Harlem World

This article is about the album by Mase. For the group, see Harlem World (group). For the 1995 song by Ol' Dirty Bastard, see Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version.

Harlem World is the debut studio album by American rapper Mase. It was released on October 28, 1997, by Bad Boy Records and Arista Records. The album was nominated at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards for Best Rap Album. It went on to sell 4.9 million copies, being certified as quadruple platinum in the United States.

Harlem World
Studio album by Mase
Released	October 28, 1997
Studio	Daddy's House Recording Studio, New York
Genre	East Coast hip hop
Length	66:04
Label	Bad Boy Arista
Producer	Sean "Puffy" Combs D-Dot The Hitmen Jermaine Dupri The Neptunes Dame Grease Mo-Suave-A
Mase chronology
Harlem World (1997) Double Up (1999)
Singles from Harlem World
"Feel So Good" Released: October 14, 1997 "What You Want" Released: December 3, 1997 "24 Hrs. to Live" Released: February 20, 1998 "Lookin' at Me" Released: July 7, 1998

It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart on November 15, 1997, selling nearly 273,000 copies in its first week.^[1]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Robert Christgau	A−[3]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[4]
Los Angeles Times	[5]
Muzik	[6]
Pitchfork	8.1/10[7]
RapReviews	7/10[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[9]
Uncut	[10]

Entertainment Weekly said of the album: "...creatively refreshing, well-crafted lyrics... rap's newest bad boy more than holds his own on his solo debut... his distinctive marble-mouthed drawl... creates a regular-guy persona all too rare in hip-hop."Muzik (4/9, p.84) - 4 stars (out of 5) - "...Harlem on the rise? Most definitely." Rap Pages (1/98, p.105) - Solid Material - "...Creatively refreshing, well-crafted lyrics and a high-energy track over a hyped beat easily make this..."

In 2008, the single "Feel So Good" was ranked number 67 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Puff's Intro"		Sean "Puffy" Combs	1:40
2.	"Do You Wanna Get $?" (featuring Puff Daddy)	Mason Betha Deric Angelettie Ron Lawrence Sean Combs Peter Brown Robert Rans	Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie Ron "Amen-Ra" Lawrence	3:49
3.	"Take What's Yours" (featuring DMX)	Betha Earl Simmons Nashiem Myrick Carlos Broady Combs	Nashiem Myrick Carlos "Six July" Broady Combs	3:45
4.	"Mad Rapper (Interlude)"		Combs Angelettie Mase	1:13
5.	"Will They Die 4 U?" (featuring Puff Daddy and Lil' Kim)	Betha Lawrence Combs Kimberly Jones Sam Taylor	Combs Lawrence	4:04
6.	"Lookin' at Me" (featuring Puff Daddy)	Betha Chad Hugo Pharrell Williams Combs	The Neptunes	4:15
7.	"White Girl (Interlude)"		Combs Angelettie Mase	0:52
8.	"Love U So" (featuring Billy Lawrence)	Betha Steven Jordan Combs Allen McGrier Teena Marie Brockett Norman Whitfield	Stevie J.	3:12
9.	"The Player Way" (featuring Eightball & MJG)	Betha Triston Jones Premro Smith Marlon Goodwin Combs	Mo-Suave-A Productions	4:13
10.	"Hater (Interlude)"		Combs Angelettie Mase	1:00
11.	"Niggaz Wanna Act" (featuring Busta Rhymes)	Betha Damon Blackman Richard Frierson Simmons Combs Hubert Yarborough	Grease Richard "Younglord" Frierson	4:09
12.	"Feel So Good"	Robert Earl Bell Ronald Bell George Brown Robert Mickens Claydes Smith Dennis Thomas Richard Westfield Lawrence Dermer Joe Galdo Rafael Vigil	Combs Angelettie	3:24
13.	"What You Want" (featuring Total)	Betha Keisha Spivey Myrick Combs	Combs Myrick	4:02
14.	"Phone Conversation (Interlude)"		Combs Angelettie Mase	1:49
15.	"Cheat on You" (featuring Lil' Cease and Jay-Z)	Betha James Lloyd Jermaine Dupri Shawn Carter Combs Michael Jackson	Jermaine Dupri	3:15
16.	"24 Hrs. to Live" (featuring The LOX, Black Rob, and DMX)	Betha Sean Jacobs Jason Phillips David Styles Robert Ross Simmons Angelettie Myrick Broady Combs	Angelettie Myrick Broady	4:16
17.	"I Need to Be" (featuring Monifah)	Betha Angelettie Carl Thompson Combs Siedah Garrett George Johnson Louis Johnson	Angelettie Carl "Chucky" Thompson	5:12
18.	"Watch Your Back (Interlude)"		Combs Angelettie Mase	0:56
19.	"Wanna Hurt Mase?"	Betha Lawrence Combs Jon Moss Roy Hay Mikey Craig George O'Dowd	Combs Lawrence	4:23
20.	"Jealous Guy" (featuring 112)	Michael Johnson Larry Johnson	Combs J-Dub	6:25

