Loyal to the game album tupac biography

Loyal to the Game

studio album by 2Pac

Loyal to the Game is the ninth studio album and fifth posthumous studio album by American rapper Tupac Shakur. The album was produced by Eminem and consists of remixes of previously unreleased music recorded by Tupac before his death in Released in the United States on December 14, , Loyal to the Game debuted at number one on the US Billboard chart.[3] It was later certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[4]

Background

During an interview with MTV, Eminem stated he was so moved by Tupac's life and work that he wrote a letter to Tupac's mother, Afeni Shakur, asking her to consider letting him produce his next album. Shakur agreed, allowing Eminem to produce three new songs for the soundtrack album, Tupac: Resurrection, and the entirety of Loyal to the Game, bar bonus content.[5]

All songs on the album were recorded prior to Tupac's involvement in the controversial East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry, serving as the second posthumous album released consisting of material from this time period, the first being 's R U Still Down? (Remember Me). Although the songs are mostly unreleased, the title track, "Loyal to the Game", was previously released on the cassette edition of the soundtrack album Above the Rim, and subsequently as the B-side to the album's lead single, "Regulate".

The album featured two singles: "Thugs Get Lonely Too", which served as a promotional single for the album, and "Ghetto Gospel", which served as the lead single.[6] Originally, "Ghetto Gospel" was recorded for inclusion on the Christmas compilation A Very Special Christmas 2, but due to Tupac's legal troubles, the song was dropped from the album.[citation needed] This original version has a much faster tempo and features a third and fourth verse which didn't feature in Eminem's remix.[7][8]

Production

Loyal to the Game marks the only posthumous Tupac album not to feature any original production. When remixing these songs, Eminem used various unusual production techniques, namely, modifying the pace and pitch of Tupac's voice to better suit the instrumentals he produced. The style of the production on the album fitted more to the form of a Shady/Aftermath release, of which Eminem partly created, than it did to any original or previous posthumous Tupac release.[9] There were also various uses of cutting and pasting vocals to produce new words synonymous with rap culture at that time, such as making it sound as though Tupac is saying, "", "G-Unit", "Obie Trice" and "Em".[9]

Although Loyal to the Game was produced by Eminem, the album does feature four bonus remixes, with production coming from Scott Storch, Red Spyda, Raphael Saadiq, and DJ Quik, though, the bonus track produced by Scott Storch, "Po Nigga Blues", does not feature in Eminem form on the main album. It is unknown if Eminem did or did not produce a version of that song.

Critical reception and commercial performance

Loyal to the Game debuted at number one on the US Billboard chart, with first-week-sales of over , copies in its first week.[3] On February 15, , the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over a million copies in the US.[4] As of September , the album has sold 1,, copies in the United States.[15]

Track listing

TitleProducer
1."Soldier Like Me (Return of the Soulja)" (featuring Eminem)Eminem, Luis Resto (Originally produced by Big D The Impossible and Randy "Stretch" Walker)
2."The Uppercut" (featuring E.D.I. Mean and Young Noble of the Outlawz)Eminem, Luis Resto (Originally produced by 2Pac)
3."Out on Bail"Eminem, Luis Resto (Originally produced by LG)
4."Ghetto Gospel" (featuring Elton John)Eminem, Luis Resto (Originally produced by Big D The Impossible)
5."Black Cotton" (featuring Eminem and Kastro and Young Noble of the Outlawz)Eminem, Luis Resto (Originally produced by Big D The Impossible)
6."Loyal to the Game" (featuring G-Unit)Eminem, Luis Resto (Originally produced by Reginald Heard)
7."Thugs Get Lonely Too" (featuring Nate Dogg)Eminem, Luis Resto (Originally produced by Randy "Stretch" Walker)
8."N.I.G.G.A. (Never Ignorant, Getting Goals Accomplished)" (featuring Jadakiss)Eminem, Luis Resto (Originally produced by Big D The Impossible)
9."Who Do You Love?"Eminem, Luis Resto (Originally produced by 2Pac and Randy "Stretch" Walker)
"Crooked Nigga Too"Eminem, Luis Resto (Originally produced by Big D The Impossible)
"Don't You Trust Me?"Eminem, Luis Resto (Originally produced by Big D The Impossible)
"Hennessey" (featuring Obie Trice)Eminem, Luis Resto (Originally produced by Thug Music)
"Thug 4 Life"Eminem, Luis Resto (Originally produced by Johnny "J")
TitleProducer(s)
"Po Nigga Blues (Scott Storch Remix)" (featuring Ron Isley)Scott Storch (Originally produced by Daryl L. Anderson (DJ Daryl))
"Hennessey (Red Spyda Remix)" (featuring E.D.I. Mean and Sleepy Brown)Red Spyda
"Crooked Nigga Too (Raphael Saadiq Remix)" (featuring Raphael Saadiq)Raphael Saadiq (Originally produced by Big D The Impossible)
"Loyal to the Game (DJ Quik Remix)" (featuring Big Syke)DJ Quik
Sample credits
Notes
  • Originally, "Out on Bail" was intended for an unreleased version of Thug Life: Volume 1 but due to controversial reasons, the original version did not make the final cut and was remixed after Eminem went on board. The original version can be found on YouTube.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

  1. ^"Gold & Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America.
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  3. ^ ab"Tupac's 'Game' Haunts Album Chart At No. 1". Billboard. December 22, Retrieved March 1,
  4. ^ ab"RIAA Certifications – 2Pac". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 1,
  5. ^Caramanica, Jon. "The Village Voice". . Retrieved December 14,
  6. ^"Loyal to the Game". Amazon.
  7. ^Evans, Deon (August 23, ). "Deon Evans Interview Part 1: About How He Met 2Pac, Dope Fiends Diner & Breaking Down Ghetto Gospel". 2PacForumChannel. Archived from the original on December 22, Retrieved January 31,
  8. ^Video on YouTube
  9. ^ ab"2Pac (Tupac Shakur) Loyal to the Game Lyrics Sounds and More". October 16, Archived from the original on October 16, Retrieved December 14,
  10. ^Birchmeier, Jason. "Loyal to the Game – 2Pac". . Retrieved December 11,
  11. ^Juon, Steve. "2Pac: Loyal to the Game". RapReviews. Retrieved December 11,
  12. ^Dreisinger, Baz (January 2, ). "Something gets lost in Em's mix". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 11,
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  25. ^" – 2Pac – Loyal to the Game". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 11,
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  35. ^"YEAR-END CHARTS RAP ALBUMS ". Billboard. Retrieved June 30,
  36. ^"British album certifications – 2Pac – Loyal to the Game". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved November 25,
  37. ^"American album certifications – 2 Pac – Loyal to the Game". Recording Industry Association of America.