The Ownerz

The Ownerz
Studio album by Gang Starr
Released	June 24, 2003 (US)
Recorded	2002–2003 D&D Studios and Avatar Studios in New York, New York
Genre	East Coast hip hop, Underground Hip Hop, Jazz Rap, Hardcore hip hop
Length	58:55
Label	Virgin/EMI Records 7243 5 80247 0 8 V0-80247
Producer	DJ Premier (Producer) Guru (Co-producer)
Gang Starr chronology
Full Clip: A Decade of Gang Starr (1999) The Ownerz (2003) Mass Appeal: the Best of Gang Starr (2006)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
HipHopDX	[2]
RapReviews	[3]
Rolling Stone	[4]

The Ownerz is the sixth and final studio album by the hip-hop duo Gang Starr, recorded two years before the duo broke up and seven years before Guru's death. It was well-received critically and boasts four singles, "Skills," "Rite Where U Stand," "Nice Girl, Wrong Place," and "Same Team, No Games." Many tracks feature a drum kit sampled from an Oberheim DMX drum machine.

Track listing

1. "Intro (HQ, Goo, Panch)" – 0:46
2. "Put Up or Shut Up" (featuring Krumbsnatcha) – 3:15
3. "Werdz from the Ghetto Child" (featuring Smiley The Ghetto Child) – 1:09
4. "Sabotage" – 2:22
5. "Rite Where U Stand" (featuring Jadakiss) – 3:37
6. "Skills" – 3:17
7. "Deadly Habitz" – 4:12
8. "Nice Girl, Wrong Place" (featuring Boy Big) – 3:32
9. "Peace of Mine" – 3:01
10. "Who Got Gunz" (featuring Fat Joe & M.O.P.) – 3:36
11. "Capture (Militia Pt. 3)" (featuring Big Shug & Freddie Foxxx) – 3:23
12. "PLAYTAWIN" – 3:11
13. "Riot Akt" – 4:04
14. "(Hiney)" – 1:31
15. "Same Team, No Games" (featuring NYG'z & H. Stax) – 3:44
16. "In This Life..." (featuring Snoop Dogg & Uncle Reo) – 3:03
17. "The Ownerz" – 2:57
18. "Zonin'" – 2:54
19. "Eulogy" – 2:54
20. "Natural" [Japan Bonus Track] – 2:46
21. "Tha Squeeze" [Japan Bonus Track] – 3:29

Samples

• "Sabotage"
  • "Bump Me" by Smoked Sugar
  • "Moment Of Truth" by Gang Starr (vocals by Guru)
• "Werdz From The Ghetto Child"
  • "Coffee Cold" by Galt MacDermot
• "PLAYTAWIN"
  • "Full Clip" by Gang Starr
• "Riot Akt"
  • "Theme From Summer Of 42" by Maynard Ferguson
• "Put Up Or Shut Up"
  • "A Hot Day in Harlem" by The Rimshots
  • "Wrath of My Madness" by Queen Latifah
• "Rite Where U Stand"
  • "Gonna Keep Tryin' Till I Win Your Love" by The Temptations
• "Skills"
  • "Intro" by Rakim
  • "Rapper Dapper Snapper" by Edwin Birdsong
  • "Shadows" by Mysterious Flying Orchestra
  • "Rappers R. N. Dainja" by KRS-One
• "Nice Girl, Wrong Place"
  • "Kung Fu" by Curtis Mayfield
• "Peace Of Mine"
  • "The Ipcress File" by John Barry
  • "Boom" by Royce da 5'9" (vocal)
  • "Skills" by Gang Starr
• "Who Got Gunz"
  • "Maybe This Will Be The Morning" Chuck Jackson
  • "Part II" by Method Man & Redman
  • "Tonz o Gunz" by Gang Starr
• "In This Life"
  • "Distant Thoughts" by Hiroshima
  • "Rule" by Nas
• "The Ownerz"
  • "2000 B.C. (Before Canibus)" by Canibus
  • "Above The Clouds" by Gang Starr Feat. Inspectah Deck (vocal by Inspectah Deck)
• "Zonin"
  • "The Junkies" by Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson
  • "Mass Appeal" by Gang Starr (Vocals by Guru)
  • "Life is What You Make It" by Nas Feat. DMX (vocal by DMX)
  • "Show & Prove" by Pitch Black (vocals)
• "Capture (Militia Pt. 3)"
  • "Trapped" by Elmer Bernstein

Album chart positions

References