Eye & I

Eye & I is the debut album of Canadian rapper Kardinal Offishall, released independently in December 1997, on Capitol Hill Music, and distributed by St. Clair Entertainment. The album was critically acclaimed.^[1][2][3] One single, "On wit da Show", was released from the album.

Eye & I
Studio album by Kardinal Offishall
Released	December 9, 1997
Recorded	1996–1997
Genre	Canadian hip hop
Length	69:18
Label	Capitol Hill Music
Producer	Kardinal Offishall Saukrates
Kardinal Offishall chronology
Eye & I (1997) Husslin' (2000)
Singles from Eye & I
"On wit da Show" Released: 1997

Background

In 1996, after releasing his first single "Naughty Dread", Kardinal signed a publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music Canada. About 40 percent of the album's cost was provided by the publishing deal.^[4] The only single released from the album was "On wit da Show", which was accompanied by a music video. The single also appeared on Kardinal's second studio album, Quest for Fire: Firestarter, Vol. 1. In 1998, a music video of the song "Jeevin' (Life)" was also released.^[4]

Members of The Circle appear on the album, including Solitair, Saukrates and Jully Black. Ro Dolla appears on the album as Afrolistics; Lock Jaw appears as L.J.

Reception

The album received rave reviews from music critics.^[1][2] AllMusic stated that Kardinal "blended soul, dancehall, reggae, hip-hop, and a wholly inventive approach to beats on his 20-track debut album, Eye & I."^[3] However, the album was poorly distributed in Canada, and a lack of radio support resulted in the album receiving limited commercial attention.^[1][5] Over 4,000 copies of the album were sold in its first three months of release.^[4]

Track listing

All songs produced by Kardinal Offishall,^[6] except "Sweet Marie" and "Jeevin (Life)", produced by Saukrates. "Breakdown (Keep Moving)" is co-produced by Saukrates.

#	Title	Featured guest(s)	Length
1.	"Breakdown (Keep Moving)"	Denosh	4:42
2.	"On wid da Show"		4:06
3.	"Da Brown"		4:13
4.	"Hint-a-lude"		0:43
5.	"Mysteries"		4:34
6.	"P.W.O.T."	Afrolistics	4:03
7.	"My Niah"	L.J.	4:14
8.	"Madmoizellez"	Wade O. Brown	4:52
9.	"Hint-a-lude"		0:10
10.	"Make It Happen"	Red-1	4:53
11.	"W.I. Philosophi"	Miss Raelene	1:26
12.	"Sweet Marie"	Nicole Sinclair	4:02
13.	"Bellee Buss (Don't Make Me Laugh)"		3:24
14.	"LoLo"		1:56
15.	"King of da Hill"	Tara Chase	4:32
16.	"Elle A"		3:57
17.	"Jeevin' (Life)"	Jully Black	5:16
18.	"Naughty Dread Pt. II"		4:40
19.	"Hint-a-lude"		0:30
20.	"Friday Night"		3:18

Samples

• "Bellee Buss (Don't Make Me Laugh)" contains samples of "Paid in Full (Coldcut Remix)" by Eric B. & Rakim and "Brainstorm" by Gang Starr