Moment of Truth (Gang Starr album)

Moment of Truth
Studio album by Gang Starr
Released	March 31, 1998
Recorded	1996–98; D&D Studios New York City
Genre	East Coast hip hop, Hardcore Hip Hop [1]
Length	78:30
Label	Noo Trybe/Virgin/EMI Records 7243 8 45585 2 9 V2-45545
Producer	DJ Premier, Guru
Gang Starr chronology
Hard to Earn (1994) Moment of Truth (1998) Full Clip: A Decade of Gang Starr (1999)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
Rolling Stone	[3]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[4]
RapReviews	[5]

Moment of Truth is the fifth album by hip hop duo Gang Starr.

Overview

Released four years after its previous album, Hard to Earn, this album could be perceived as a comeback, with a newer, updated style of the group's already-established jazz-tinged hip-hop, as stated by Guru in the introduction:

The album is the group's most commercially successful album to date. Moment of Truth debuted at #1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. It went on to sell over 500,000 copies and was certified Gold by the RIAA on May 7, 1998.^[6] The lead single, "You Know My Steez," became the duo's second Billboard Hot 100 appearnce in 1997, peaking at #76. Spin magazine ranked it as the #16 album of 1998.^[7]

The album features more guest artists than previous Gang Starr releases. Collaborations include songs with Inspectah Deck, Scarface, G-Dep, Freddie Foxxx, K-Ci & JoJo, M.O.P. and more.

The title track also appeared in the soundtrack of the 2001 video game Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2.

Track listing

Samples

• "You Know My Steez"
  • "Flash It To the Beat" by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
  • "Drowning In The Sea of Love" by Joe Simon
  • "Shadowboxing" by GZA/Genius
• "Robbin Hood Theory"
  • "The Day After the Dawn" by Albert Dailey
  • "Capricorn" by Cannonball Adderley Quintet
• "Work"
  • "Prove Your Love" by Fleetwood Mac
  • "Devil In The Dark" by The Manhattans
  • "UFO" by ESG
  • "Closer to God" by Krumbsnatcha
• "Royalty"
  • "Let's Do It In Slow Motion" by Latimore
  • "DWYCK" by Gang Starr
• "Above The Clouds"
  • "JFK Speech on Space Flight" by John F. Kennedy
  • "Two Piece Flower" by John Dankworth
  • "Superman - The Man from Krypton: Part II" by Peter Pan Records
  • "Electric Relaxation" by A Tribe Called Quest
• "JFK 2 LAX"
  • "It's Time to Break Down" by The Supremes
• "It'z A Set Up"
  • "Coldblooded" by James Brown
  • "Beyond Yesterday" by Les McCann
• "Moment Of Truth"
  • "Let's Fall in Love All Over" by Billy Paul
  • "Who's Gonna Take the Weight" by Gang Starr
• "B.I. vs. Friendship"
  • "Come Live With Me" by Isaac Hayes
• "The Militia"
  • "War of the Worlds" by Orson Welles
  • "Dark Shadows Theme" by Robert Cobert Orchestra
  • "Windmills of Your Mind" by Barbara Lewis
  • "If Headz Only Knew..." by Heather B.
• "The Rep Grows Bigga"
  • "Come Dancing" by Jeff Beck
  • "Listen to the Man" by Kev E Kev & AK B
  • "Just to Get a Rep" by Gang Starr
  • "DWYCK" by Gang Starr
  • "C.R.E.A.M" by Wu-Tang Clan
  • "Fakin' Jax" by INI
  • "Off The Books" by The Beatnuts
• "What I'm Here 4"
  • "R.S.V.P" by Nat Adderley
• "She Know What She Wantz"
  • "Sunnin' and Funnin'" by MSFB
  • "Itzsoweezee (Hot)" by De La Soul
• "New York Strait Talk"
  • "Come Dancing" by Jeff Beck
  • "It's My Thing" by EPMD
  • "The Natural" by Mic Geronimo
  • "Bastards" by Ruthless Bastards
• "My Advice 2 You"
  • "I'll Love More Than You'll Ever Know" by Cold Blood
• "Make 'Em Pay"
  • "You're Something Special" by Five Special
  • "Livin' Proof" by Group Home
• "The Mall"
  • "Ain't No Stopping Us Now (Special Disco Version) by McFadden & Whitehead
• "Betrayal"
  • "Deliver the Word" by War
• "Next Time"
  • "A Good Man Is Gone" by Monk Higgins
  • "I Shot Ya" by LL Cool J
• "In Memory Of..."
  • "Here's That Rainy Day" by Paul Horn
  • "You're Nobody (Til Somebody Kills You)" by The Notorious B.I.G.

Chart positions

Album

Singles

Chart positions from Billboard magazine

See also

• List of number-one R&B albums of 1998 (U.S.)

References

Samples

Betrayal -War - Deliver The Word

Next Time -Monk Higgins - A Good Man Is Gone

Above The Clouds -John Dankworth - Two-Piece Flower