Step In the Arena

Step In the Arena
Studio album by Gang Starr
Released	January 15, 1991
Recorded	1990 Calliope Productions in New York, New York Firehouse Studios in Brooklyn, New York Such-A-Sound Studio in Brooklyn, New York
Genre	Jazz rap, East Coast Hip Hop,[1] Golden Age hip hop [1]
Length	50:35
Label	Chrysalis/EMI Records 0946 3 21798 2 1 F2-21798
Producer	DJ Premier, Guru
Gang Starr chronology
No More Mr. Nice Guy (1989) Step in the Arena (1991) Daily Operation (1992)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
Rolling Stone	[3]
Select	[4]
The Source	[5]

Step In the Arena is the second studio album by hip hop duo Gang Starr, released on January 15, 1991. Initially, the album was rated 3.5 out of 5 mics in The Source magazine.^[5] In his review, Reef wrote: "Step in the Arena stands alone on a musical level, yet it also remains true to hip-hop's underground heritage." In 1998, the album was selected as one of The Source's 100 Best Hip Hop Albums.^[6] In 2007, it was named the greatest hip hop album of all time by IGN.com.^[7] The song "Who's Gonna Take the Weight" was remixed by DJ Premier for use in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV as well as "Step In the Arena" was on the video games Skate It and Skate 2 and "Just to Get a Rep" was on Thrasher: Skate and Destroy.

Track listing

1. "Name Tag (Premier & The Guru)"
2. "Step in the Arena"
3. "Form of Intellect"
4. "Execution of a Chump (No More Mr. Nice Guy Pt. 2)"
5. "Who's Gonna Take the Weight?"
6. "Beyond Comprehension"
7. "Check the Technique"
8. "Lovesick"
9. "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow"
10. "Game Plan"
11. "Take a Rest"
12. "What You Want this Time?"
13. "Street Ministry"
14. "Just to Get a Rep" (short version)
15. "Say Your Prayers"
16. "As I Read My S-A"
17. "Precisely the Right Rhymes"
18. "The Meaning of the Name"
19. "Credit Is Due" [Japan-only bonus track]

• All tracks written and produced by Guru and DJ Premier.

Chart performance

Album

Singles

Samples

Beyond Comprehension

• "Up on Cripple Creek" by The Band
• ""Keep on Movin'" by Soul II Soul

Check the Technique

• "California Soul" by Marlena Shaw
• "Keep Your Eyes on the Prize" by Marley Marl
• "To Da Break of Dawn" by LL Cool J

Just to Get a Rep

• "E.V.A." by Jean-Jacques Perrey
• "Funky for You" by Nice & Smooth

Love Sick

• "Trying to Make a Fool of Me" by The Delfonics
• "Never Had a Dream" by Ohio Players
• "Pain" by Ohio Players
• "I Need Love" by LL Cool J
• "The Humpty Dance" by Digital Underground

Say Your Prayers

• "Wilford's Gone" by The Blackbyrds

Take a Rest

• "Give It Up" by Kool & the Gang
• "Funky Miracle" by The Meters
• ""T" Plays It Cool" by Marvin Gaye
• "Right on for the Darkness" by Curtis Mayfield
• "Rapper's Delight" by Sugarhill Gang
• "UFO" by ESG
• "Poetry" by Boogie Down Productions
• "Taxing" by Special Ed

Execution of a Chump

• "Don't It Drive You Crazy" by Pointer Sisters

Form of Intellect

• "Better Half" by Maceo Parker
• "Dope Beat" by Boogie Down Productions
• "Holy War (Live)" by Divine Force
• "Funky Technician" by Lord Finesse

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

• "Crosswind" by Billy Cobham
• "You'll Like It Too" by Funkadelic
• "Just Rhymin' With Biz" by Big Daddy Kane
• "Ease Back" by Ultramagnetic MC's

Name Tag (Premier & the Guru)

• "Fantasy Interlude" by The Originals

Precisely the Right Rhymes

• "Outside Love" by Brethren
• "Magdalena" by Leo Sayer
• "Droppin' Science" by Marley Marl

Step in the Arena

• "Never Let 'Em Say" by Ballin' Jack
• "Bumpin' Bus Stop" by Thunder and Lightning
• "Four Play" by Fred Wesley and The Horny Horns
• "The Day You're Mine" by Big Daddy Kane

Street Ministry

• "Leaward Winds" by Billy Cobham

The Meaning of the Name

• "Reading the Comics" by Fiorello La Guardia
• "With Respect to Coltrane" by Tom Scott

What You Want This Time

• "Nose Job" by James Brown
• "Life (Is What You Make It)" by Frighty & Colonel Mite

Who's Gonna Take the Weight?

• "Parrty" by Maceo Parker
• "To Da Break of Dawn" by LL Cool J

As I Read My S-A

• "Easy to Be Hard" by Kole & Param

References