The Devil Made Me Do It
Studio album by
Paris
ReleasedOctober 9, 1990[1]
RecordedFall 1989 – Summer 1990
GenrePolitical hip hop[2]
LabelScarface/Tommy Boy[3]
ProducerParis
D.R.
Paris chronology
The Devil Made Me Do It
(1990)		 Sleeping with the Enemy
(1992)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[4]

The Devil Made Me Do It is the debut studio album by American rapper Paris.[3][5] It was released on October 9, 1990, on Tommy Boy Records.[6] Paris toured the US and Europe that year to promote the record. The album eventually sold over 300,000 copies according to the emcee.[7]

Release

The title track was banned on MTV.[8][9] Some record stores refused to carry a version of the album, due to a cover image of a police officer putting a Black boy in a chokehold.[10]

Critical reception

"Menacing...the vocals intensify and get hyper, creating a heightened sense of anxiety...his lyrics are intense and he drops science while showing skills on the mic..."[11] - The Source

"Rap music reaches new heights of political invective on Paris' jolting debut recording...Paris boosts his message with unique, sleek music...adding a primal beast-on-the-hunt quality..."[11] - People

"Hard-hitting beats combined with razor-sharp lyrics...Listen to the rhymes flow, and you'll realize that Paris is a massive, militant talent..."[11] - Hip Hop Connection

"Paris motivates with an authoritative voice that speaks to the underground rather than trying to pacify the masses."[11] - CMJ

"Easily the outstanding rap debut of 1990...a case study in how it should be done...this album profoundly understands the musical strategies of dissonance, atmosphere, space...Paris possesses one of those menacing voices that draws you into its husky world, via a timbre that carries the meaning within itself. In rap, the message is in the medium, and the medium is in the grain of the voice."[11] - Express

"More than just a rap album - it's a revolutionary handbook. Music for those who want mental stimulation with their dope beats."[11] - Urb

"An impressive debut with street smart, political, well-done raps...a strong, strong record."[11] - Billboard

"Paris is a force of gravity under which perpetrators melt of embarrassment...his musical genius is rhyme...Paris is a gun to your head, so listen up."[11] - Vox

Trouser Press praised the "diverse, imaginative and burningly intense self-produced tracks."[12]

Track listing

  1. "Intro" – 0:40
  2. "Scarface Groove" – 4:35
  3. "This Is a Test" – 2:47
  4. "Panther Power" – 3:58
  5. "Break the Grip of Shame" 3:34
  6. "Warning" – 1:07
  7. "Ebony" – 3:56
  8. "Brutal" – 3:53
  9. "On the Prowl" – 1:10
  10. "The Devil Made Me Do It" – 4:12
  11. "The Hate That Hate Made" – 1:09
  12. "Mellow Madness" – 4:50
  13. "I Call Him Mad" – 4:17
  14. "Escape from Babylon" – 5:18
  15. "Wretched" – 3:32
  16. "Break the Grip of Shame (The Final Call)" (Bonus track) – 8:06
  17. "Devil Made Me Do It (Poach a Pig Mix)" (Bonus track) – 5:44

Samples

Break the Grip of Shame

Brutal

Panther Power

Scarface Groove

The Devil Made Me Do It

Warning

  • "Chicken Yellow" by Miami

I Call Him Mad

Ebony

Mellow Madness

  • "Siempre Hay Esperanza" by Sade

Charts

Weekly charts

Album Charting Billboard 200 R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
The Devil Made Me Do It 158 41[13]

Singles

Single Chart Position
"The Devil Made Me Do It" Hot Rap Singles 20

References

  1. ↑ "Paris Drops 'The Devil Made Me Do It' Album: Today in Hip-Hop - XXL". XXL Mag.
  2. 1 2 Kellman, Andy. "The Devil Made Me Do It – Paris". AllMusic. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
  3. 1 2 "Paris | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  4. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 6. MUZE. p. 411.
  5. ↑ "Bay Area rapper Paris maintains firebrand approach to hip-hop". January 12, 2016.
  6. ↑ Wilson, Jamie J. (February 16, 2018). The Black Panther Party: A Guide to an American Subculture. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9780313392542 – via Google Books.
  7. ↑ Byrne, Peter (December 3, 2003). "Capital Rap". SF Weekly. San Francisco Media Co. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  8. ↑ "Paris bio". MTV. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
  9. ↑ Strauss, Neil (April 3, 2003). "Furor Over Rapper's Cover-Art Statement (Published 2003)" – via NYTimes.com.
  10. ↑ Miller, Paul D. (March 14, 2008). Sound Unbound: Sampling Digital Music and Culture. MIT Press. ISBN 9780262266468 – via Google Books.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Paris". Guerrilla Funk.
  12. ↑ "Paris". Trouser Press. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  13. ↑ "Paris". Billboard.
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