Playing with Fire (Kevin Federline album)
Encyclopedia
Playing with Fire is the debut and only studio album
from American personality and rapper Kevin Federline
, released on October 31, 2006, in North America, and on November 6, 2006, in the UK. The lyrics were all co-written by Federline.
Federline's album debuted in the Billboard 200
at number 151, with first-week sales reported at about 6,500. According to SoundScan numbers, Playing with Fire was the 16th highest debut out of 19 albums released that week that made the Billboard 200. In its second week, it dropped out of the chart, selling a mere 1,500 copies. The review-tallying website Metacritic.com summarized the reviews they cited as possessing "extreme dislike or disgust"; as of January 2011 it remains the lowest-rated album in their database. According to Ask Billboard, Playing with Fire had sold 16,000 copies as of January 22, 2007.
Playing with Fire was universally panned by critics. Between Metacritic
's founding in 1999 and the album's release, no album had scored below 20, partially because many critics have a minimum 1 of 5 score, which is translated to 20 out of 100 in the website. "Playing with Fire" scored 15, receiving an F from Entertainment Weekly, which translated into a 0/100. "Playing with Fire" is ranked number one on Metacritic
's 100 worst-reviewed albums.
One notable exception to the almost universal derision was Ron Harris of the Associated Press
, who enthused: “All jokes aside about his climb to fame, Kevin Federline’s album Playing With Fire (Federline Records) is a credible, entertaining debut. I kid you not.... The streets of Fresno County are no joke, and good for Fed-Rock if wants to boast about surviving that life.”
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
, Senior Editor of Allmusic (AMG) was less charitable: “Federline's debut album, Playing with Fire, is indeed bad, but it's bad in an uninteresting way; it's as dull and predictable as its title... he's not nearly as shocking as he'd like to believe or as amusing as his haters would hope: he just comes across as a big boob... It's also a bore because he's a boor, writing endlessly about the same three topics: his alleged superstardom, his hatred of the media, his love of parties and dope... it often sounds like he can't quite understand them."
Said Preston Jones of Slant Magazine
, "Federline can only rap about weed, his bank account, his wife, fighting anyone who looks at him sideways, and partying 'til three days from now —- roughly in that order... An oh-so-tiny sliver of myself kind of wanted Playing With Fire to be less aggressively shitty than it is, if only so the restless, rapacious media would ease off this tattered target of its ire—unfortunately, this disc is just as disposable and dumb as you'd expect." Kevin O'Donnell of Rolling Stone
called it "reprehensible" and a "tragicomedy"; while Chris Willman in Entertainment Weekly
proclaimed that it was "a concept album about squandering Britney Spears' fortune."
The "Playing with Fire" concert tour was also a commercial disaster. In New York City, Federline performed before an estimated audience of 300 out of a total seating capacity of 1,500 at Webster Hall
, with only one-third of attendees remaining by the end of the concert. Although many of the tickets were given away for free, approximately three-quarters of the seats at his Chicago performance remained empty. Four of the eight scheduled tour performances (Cleveland, Atlantic City, Anaheim, and San Diego) were ultimately cancelled.
While performing in WWE
, Federline used the song "America's Most Hated" as his entrance music. While feuding with John Cena
, he said that his new album would surpass Cena's record sales; Cena's album sold 43,000 copies in its first week in stores, more than 6.5 times what Playing with Fire had sold to that time.
On September 11, 2010, Matthew Wilkening of AOL Radio
ranked Federline's cancelled song track, "PopoZão", at #84 on the list of the 100 Worst Songs Ever, stating, "Thankfully, we rejected this crap outright. OK, we broke a man's spirit, but the alternative was much worse."
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
from American personality and rapper Kevin Federline
Kevin Federline
Kevin Earl Federline is an American dancer, rapper, fashion model, and actor. Previously engaged to actress Shar Jackson, Federline is best known for his two-year marriage to pop singer Britney Spears...
, released on October 31, 2006, in North America, and on November 6, 2006, in the UK. The lyrics were all co-written by Federline.
Federline's album debuted in 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...
at number 151, with first-week sales reported at about 6,500. According to SoundScan numbers, Playing with Fire was the 16th highest debut out of 19 albums released that week that made the Billboard 200. In its second week, it dropped out of the chart, selling a mere 1,500 copies. The review-tallying website Metacritic.com summarized the reviews they cited as possessing "extreme dislike or disgust"; as of January 2011 it remains the lowest-rated album in their database. According to Ask Billboard, Playing with Fire had sold 16,000 copies as of January 22, 2007.
Reception and legacy
Before the album's release, Federline's closing performance of "Lose Control" with an introduction by then-wife Britney Spears was the highlight of the 2006 Teen Choice Awards. The audience gave the performance a standing ovation before and during the ending credits.Playing with Fire was universally panned by critics. Between Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
's founding in 1999 and the album's release, no album had scored below 20, partially because many critics have a minimum 1 of 5 score, which is translated to 20 out of 100 in the website. "Playing with Fire" scored 15, receiving an F from Entertainment Weekly, which translated into a 0/100. "Playing with Fire" is ranked number one on Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
's 100 worst-reviewed albums.
One notable exception to the almost universal derision was Ron Harris of the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, who enthused: “All jokes aside about his climb to fame, Kevin Federline’s album Playing With Fire (Federline Records) is a credible, entertaining debut. I kid you not.... The streets of Fresno County are no joke, and good for Fed-Rock if wants to boast about surviving that life.”
