Glorious Game

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Glorious Game
Studio album by
El Michels Affair and Black Thought
ReleasedApril 14, 2023 (2023-04-14)
GenreHip hop
Length31:00
LabelBig Crown
ProducerEl Michels Affair
El Michels Affair chronology
Ekundayo Inversions
(2021) 		Glorious Game
(2023)
Black Thought chronology
Cheat Codes
(2022) 		Glorious Game
(2023)
Singles from Glorious Game
  1. "Grateful"
    Released: Jan 11, 2023
  2. "That Girl"
    Released: Feb 14, 2023
  3. "Glorious Game (feat. KIRBY)"
    Released: Mar 6, 2023
  4. "I'm Still Somehow"
    Released: Mar 29, 2023

Glorious Game is a collaborative studio album by American soul group El Michels Affair and American emcee Black Thought, released on April 14, 2023, by Big Crown Records.[1]

Background[edit]

On January 11, 2023, Black Thought announced that a collaborative album with El Michels Affair titled Glorious Game would be releasing on April 14, 2023, and released the first single for the album "Grateful".[2] According to the press release, work for the album started in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The album features Michels' close collaborators and artists from his record label Big Crown, including Lady Wray, Brainstory, and Paul Spring.

On February 14, the second single for the album, "That Girl", was released.[3] On March 6, the third single for the album, "Glorious Game", was released, featuring singer Kirby.[4] On March 29, the fourth single for the album, "I'm Still Somehow", was released.[5] The album was released on April 14.[6]

Content[edit]

Black Thought has described Glorious Game as "one of my most personal projects to date", and has stated that his goal for the album was to have every song tell a story from or about his life.[7][8] Bandcamp characterizes Black Thought as "in an introspective mood" on the album.[8] The title Glorious Game is a term for "information passed down from... an elder statesman with a cautionary tale here and there".[7] The decision to include a reprise of the title track was inspired by musical theater.[8]

In producing the album, Leon Michels wrote several original songs and then, rather than using those songs directly, created hip hop beats that sampled them.[7][8]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic81/100[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
Clash8/10[11]
HipHopDX4.6/5[12]
Loud and Quiet6/10[13]
PopMatters7/10[14]
Under the Radar7.5/10[15]

Upon release, Glorious Game was met with critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 81, based on seven reviews.[9]

Writing for Under the Radar, Chris Thiessen writes "Glorious Game pays homage to hip-hop's lineage of soul, funk, and boom-bap," and praises Black Thought's lyricism, saying "In both the familiar and the unexpected, Black Thought is perfectly at ease. He finds ample room and inspiration in Michels' thoughtful production to reflect on his life."[15] Robin Murray at Clash praised El Michels Affair's production, writing, "A word, too, for the ever-resistant consistency that cinematic soul outfit El Michels Affair apply to their art – the group's third album in three years, they never once let standards slip."[11] Riley Wallace of HipHopDX commended Black Thought's storytelling, writing, "Playing out as a stage-worthy one-person show, Thought remains endearingly personal throughout the tightly curated 31-minute project, walking us through the sights, sounds, smells and sensibilities instilled coming up in the Point Breeze neighborhood of South Philadelphia."[12] AllMusic's Andy Kellman praised Black Thought's writing on the album, stating: "While Thought remains unrelentingly stern in his delivery, his rhymes remain packed with comic references and imagery contradicting his improper classification as one of hip-hop's most sullen and humorless MCs."[10] Writing for PopMatters, Chris Conaton concludes his review stating "This project is worth checking out, with excellent production and even better verses."[14] KCRW's Jeremy Sole writes of the album "Together, these master craftsmen bring a depth and introspection so needed in this world today. The album not only transmutes pain and struggle into beauty and wisdom, but does so in a way that we can ride to it, slow and low, calm and collected."[16]

Year-end lists[edit]

Critics' rankings for Glorious Game
Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
KCRW The 23 Best Albums of 2023 14
[16]
The Philadelphia Inquirer Best Albums of 2023 2
[17]
Under the Radar Top 100 Albums of 2023 67
[18]
Uproxx The Best Albums Of 2023 —
[19]

Track listing[edit]

All tracks are written by Tariq Trotter, except where noted, and produced by Leon Michels

