Bow Down is the debut album by American gangsta rap

Gangsta rap

Gangsta Rap is a subgenre of hip hop music that evolved from hardcore hip hop and purports to reflect urban crime and the violent lifestyles of inner-city youths. Lyrics in gangsta rap have varied from accurate reflections to fictionalized accounts. Gangsta is a non-rhotic pronunciation of the word...

 group Westside Connection

Westside Connection

Westside Connection was an American gangsta rap group consisting of Ice Cube, WC and Mack 10. The group's debut album, Bow Down, reached the number 2 position on the Billboard 200 in 1996, going platinum that year.-Biography:...

, released on October 22, 1996 through Ice Cube's Lench Mob

Lench Mob Records

Lench Mob Records is an independently owned record label owned by Los Angeles rapper and actor Ice Cube. It was once home to many of Cube's former allies such as DJ Pooh, and Lench Mob's own Chilly Chill, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Kam, female rapper Yo Yo and the group Da Lench Mob...

/Priority Records

Priority Records

Priority Records is an American record label, owned and operated by EMI, which has made a name for itself dealing primarily in hip hop, pop and world...

. It featured production from Bud'da

Bud'da

Bud'da is an American West Coast hip hop producer for artists such as Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Xzibit and Aaliyah...

, QDIII and Ice Cube

Ice Cube

O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer,...

 among other producers.

The album peaked at number two on the Billboard 200

Billboard 200

The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

 on November 9, 1996, shipping 145,000 units. It went on to sell 1.7 million copies, certifying it platinum

RIAA certification

In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...

 by RIAA on October 1, 1997. The songs King of the Hill, Cross 'Em Out and Put a 'K, and Hoo Bangin' (WSCG Style) are all disses

Diss track

A diss track or diss song is a song primarily intended to disparage or insult another person or group. While musical parodies and attacks have always existed, the trend became increasingly common in the hip hop genre as part of the hip hop rivalry phenomenon...

 to the rap group Cypress Hill

Cypress Hill

Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. Cypress Hill was the first Latino hip-hop group to have platinum and multi-platinum albums, selling over 18 million albums worldwide...

.

Reception

The album generally received positive reviews from most music critics and fans with the exception of Robert Christgau

Robert Christgau

Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...

 and Entertainment Weekly

Entertainment Weekly

Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...

.

Track listing

#	Title	Producer(s)	Time
1	"World Domination" (Intro)	*Interlude*	1:16
2	"Bow Down Bow Down (song) "Bow Down" was the lead single released from the Westside Connection's debut album, Bow Down.The song became the most successful single released by the group, peaking at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100, while also topping the rap chart at number one... "	Bud'da Bud'da Bud'da is an American West Coast hip hop producer for artists such as Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Xzibit and Aaliyah...	3:27
3	"Gangstas Make the World Go Round Gangstas Make the World Go Round "Gangstas Make the World Go Round" is a song by Westside Connection, released as their second and final single from their debut album, Bow Down. The single was released in 1997. The song was produced by Ice Cube and Cedric Samson. The song is also featured on the N.W.A... "	Ice Cube Ice Cube O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer,... , Cedric Samson	4:33
4	"All the Critics in New York"	Binky, Ice Cube Ice Cube O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer,...	5:35
5	"Do You Like Criminals?" (featuring K-Dee K-Dee K-Dee, formerly Kid Disaster, born Darrel Johnson, is an American rapper most known for his album Ass, Gas, or Cash . He was Introduced into the hip hop scene by fellow West Coast rapper, Ice Cube on the group C.I.A... )	Bud'da Bud'da Bud'da is an American West Coast hip hop producer for artists such as Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Xzibit and Aaliyah...	5:01
6	"Gangstas Don't Dance" (Insert)	*Interlude*	0:22
7	"The Gangsta, the Killa and the Dope Dealer"	Bud'da Bud'da Bud'da is an American West Coast hip hop producer for artists such as Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Xzibit and Aaliyah...	4:15
8	"Cross 'Em Out and Put a K"	Bud'da Bud'da Bud'da is an American West Coast hip hop producer for artists such as Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Xzibit and Aaliyah...	4:56
9	"King of the Hill"	QDIII Quincy Jones III Quincy Delightt Jones III is a British-born Swedish/African-American composer, music producer, film producer, and author...	4:17
10	"3 Time Felons"	Bud'da Bud'da Bud'da is an American West Coast hip hop producer for artists such as Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Xzibit and Aaliyah...	5:10
11	"Westward Ho"	QDIII Quincy Jones III Quincy Delightt Jones III is a British-born Swedish/African-American composer, music producer, film producer, and author...	5:12
12	"The Pledge" (Insert)	*Interlude*	0:14
13	"Hoo-Bangin' (WSCG Style)" (featuring K-Dee, The Comrads and Allfrumtha I Allfrumtha I Allfrumtha I, pronounced all-from-the-eýe , was an American rap group from Inglewood, California, with two members: Binky Mack and Squeak Ru. They first appeared together on Westside Connection's 1996 debut album, Bow Down... )	Ice Cube Ice Cube O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer,...	3:58