – steel drums engineer (track 11)
• Bryan Golder – engineer (track 3), Pro Tools engineer (tracks 1, 5, 8-12, 14)
• Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein – DJ scratches (track 9)
• Andy Haller – engineer (track 2)
• Jerry Hey – horn arrangements (tracks 3, 11)
• Bryon Jones – vocal producer (track 5)
• John Kaplan – engineer (track 8)
• Tim Kelley – producer, vocal producer, and engineer (tracks 2, 10)
• Mar'Laina Kemp – background vocals (track 13)
• Knowledge – additional vocals (track 2)
• Abe Laboriel, Jr. – drums (track 11)
• L.E.S. – producer (track 9)
• Manny Marroquin – mixing (tracks 2, 6, 10)
• Herb Middleton – producer (track 9)
• Jamie Muhoberac – keyboards (track 5)
• Derek Nakamoto – string arrangements (track 1)
• Andy Narell – steel drums (track 11)
• Jimane Nelson – co-producer (track 11)
• Gregg Pagani – producer (track 13)
• Nora Payne – background vocals (track 9)
• Poke & Tone – producers (tracks 3, 5)
• Herb Powers Jr. – mastering
• O.Banga – vocal producer (tracks 1-3, 5, 6, 8-10, 13), additional vocals (track 2), executive producer
• Rick Rock – producer (track 1)
• Bob Robinson – producer (tracks 2, 10)
• Sauce – producer (track 14), vocal producer (track 5)
• Dexter Simmons – mixing (tracks 12, 14)
• Jada Pinkett-Smith – featured vocals (track 5)
• Will Smith – vocals, producer (track 7), executive producer
• Mark Sparks – producer (tracks 7, 11, 12)
• Kel Spencer – additional vocals (track 11)
• Trā-Knox – vocals
• Christina Vidal – featured vocals (track 13)
• Erick Walls – additional production (track 12)

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for Born to Reign

Chart (2002)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[13]	58
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[14]	20
Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[15]	29
Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[16]	10
French Albums (SNEP)[17]	61
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[18]	19
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[19]	30
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[20]	39
Scottish Albums (OCC)[21]	36
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[22]	17
UK Albums (OCC)[23]	24
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[24]	15
US Billboard 200[25]	13
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[26]	13

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for Born to Reign

Chart (2002)	Peak position
Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[27]	98
Canadian Rap Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[28]	53

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[29]	Gold	237,000[11]