Cancer 4 Cure

For the Eels song, see Cancer for the Cure.

Cancer 4 Cure is the third solo studio album by American rapper and producer El-P. It was released through Fat Possum Records on May 22, 2012.^[1] It peaked at No. 71 on the Billboard 200 chart.^[2]

Cancer 4 Cure
Studio album by El-P
Released	May 22, 2012 (2012-05-22)
Recorded	2008–2012
Genre	Hip hop
Length	49:05
Label	Fat Possum Records
Producer	El-P Nick Diamonds Little Shalimar Wilder Zoby
El-P chronology
I'll Sleep When You're Dead (2007) Cancer 4 Cure (2012)
Singles from Cancer 4 Cure
"The Full Retard" Released: April 24, 2012

Background

The album is dedicated to El-P's friend and fellow rapper Camu Tao, who died of lung cancer in May 2008 at the age of 30.^[3] In an interview with Rolling Stone, El-P said, "Camu was a huge inspiration on this record, mostly because he had a huge effect on my life and who I am."^[4] He elaborated, "I think that I'm trying to create an idea or illustrate a thought pattern, just because there's darkness that I see and think about, it doesn't mean I've given into it. I think the record is ultimately about not giving into it. For the most part I'm struggling with that darkness throughout the record. When I say it's about wanting to live, I just say that because that's how I feel. When you get hit with death, sometimes as horrible as it is, one of the things that can come out of it is a reaffirmation of how much you don't want to go, and I think that's what happened with me."^[5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	8.2/10[6]
Metacritic	84/100[7]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[8]
The A.V. Club	A[9]
Chicago Tribune	[10]
The Guardian	[11]
Los Angeles Times	[12]
Mojo	[13]
Pitchfork	8.5/10[3]
Q	[14]
Rolling Stone	[15]
Spin	7/10[16]

At Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received a score of 84 based on 39 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".^[7]

David Jeffries of AllMusic stated, "Cancer 4 Cure is about hip-hop like Glengarry Glen Ross was about sales, but these great works transcend their industries, offering solace and inspiration to anyone who would prefer a satisfied mind over a Cadillac Eldorado, or in current terms, an Escalade."^[8]

In a more critical review, Dan Weiss of The Boston Phoenix stated that the album "is definitely not El-P's Age of Apocalypse" and that "in fact it's the only El-P production that sounds like it's been made on planet Earth, following hip-hop rules that someone else already defined".^[17]

Accolades for Cancer 4 Cure

Publication	Accolade	Rank	Ref.
The 405	Albums of the Year	12	[18]
Beats per Minute	The Top 50 Albums of 2012	34	[19]
Chicago Tribune (Greg Kot)	Top 10 Albums of 2012	7	[20]
Cokemachineglow	Top 50 Albums 2012	3	[21]
Complex	The 50 Best Albums of 2012	10	[22]
Consequence of Sound	Top 50 Albums of 2012	25	[23]
Exclaim!	Best Albums of 2012: Top 50 Albums of the Year	14	[24]
No Ripcord	Top 50 Albums Of 2012	36	[25]
Obscure Sound	Best Albums of 2012	35	[26]
Paste	The 50 Best Albums of 2012	12	[27]
Pitchfork	The Top 50 Albums of 2012	45	[28]
PopMatters	The 75 Best Albums of 2012	35	[29]
	The Best Hip-Hop of 2012	4	[30]
Pretty Much Amazing	Best Albums of 2012	20	[31]
Spin	40 Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2012	Unranked	[32]
Spinner	The 50 Best Albums of 2012	33	[33]
Stereogum	Top 50 Albums of 2012	15	[34]
Treble	Top 50 Albums of 2012	22	[35]
The Village Voice	Pazz & Jop	26	[36]

Track listing

All tracks are written and produced by El-P, except where noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Request Denied"			4:32
2.	"The Full Retard"	Jaime Meline Tero Smith		3:39
3.	"Works Every Time"			3:35
4.	"Drones Over Bklyn"		El-P Little Shalimar	5:49
5.	"Oh Hail No" (featuring Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire and Danny Brown)	Meline Hugh Allison Daniel Sewell		3:41
6.	"Tougher Colder Killer" (featuring Killer Mike and Despot)	Meline Michael Render Alec Reinstein		3:39
7.	"True Story"			3:14
8.	"The Jig Is Up"		El-P Little Shalimar	3:18
9.	"Sign Here"			2:51
10.	"For My Upstairs Neighbor (Mums the Word)"		El-P Wilder Zoby	3:15
11.	"Stay Down" (featuring Nick Diamonds)	Meline Nicholas Thorburn	El-P Nick Diamonds Little Shalimar	3:10
12.	"$4 Vic/Nothing but You+Me (FTL)"			8:23
Total length:				49:05

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.

• El-P – vocals, design
• Little Shalimar – guitar (1, 2, 10, 12), vocoder (6), guitar effect (7), synthesizer (12), recording (all tracks)
• Wilder Zoby – synthesizer (1), keyboards (3, 5, 7, 12)
• Isaiah "Ikey" Owens – organ (1, 6), keyboards (5, 7, 9)
• James McNew – bass guitar (1, 6, 10)
• Camu Tao – vocals (2)
• Paul Banks – vocals (3)
• Jaleel Bunton – guitar (3)
• Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire – vocals (5)
• Danny Brown – vocals (5)
• Dave "Smoota" Smith – horns (11)
• Killer Mike – vocals (6)
• Despot – vocals (6)
• Matt Sweeney – guitar (6, 12)
• Himanshu Suri – vocals (7)
• Nick Diamonds – vocals (11)
• Biondo – vocals (12)
• Joey Raia – mixing
• Glenn Schick – mastering
• Ron Croudy – design
• Timothy Saccenti – photography

Charts

Chart (2012)	Peak position
US Billboard 200[2]	71
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[37]	15
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[38]	7