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Coming of Age
Studio album by Memphis Bleek
Released	August 3, 1999
Studio	Roc-A-Fella Center Studio (New York City, New York) Platinum Island Studios (New York City, New York) Soundtrack Studio (New York City, New York) Sony Music Studios (New York City, New York) Battery Studios (New York City, New York) Right Track Studios (New York City, New York)
Genre	Hip hop
Length	50:13
Label	Island Def Jam Def Jam Roc-A-Fella
Producer	Swizz Beatz Irv Gotti Buckwild Omen
Memphis Bleek chronology
Coming of Age (1999) The Understanding (2000)
Singles from Coming of Age
"Memphis Bleek Is..." Released: June 8, 1999 "What You Think Of That" Released: October 6, 1999

Coming of Age is the debut studio album by American rapper Memphis Bleek. It was released August 3, 1999, via The Island Def Jam Music Group, Def Jam Recordings and Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records on August 3, 1999. The album spawned the hit single "Memphis Bleek Is...".

Commercial performance

The album debuted and peaked at number 7 on the Billboard 200, with 118,000 units sold in its first week. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA on September 14, 1999, for shipments and sales of over 500,000 units in America.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Entertainment Weekly	B+
Rolling Stone
The Source
USA Today

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 Stone's 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

Sample credits

• "Who's Sleeping" contains a sample from "If This World Were Mine", written by Marvin Gaye, and performed by Zulema.
• "What You Think of That" contains a sample of "High Velocity", written and performed by Keith Mansfield.
• "Stay Alive in NYC" contains an interpolation of "Summer is the Coldest Time of Year", written by Patti Austin, James Harris, and Terry Lewis.
• "Regular Cat" contains a sample of "Love and Let Love", written by Ralph MacDonald, William Eaton, and William Salter; and performed by Roberta Flack.

Personnel

• Juan Allen – engineer (12)
• B-High – co-executive producer
• Big Jaz – co-executive producer
• Kareem "Biggs" Burke – executive producer
• Eric "EBO" Butler – mixing (7, 14)
• Shawn Carter – executive producer
• Tom Coyne – mastering
• Damon Dash – executive producer
• The Drawing Board – art direction, design
• Irv Gotti – mixing (5)
• Ken Duro Ifill – mixing (4, 8, 11)
• Jonathan Mannion – photography
• Monica Morrow – stylist
• Joe Quinde – engineer (3), mixing (3, 13)
• Chico Spades – engineer (4, 13)
• Brian Stanley – engineer (10)
• Tai – instrumentation (5)
• Pat Viala – engineer (2, 5, 7-12, 14), mixing (2, 5, 9, 10, 12)

Charts

Certifications

See also

• List of number-one R&B albums of 1999 (U.S.)

References

1. Memphis Bleek Is "Coming Of Age" With Top Ten Debut. Mtv.com. Retrieved on January 26, 2013.
2. ^ Farley, Keith. "Coming of Age - Memphis Bleek". AllMusic. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
3. ^ Diehl, Matt (September 3, 1999). "Music Review: 'Coming of Age'". Entertainment Weekly. No. 501. Time Inc. p. 71. Archived from the original on April 29, 2007. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
4. ^ Sheffield, Rob (August 19, 1999). "Memphis Bleek : Coming of Age". Recordings. Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. pp. 111–112. Archived from the original on September 19, 2008. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
5. Bonanno, Jonathan (September 1999). "Memphis Bleek – Coming of Age". Record Report. The Source. No. 120. New York. pp. 304, 306.
6. Jones, Steve (August 3, 1999). "Bleek's dark 'Age' is dawning Gray's unpredictable 'Life'". USA Today. p. 07D. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
7. "Memphis Bleek Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
8. "Memphis Bleek Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
9. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1999". Billboard. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
10. "American album certifications – Memphis Bleek – Coming of Age". Recording Industry Association of America.

• 1999 debut albums
• Def Jam Recordings albums
• Memphis Bleek albums
• Albums produced by Irv Gotti
• Albums produced by Swizz Beatz
• Roc-A-Fella Records albums