Glorious Game track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Grateful"
2:51
2."Glorious Game" (featuring Kirby)
3:53
3."I'm Still Somehow"
2:04
4."Hollow Way"
  • Eddie Holloway
  • Erkin Koray
  • Jake Graffagnino
  • Michels
  • Trotter
2:24
5."Protocol" (featuring Son Little)
  • Paul Spring
  • Son Little
  • Steinweiss
  • Movshon
  • Michels
  • Trotter
2:56
6."The Weather"
  • Paul Casteluzzo
  • Movshon
  • Michels
  • Trotter
2:59
7."That Girl"
  • Steinweiss
  • K. Martin
  • Michels
  • Movshon
  • Spring
  • Trotter
2:10
8."I Would Never"
  • Steinweiss
  • K. Martin
  • Michels
  • Movshon
  • Spring
  • Trotter
2:43
9."Alone"
2:06
10."Miracle"
  • Michels
  • Movshon
  • Trotter
2:32
11."Glorious Game (Reprise)"
  • Guy
  • Hagstorm
  • K. Martin
  • T. Martin
  • Michels
  • Dockery
1:23
12."Alter Ego" (featuring Brainstory)
  • Hagstorm
  • K. Martin
  • T. Martin
  • Michels
  • Trotter
3:10
Total length:31:16
  • Additional production on "Glorious Game" by Brainstory
  • Additional production on "The Weather" by Paul Castelluzzo

Samples[edit]

Personnel[edit]

Musicians

  • Leon Michels – drums, bass, guitar, keys, flute, sax, percussion, vocals
  • Nick Movshon – drums, bass
  • Homer Steinweiss – drums
  • Paul Spring – guitar
  • Kevin Martin – vocals
  • Tony Martin – bass
  • Eric Hagstrom – drums
  • Paul Castelluzzo – guitar, keys
  • Lady Wray – vocals
  • Big Tony Martin – vocals

Technical

  • Jens Jungkurth – mixer, engineer
  • Leon Michels – engineer
  • Alex Deturk – mastering

Charts[edit]

Chart performance for Glorious Game
Chart (2023) Peak
position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[22] 44
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[23] 24
US Vinyl Albums (Billboard)[24] 15

Further reading[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Breihan, Tom (March 7, 2023). "Black Thought & El Michels Affair Share New Song "Glorious Game": Listen". Stereogum. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  2. ^ Ruiz, Matthew (January 11, 2023). "The Roots' Black Thought Announces New Album With El Michels Affair". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  3. ^ Blistein, Jon (February 14, 2023). "Black Thought, El Michels Affairs Drop a New Sonic Valentine, 'That Girl'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  4. ^ Oatman, Alex (March 7, 2023). "Black Thought & El Michels Affair Drop New Song 'Glorious Game'". HipHopDX. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  5. ^ Rettig, James (March 29, 2023). "Black Thought & El Michels Affair Share New Song "I'm Still Somehow": Listen". Stereogum. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  6. ^ Mancini, Maggie (April 14, 2023). "Black Thought, El Michels Affair explore fame and identity on 'Glorious Game'". PhillyVoice. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  7. ^ a b c Aku, Timmhotep. "Black Thought plays the long game". The Fader. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d Gillespie, Blake (April 13, 2023). "Black Thought & Leon Michels Discuss the Deeply Personal "Glorious Game"". Bandcamp. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  9. ^ a b Glorious Game by El Michels Affair, Metacritic, retrieved April 19, 2023
  10. ^ a b Kellman, Andy. "Glorious Game Black Thought / El Michels Affair". AllMusic.
  11. ^ a b Murray, Robin (April 14, 2023). "El Michels Affair & Black Thought - Glorious Game | Reviews". Clash. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  12. ^ a b Wallace, Riley (April 22, 2023). "Black Thought & El Michels Affair's 'Glorious Game' Is A Cinematic Marvel". HipHopDX. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  13. ^ Haley, Dominic. "El Michels Affair and Black Thought - Glorious Game". Loud And Quiet. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  14. ^ a b Conaton, Chris (June 22, 2023). "Black Thought and El Michels Affair Team Up for Throwback Hip-Hop". PopMatters. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  15. ^ a b Thiessen, Chris. "Glorious Game". Under the Radar. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  16. ^ a b "The 23 Best Albums of 2023". KCRW. December 6, 2023. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  17. ^ DeLuca, Dan (December 24, 2023). "Our pop music critic picks his best albums of the year". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  18. ^ Redfern, Mark. "Under the Radar's Top 100 Albums of 2023". Under the Radar. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  19. ^ "These Are The Best Albums Of 2023". UPROXX. December 4, 2023. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  20. ^ "Black Thought Unites with El Michels Affair for Collaborative LP 'Glorious Game,' Share Lead Single "Grateful"". Jambands. January 12, 2023. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
  21. ^ Aghyari, Kian (January 12, 2023). "Nieuwe single El Michels Affair & Black Thought - "Grateful"" [New single [by] El Michels Affair & Black Thought - "Grateful"]. Dansende Beren (in Dutch). Retrieved April 1, 2023.
  22. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – El Michels Affair & Black Thought – Glorious Game" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  23. ^ "El Michels Affair & Black Thought Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  24. ^ "El Michels Affair & Black Thought Chart History (Vinyl Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
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