718 (album)

Critical reception

AllMusic's David Jeffries felt the record was more than "a scattershot bunch of leftovers surrounded by lesser rappers", praising the 1986 "over-the-top excitement" throughout the track listing while also displaying the "so fresh, so now, so underground sound". He also praised Ghostface, Trife and Method Man for their performances, but felt the other crew members did not distinguish themselves with their contributions. Jeffries concluded that "the album bounces between the raw and polished, and half of it is leftovers, but too many highlights to mention make it flow just fine." William Ketchum III of RapReviews praised Trife's "raw, authoritative flow and exceptional punchline prowess" on "Punch In Punch Out", "Paychecks", "88 Freestyle" and "Who Are We?", but was mixed on the other members, singaling out Solomon Childs' "slow, dragging flow" not being ideal for solo outings. Pitchfork contributor Sam Ubl called it "a nice, if unnecessary, accessory" to The Pretty Toney Album, praising Ghostface's "tic-addled vehemence" in his lyrics while delivering more introspection and a "touching vulnerability" on "Mama Can You Hear Me" and "Who Are We?", and critiqued that Trife was Ghostface's "closest competitor" on the album when delivering quality verses, concluding that: "Commercially feasible or not, 718 features enough stylish production and idiosyncratic rapping to service Ghostface's reputation while providing the Theodore Unit stable with a cornerstone for its own."

Track listing

Personnel

• Dennis "Ghostface Killah" Coles – main artist, vocals (tracks: 1, 3–7, 9, 10, 13, 15), executive producer
• Theo "Trife" Bailey – main artist, vocals (tracks: 2–4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13)
• Walbert "Solomon Childs" Dale – main artist, vocals (tracks: 5, 8, 13, 14, 16)
• Shawn "Wiggs" Simons – main artist, vocals (tracks: 5, 11, 13, 15)
• Anthony "Kryme Life" Jones – main artist, vocals (tracks: 12, 13)
• Darryl "Cappadonna" Hill – main artist, vocals (tracks: 13, 15)
• Du-Lilz – main artist, vocals (track 13)
• Clifford "Method Man" Smith – featured artist, vocals (track 4)
• Patrick "Streetlife" Charles – featured artist, vocals (track 4)
• Wayne "Bone Crusher" Hardnett – featured artist, vocals (track 6)
• Kline – featured artist, vocals (track 15)
• Tarik "Cilvaringz" Azzougarh – producer (track 1)
• Self – producer (track 4)
• Anthony "Acid" Caputo – producer (track 5), mixing & recording (tracks: 2, 5, 8, 10, 12–14, 16)
• Dirty Dean – producer (track 6)
• Smith Bros. – producer (track 7)
• Nexus – producer (track 8)
• Derick "Mastermind" Prosper – producer (track 9)
• Kevin "K-Def" Hansford – producer (tracks: 10, 13), co-producer (track 9)
• Emile Haynie – producer & mixing (tracks: 11, 15)
• Antonio "DJ Skillspinz" Biggers – producer (track 14)
• Milestone – producer (track 16)
• Stephen "Spidey" Glicken – mixing & recording (tracks: 1, 7)
• Mike Caruso – executive producer, management
• CL – executive producer
• Mario Caruso – associate producer
• Rok One – art direction
• Kaysh Shinn – photography
• DJ Phantom – A&R
• Jonathan Kaslow – A&R
• Walter Free – project coordinator

Charts

References

References

1. Jeffries, David. "718 - Theodore Unit". [[AllMusic]].
2. Ubl, Sam. (December 1, 2004). "Theodore Unit: 718".
3. Martinez, Rafael. "718".
4. Ketchum III, William. (August 10, 2004). "Theodore Unit :: 718 :: Sure Shot Recordings".
5. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart: Week of August 21, 2004".
6. "Independent Albums Chart: Week of August 21, 2004".