Sample credits

• "Puff's Intro" contains excerpts from "Joy", written and performed by Isaac Hayes.
• "Do You Wanna Get $" contains excerpts from "Do Ya Wanna Get Funky with Me", as performed by Peter Brown.
• "Will They Die 4 U?" contains a sample from "Everything Good to You (Ain't Always Good for You)", as performed by B.T. Express.
• "Love U So" contains excerpts from Ooh Boy", written by Norman Whitfield. It also contains a sample of "Square Biz", as performed by Teena Marie.
• "Niggaz Wanna Act" contains elements from "Hostage", as performed by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes.
• "Feel So Good" contains a sample from "Hollywood Swinging", as performed by Kool & The Gang, and embodies portions of "Bad Boy", as performed by Miami Sound Machine.
• "What You Want" contains a sample from "Right on for the Darkness", written and recorded by Curtis Mayfield.
• "Cheat on You" contains a sample from "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough", as performed by Michael Jackson.
• "24 Hrs. to Live" contains excerpts from "Moses Theme", written by LeRoy Bell, Thom Bell, Jack Robinson, and Casey James. It also contains samples from "Magic Wanda", as performed by Frankie Bleu.
• "I Need to Be" contains a sample from "Tomorrow (A Better You, Better Me)", as performed by The Brothers Johnson.
• "Wanna Hurt Mase?" embodies portions of "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me", written by Jon Moss, Roy Hay, Mikey Craig, and George O'Dowd.
• "Jealous Guy" contains a sample from "Jealous Girl", written and performed by New Edition.

Personnel

• Prince Charles Alexander – mixing (5)
• Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie – mixing (16), associate executive producer
• Dave Aron – mixing (1)
• Carlos "Six July" Broady – piano (3)
• Sean "Puffy" Combs – mixing (5, 6, 9), executive producer
• Lane Craven – mixing (2, 8, 20)
• Mike Daddy – grooming
• Stephen Dent – engineer (2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 16, 17, 19)
• Jermaine Dupri – mixing (15)
• Ben Garrison – engineer (20)
• DJ IROC – scratches (5, 13)
• J-Dub – additional programming (12, 16)
• Groovy Lew – stylist
• Tony Maserati – mixing (6, 9)
• Michael Patterson – engineer (2), mixing (3, 11, 12, 17, 19)
• Lisa Peardon – photography
• Herb Powers – mastering
• Kelly Price – additional vocals (12)
• Phil Tan – engineer and mixing (15)
• Rich Travail – mixing (13)
• Barry White – grooming
• Doug Wilson – engineer (1, 3, 11, 12, 17)
• Jimmy Wilson – engineer (9)

Charts

Chart performance for Harlem World

Chart (1997–1998)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[11]	91
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[12]	1
Canadian R&B Albums (SoundScan)[13]	1
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[14]	59
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[15]	20
UK Albums (OCC)[16]	53
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[17]	8
US Billboard 200[18]	1
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[19]	1

Billboard 200 Rank #20 1998

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[20]	3× Platinum	300,000^
United States (RIAA)[21]	4× Platinum	4,000,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

• List of number-one albums of 1997 (U.S.)
• List of number-one R&B albums of 1997 (U.S.)