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. It peaked at No. 71 on the Billboard 200 chart.
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. 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." 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."
Critical reception
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".
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."
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".
+Accolades for Cancer 4 Cure Publication Accolade Rank The 405 Albums of the Year12Beats per MinuteThe Top 50 Albums of 2012 34 Chicago Tribune (Greg Kot) Top 10 Albums of 2012 7 Cokemachineglow Top 50 Albums 20123Complex The 50 Best Albums of 2012 10 Consequence of Sound Top 50 Albums of 2012 25 Exclaim! Best Albums of 2012: Top 50 Albums of the Year 14 No Ripcord Top 50 Albums Of 201236 Obscure Sound Best Albums of 201235 Paste The 50 Best Albums of 201212Pitchfork The Top 50 Albums of 201245 PopMatters The 75 Best Albums of 201235 The Best Hip-Hop of 20124 Pretty Much Amazing Best Albums of 201220Spin 40 Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2012 Unranked Spinner The 50 Best Albums of 2012 33 Stereogum Top 50 Albums of 2012 15 Treble Top 50 Albums of 2012 22 The Village Voice Pazz & Jop26
Track listing All tracks are written and produced by El-P, except where noted.
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) Peakposition US Billboard 200 71 US Independent Albums (Billboard) 15 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) 7
References
External links