Cancer 4 Cure

Cancer 4 Cure
Cancer 4 Cure
Studio album by El-P
Released	May 22, 2012
Recorded	2008–2012
Genre	Hip hop
Length	49:05
Label	Fat Possum Records
Producer	El-P; Nick Diamonds; Little Shalimar; Wilder Zoby;
El-P chronology
Singles from Cancer 4 Cure
	"The Full Retard"; Released: April 24, 2012;

Cancer 4 Cure is the third solo studio album by American rapper and producer El-P. It was released through Fat Possum Records on May 22, 2012. It peaked at No. 71 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Background

The album is dedicated to El-P's friend and fellow rapper Camu Tao, who died of lung cancer in May 2008 at the age of 30. In an interview with Rolling Stone, El-P said, "Camu was a huge inspiration on this record, mostly because he had a huge effect on my life and who I am." He elaborated, "I think that I'm trying to create an idea or illustrate a thought pattern, just because there's darkness that I see and think about, it doesn't mean I've given into it. I think the record is ultimately about not giving into it. For the most part I'm struggling with that darkness throughout the record. When I say it's about wanting to live, I just say that because that's how I feel. When you get hit with death, sometimes as horrible as it is, one of the things that can come out of it is a reaffirmation of how much you don't want to go, and I think that's what happened with me."

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	8.2/10
Metacritic	84/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
The A.V. Club	A
Chicago Tribune
The Guardian
Los Angeles Times
Mojo
Pitchfork	8.5/10
Q
Rolling Stone
Spin	7/10

At Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received a score of 84 based on 39 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".

David Jeffries of AllMusic stated, "Cancer 4 Cure is about hip-hop like Glengarry Glen Ross was about sales, but these great works transcend their industries, offering solace and inspiration to anyone who would prefer a satisfied mind over a Cadillac Eldorado, or in current terms, an Escalade."

In a more critical review, Dan Weiss of The Boston Phoenix stated that the album "is definitely not El-P's Age of Apocalypse" and that "in fact it's the only El-P production that sounds like it's been made on planet Earth, following hip-hop rules that someone else already defined".

Accolades for *Cancer 4 Cure*
Publication	Accolade	Rank
The 405	Albums of the Year	12
Beats per Minute	The Top 50 Albums of 2012	34
Chicago Tribune (Greg Kot)	Top 10 Albums of 2012	7
Cokemachineglow	Top 50 Albums 2012	3
Complex	The 50 Best Albums of 2012	10
Consequence of Sound	Top 50 Albums of 2012	25
Exclaim!	Best Albums of 2012: Top 50 Albums of the Year	14
No Ripcord	Top 50 Albums Of 2012	36
Obscure Sound	Best Albums of 2012	35
Paste	The 50 Best Albums of 2012	12
Pitchfork	The Top 50 Albums of 2012	45
PopMatters	The 75 Best Albums of 2012	35
PopMatters	The Best Hip-Hop of 2012	4
Pretty Much Amazing	Best Albums of 2012	20
Spin	40 Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2012	Unranked
Spinner	The 50 Best Albums of 2012	33
Stereogum	Top 50 Albums of 2012	15
Treble	Top 50 Albums of 2012	22
The Village Voice	Pazz & Jop	26

Track listing

All tracks are written and produced by El-P, except where noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Request Denied"			4:32
2.	"The Full Retard"	Jaime Meline Tero Smith		3:39
3.	"Works Every Time"			3:35
4.	"Drones Over Bklyn"		El-P Little Shalimar	5:49
5.	"Oh Hail No" (featuring Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire and Danny Brown)	Meline Hugh Allison Daniel Sewell		3:41
6.	"Tougher Colder Killer" (featuring Killer Mike and Despot)	Meline Michael Render Alec Reinstein		3:39
7.	"True Story"			3:14
8.	"The Jig Is Up"		El-P Little Shalimar	3:18
9.	"Sign Here"			2:51
10.	"For My Upstairs Neighbor (Mums the Word)"		El-P Wilder Zoby	3:15
11.	"Stay Down" (featuring Nick Diamonds)	Meline Nicholas Thorburn	El-P Nick Diamonds Little Shalimar	3:10
12.	"$4 Vic/Nothing but You+Me (FTL)"			8:23
Total length:				49:05

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.

El-P – vocals, design
Little Shalimar – guitar (1, 2, 10, 12), vocoder (6), guitar effect (7), synthesizer (12), recording (all tracks)
Wilder Zoby – synthesizer (1), keyboards (3, 5, 7, 12)
Isaiah "Ikey" Owens – organ (1, 6), keyboards (5, 7, 9)
James McNew – bass guitar (1, 6, 10)
Camu Tao – vocals (2)
Paul Banks – vocals (3)
Jaleel Bunton – guitar (3)
Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire – vocals (5)
Danny Brown – vocals (5)
Dave "Smoota" Smith – horns (11)
Killer Mike – vocals (6)
Despot – vocals (6)
Matt Sweeney – guitar (6, 12)
Himanshu Suri – vocals (7)
Nick Diamonds – vocals (11)
Biondo – vocals (12)
Joey Raia – mixing
Glenn Schick – mastering
Ron Croudy – design
Timothy Saccenti – photography

Charts

Chart (2012)	Peak position
US Billboard 200	71
US Independent Albums (Billboard)	15
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)	7