1st Born Second

1st Born Second is the debut album of American R&B; and neo soul musician Bilal, released July 17, 2001 on Interscope Records. Production for the album was handled primarily by Bilal and Aaron Comess. Bilal's mononymous stage name also serves as an acronym for "Beloved, Intelligent, Lustful and Livin' It". Bilal was trained in jazz and classical music before recording and joining the Soulquarians collective, which features Erykah Badu, D'Angelo, ... more

1st Born Second is the debut album of American R&B; and neo soul musician Bilal, released July 17, 2001 on Interscope Records. Production for the album was handled primarily by Bilal and Aaron Comess. Bilal's mononymous stage name also serves as an acronym for "Beloved, Intelligent, Lustful and Livin' It". Bilal was trained in jazz and classical music before recording and joining the Soulquarians collective, which features Erykah Badu, D'Angelo, Q-Tip, Talib Kweli, and Questlove of The Roots. The album contains an experimental sound with elements of hip hop, jazz, scat, reggae, and rock music. 1st Born Second peaked at number 31 on the Billboard 200 chart. It received universal acclaim from most music critics, based on an aggregate score of 82/100 from Metacritic. The album earned rave reviews from publications, including The Village Voice, Chicago Sun-Times, and USA Today, and it also received comparisons to the music of Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Sly & the Family Stone, Prince, and... less