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for Allmusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for Allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the nephew...
, Senior Editor of Allmusic (AMG) was less charitable: “Federline's debut album, Playing with Fire, is indeed bad, but it's bad in an uninteresting way; it's as dull and predictable as its title... he's not nearly as shocking as he'd like to believe or as amusing as his haters would hope: he just comes across as a big boob... It's also a bore because he's a boor, writing endlessly about the same three topics: his alleged superstardom, his hatred of the media, his love of parties and dope... it often sounds like he can't quite understand them."
Said Preston Jones of Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
, "Federline can only rap about weed, his bank account, his wife, fighting anyone who looks at him sideways, and partying 'til three days from now —- roughly in that order... An oh-so-tiny sliver of myself kind of wanted Playing With Fire to be less aggressively shitty than it is, if only so the restless, rapacious media would ease off this tattered target of its ire—unfortunately, this disc is just as disposable and dumb as you'd expect." Kevin O'Donnell of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
called it "reprehensible" and a "tragicomedy"; while Chris Willman in 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...
proclaimed that it was "a concept album about squandering Britney Spears' fortune."
The "Playing with Fire" concert tour was also a commercial disaster. In New York City, Federline performed before an estimated audience of 300 out of a total seating capacity of 1,500 at Webster Hall
Webster Hall
Webster Hall is a nightclub located at 125 East 11th Street, between Third and Fourth Avenues, near Astor Place, in Manhattan, New York City. Built in 1886, its current incarnation was opened by the Ballinger Brothers in 1992...
, with only one-third of attendees remaining by the end of the concert. Although many of the tickets were given away for free, approximately three-quarters of the seats at his Chicago performance remained empty. Four of the eight scheduled tour performances (Cleveland, Atlantic City, Anaheim, and San Diego) were ultimately cancelled.
While performing in WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
, Federline used the song "America's Most Hated" as his entrance music. While feuding with John Cena
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
, he said that his new album would surpass Cena's record sales; Cena's album sold 43,000 copies in its first week in stores, more than 6.5 times what Playing with Fire had sold to that time.
On September 11, 2010, Matthew Wilkening of AOL Radio
AOL Radio
AOL Radio powered by Slacker, , is an online radio service available only in the United States.- Roots :...
ranked Federline's cancelled song track, "PopoZão", at #84 on the list of the 100 Worst Songs Ever, stating, "Thankfully, we rejected this crap outright. OK, we broke a man's spirit, but the alternative was much worse."
Track listing
- "Intro"
- "The World Is Mine"
- "America's Most Hated"
- "Snap"
- "Lose Control"
- "Dance with a Pimp" (featuring Ya BoyYa BoyWilliam Joseph Crawford , better known by his stage name Ya Boy, is an American rapper from the Fillmore District, San Francisco. He is a younger cousin of San Francisco rapper San Quinn and also the cousin of Bills WR Steve Johnson. Crawford graduated from El Camino High School in South San...
) - "Privilege" (featuring Bosko)
- "Crazy" (featuring Britney SpearsBritney SpearsBritney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
) - "A League of My Own"
- "Playing with Fire"
- "Caught Up" (Skit)
- "Caught Up"
- "Kept on Talkin'"/"Middle Finger"
Samples and interpolations
America's Most Hated- "Got It Twisted" by Mobb DeepMobb DeepMobb Deep is an American hip hop duo from Queensbridge, Queens, New York, U.S., that consists of Havoc and Prodigy. The duo is "one of the most critically acclaimed hardcore East Coast hip-hop groups." The group is best known for its dark, hardcore delivery, as exemplified by the single "Shook Ones...
(Which sampled "She Blinded Me with ScienceShe Blinded Me with Science"She Blinded Me With Science" is a New Wave song by British musician Thomas Dolby, released in 1982. It was first released as a single in the UK in October 1982 and was subsequently included on the EP Blinded by Science and the second edition of Dolby's debut album The Golden Age of Wireless. It is...
" by Thomas DolbyThomas DolbyThomas Dolby is an English musician and producer. Best known for his 1982 hit "She Blinded Me with Science", and 1984 single "Hyperactive!", he has also worked extensively in production and as a session musician.-Early life:Dolby was born in London, England, contrary to information in early 1980s...
) - "The Edge" by David McCallum, Sr.David McCallum, Sr.David McCallum, Sr. was the Scottish leader of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Scottish National Orchestra. He was also the father of actor David McCallum and of author Iain McCallum.-Life and career:McCallum was born in Kilsyth, near Glasgow to a...
Cancelled tracks
- "PopoZão"
- "Y'all Ain't Ready"
- "U Should" (featuring Ya Boy and Phat Rat)
- "Keep Messing with My Family"
- "Untold Stories"
- "Rockstar" (Ya Boy featuring K-Fed)
- "Down South"
Technical credits
- Kevin "KD" Davis - Mixing
- Rob FreemanRob FreemanRobert Andrew Freeman is the former guitarist, backing vocalist and primary songwriter for the pop punk/post-hardcore group Hidden in Plain View...
- Engineer - Chris Gehringer - Mastering
- Zack Horne - Engineer
- Jared Kvitka - Engineer
- Christine Leach - Design
- Frank Micelotta - Photography
- Britney SpearsBritney SpearsBritney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
- Vocals, Vocals (background)
Chart performance
| Chart (2006) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 151 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Heatseekers | 2 |