Hood Hop is the debut studio album by St. Louis rapper J-Kwon. It was released on April 6, 2004.[1] Club hit, "Tipsy", was successful on the US, UK and Australian charts. A popular remix of the song features Chingy and Murphy Lee. The album sold 125,000 copies in its first week of release.
Steve 'Flash' Juon of RapReviews commended J-Kwon for being earnest throughout the trope-filled track listing and making the most of his newfound success "for himself, his neighborhood and his family", but felt the album overall placed him in a position that won't guarantee long-term staying power in hip-hop.[4]AllMusic editor Andy Kellman felt that production team the Trackboyz showed promise based on the single "Tipsy", but found Kwon to be an above-average rapper that only slightly changes his vocal tones.[2]Rolling Stone's Christian Hoard and Jon Caramanica criticized the production throughout the record and Kwon's "entry-level" verses, calling him "an argument against drafting high school rappers straight to the pros."[5] Steve Jones from USA Today also criticized Kwon for relying heavily on typical hip-hop scenarios and delivering "uninspired, by-the-numbers tracks ("Parking Lot", "Welcome to tha Hood")", concluding that, "[T]here's got to be more going on around the way than this."[6]
