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The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust! is the third solo studio album by Saul Williams. It was released in 2007.[1] It peaked at number 41 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart,[2] as well as number 89 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[3] The album is entirely produced by Trent Reznor.[4] The title of the album is a reference to David Bowie's 1972 album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.[5]
| The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust! | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 1, 2007 | |||
| Genre | Industrial hip hop, industrial rock | |||
| Length | 60:44 | |||
| Label | Fader Label | |||
| Producer | Trent Reznor | |||
| Saul Williams chronology | ||||
| ||||
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The album was available for purchase or free download at NiggyTardust.com. The website allowed users to pay $5 to support the artist and be given the choice of downloading a 192 kbit/s MP3 version, 320 kbit/s MP3 version or lossless FLAC version.[6] Digital distribution of the album is provided by Musicane. Reznor publicised the album on the Nine Inch Nails website and mailing list, saying that "Saul's not the household name that Radiohead is" and urging fans to support him.[7] This was a reference to Radiohead's In Rainbows, which was released in October on the band's own website with customers choosing how much they want to pay for the album. The free option has since been removed, with a message on the website claiming their intention had always been to remove it after 100,000 free downloads of the album.[8]
It was announced at nin.com that, as of January 2, 2008, two months since its release, 154,449 people had downloaded NiggyTardust. Of that number, 28,322 people chose to pay the asked price of US$5 (US$141,610 Total). In comparison, Saul's self-titled album has sold 30,000 copies since its release in 2004.[9]
A physical release of the album was released on July 8, 2008. It contained five bonus tracks.[10]
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [11] |
| The A.V. Club | B+[12] |
| Robert Christgau |  [13] |
| Pitchfork | 7.3/10[14] |
| RapReviews.com | 4.5/10[15] |
| Rolling Stone |  [16] |
Thom Jurek of AllMusic gave the album 4.5 stars out of 5, saying: "This is Williams' finest moment, and interestingly, one of Reznor's, too."[11]
Quentin B. Huff of PopMatters placed it at number 12 on the "101 Hip-Hop Albums of 2007" list.[17]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Black History Month" | Williams, Reznor, Thavius Beck | 3:15 |
| 2. | "Convict Colony" | Williams, Reznor, CX KiDTRONiK | 3:24 |
| 3. | "Tr(n)igger" | 3:54 | |
| 4. | "Sunday Bloody Sunday" | Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen Jr. | 4:05 |
| 5. | "Break" | 3:18 | |
| 6. | "NiggyTardust" | Williams, Reznor, CX KiDTRONiK | 3:40 |
| 7. | "DNA" | Williams, Reznor, Beck, Isaiah "Ikey" Owens | 4:02 |
| 8. | "WTF!" | Williams, Reznor, CX KiDTRONiK | 5:29 |
| 9. | "Scared Money" | 3:48 | |
| 10. | "Raw" | 2:50 | |
| 11. | "Skin of a Drum" | 3:55 | |
| 12. | "No One Ever Does" | 3:14 | |
| 13. | "Banged and Blown Through" | 3:43 | |
| 14. | "Raised to be Lowered" | Williams, Reznor, CX KiDTRONiK | 5:22 |
| 15. | "The Ritual" | 5:20 | |
| Total length: | 60:44 | ||
All tracks are written by Saul Williams and Trent Reznor, except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16. | "Pedagogue of Young Gods" | 3:18 | |
| 17. | "World on Wheels" | 1:27 | |
| 18. | "Can't Hide Love" | Skip Scarborough | 2:27 |
| 19. | "Gunshots by Computer" | Reznor | 1:44 |
| 20. | "List of Demands (Reparations)" | Williams | 3:18 |
| Total length: | 71:46 | ||
Credits adapted from liner notes.
Musicians
- Saul Williams – vocals, programming
- Trent Reznor – production, programming, backing vocals (5, 8)
- Atticus Ross – additional programming
- Thavius Beck – production (1, 7), programming (1, 7)
- CX KiDTRONiK – production, programming, backing vocals (1, 6)
- Isaiah "Ikey" Owens – keyboards (7)
- Xuly Azaro – backing vocals (9)
- Maryam Nalo Blacksher – viola (13)
- Gingger Shankar – double violin (13)
- Persia White – backing vocals (11)
- Alan Moulder – mixing
- Brian Gardner – mastering
Technical personnel
- Angelbert Metoyer – artwork
- Melody Ehsani – cover art, jewelry design
- Rob Sheridan – graphic design, layout
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| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[2] | 41 |
| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[3] | 89 |
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