S.I.O.S.O.S. Volume One
Studio album by
Spooks
ReleasedFebruary 8, 2000
Recorded1999
Studio
Various
GenreHip hop
Length64:47
Label
Producer
  • Dan Askew
  • Rick Dahrouge
  • Kay-Gee
  • Odyssey
  • Sedni-Fi
  • Spooks
Spooks chronology
S.I.O.S.O.S. Volume One
(2000)		 Faster Than You Know...
(2003)
Singles from S.I.O.S.O.S. Volume One
  1. "Sweet Revenge"
    Released: 2000
  2. "Things I've Seen"
    Released: February 29, 2000
  3. "Karma Hotel"
    Released: 2001

S.I.O.S.O.S. Volume One is the debut album by American hip-hop group Spooks, released on February 8, 2000 by Antra, Artemis and Sony Music. The title is an initialism for "Spooks Is On Some Other Shit". The album launched the single "Things I've Seen", which charted at number 11 on Billboard's Hot Rap Singles chart and number 94 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart as well as went to number 1 in Europe and became the most played song internationally from 2001 to 2002. Spooks went gold in 5 countries and became eligible for a European platform plaque. Spooks eventually sold several million records.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Entertainment.ie[2]
NME6/10[3]
RapReviews7/10[4]

S.I.O.S.O.S. garnered a mixed reception from music critics. Steve 'Flash' Juon of RapReviews found some songs of lesser quality and the rappers' voices to be nondescript, but gave praise to tracks like "Sweet Revenge", "Karma Hotel" and "Jungle House" for their haunting experimental beats and use of Ming Xia's vocals, concluding that: "Whether you buy into their claim that they represent a totally new direction in hip-hop or not, it's not hard to enjoy the positive aspects of this album - it's hip-hop, well done."[4] A writer from Entertainment.ie also praised the group's mixture of hip hop and soul music with Ming Xia's chorus delivery, but was critical of their comedy skits and views on the music industry, concluding that: "If the Spooks cut out the foolery and focus on their musical talent, which on this evidence is considerable, they could go far."[2] Jim Alexander of NME commended the Fugees and RZA influences found throughout the various tracks, and singled out the group's singer Ming Xia for "adding a touch of steely R&B modernism, a welcome female counterpoint, and enough hook-laden soul to catapult them into the big time."[3] Vibe contributor Jon Caramanica said that despite Ming Xia's appearance throughout the record, he criticized the rappers traversing from different topics and styles as being "disorienting", concluding that: "S.I.O.S.O.S. compromises compelling parts that never yield a revolutionary whole."[5] AllMusic editor Steve Kurutz said of the album: "S.I.O.S.O.S. (Spooks Is on Some Other Shit) is an eclectic mix of jazz, reggae, hip-hop, and neo-soul, and it's also not that good. Spooks consist of four gruff, male MCs and female singer Ming Xia, but five is truly a crowd and often the arrangements are so cluttered that the vocalists trip over themselves and interrupt each other like overeager grade-schoolers."[1]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Joseph M. Davis, Chenjerai Kumanyika, Irina M. Perez, Jerel Spruill and Booker T. Tucker

No.TitleProducerLength
1."Other Script"Odyssey5:16
2."The Mission"Odyssey3:35
3."Things I've Seen"Rick Dahrouge4:33
4."They Don't Know"
  • Sedni-Fi
  • Spooks[a]
5:17
5."I Got U"
  • Sedni-Fi
  • Spooks[a]
4:04
6."Flesh Not Bone"Kay-Gee3:57
7."Sweet Revenge"Spooks5:58
8."Deep Cutz"
  • Sedni-Fi
  • Spooks[a]
4:13
9."Karma Hotel"Spooks5:01
10."Safe House"Odyssey4:42
11."Something Fresh"Dahrouge4:14
12."Swindley's Maracas"Dan Askew4:58
13."Bitch Blood"Askew4:43
14."Murder"Dahrouge4:12
  • ^[a] signifies a co-producer.
Sample credits

Personnel

Adapted from the liner notes of S.I.O.S.O.S. Volume One.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 Kurutz, Steve. "S.I.O.S.O.S., Vol.1". AllMusic. Archived from the original on October 6, 2018. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  2. 1 2 "Spooks - S.I.O.S.O.S Volume 1". Entertainment.ie. February 5, 2001. Archived from the original on November 26, 2016. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  3. 1 2 Alexander, Jim (January 30, 2001). "Spooks : SIOSOS Volume One". NME. IPC Media. Archived from the original on May 13, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
  4. 1 2 Juon, Steve 'Flash' (October 27, 2000). "Spooks :: S.I.O.S.O.S. Volume 1 :: Antra/Artemis". RapReviews. Archived from the original on November 26, 2016. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  5. ↑ Caramanica, Jon (August 2000). "Spooks 'S.I.O.S.O.S. Volume One'". Vibe. Vibe Media. 8 (6): 173. ISSN 1070-4701. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  6. ↑ S.I.O.S.O.S. Volume One (liner notes). Spooks. Antra. 2000. EK 91378.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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