Hard to Earn

Hard to Earn
Studio album by Gang Starr
Released	March 8, 1994 (US)
Recorded	1992–1993 D&D Studios (New York, New York)
Genre	East Coast Hip Hop,[1] Hardcore Hip Hop[1]
Length	58:57
Label	Chrysalis/EMI Records 7243 8 28435 2 8 F2-28435
Producer	DJ Premier (Producer) Guru (Co-Producer)
Gang Starr chronology
Daily Operation (1992)Daily Operation1992 Hard to Earn (1994) Moment of Truth (1998)Moment of Truth1998

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
RapReviews	[3]
Robert Christgau	[4]
Rolling Stone	[5]
Rolling Stone Album Guide	[6]
The Source	[7]

Hard to Earn is the fourth album from the hip hop duo Gang Starr. It was released in 8 March 1994 and featured the singles "Mass Appeal", "DWYCK" and "Code of the Streets". Guest appearances on the album include Group Home, Jeru the Damaja, and Big Shug. At the time, all were part of the Gang Starr Foundation, which made the album a stepping-stone for future DJ Premier-helmed projects by Group Home and Jeru. The single "DWYCK" recorded in 1992 also featured hip hop duo Nice & Smooth. The track "Now You're Mine" originally appeared on the 1992 Soundtrack "White Men Can't Rap".

Hard to Earn is also the duo's first album to carry the "Parental Advisory" label.

Track listing

Samples

Intro (The First Step)

• "Scarlet Woman" by Weather Report

ALONGWAYTOGO

• "Check the Rhime" by A Tribe Called Quest
• "Synthetic Substitution" by Melvin Bliss
• "Impreach the President" by The Honey Drippers
• "Snow Creatures" by Quincy Jones
• "Just Us" by Richard Pryor

Code of the Streets

• "Little Green Apples" by Monk Higgins
• "Synthetic Substitution" by Melvin Bliss
• "Change the Beat (Female Version)" by Beside and Fab 5 Freddy

Brainstorm

• "Comic Strip" by Mikey Dread
• "Community Auditions Theme" by Dave Maynard

Tonz 'O' Gunz

• "Breakthrough" by Isaac Hayes
• "Fire & Fury Grass Roots Speech (Side One)" by Malcolm X

The Planet

• "The Cuckoo" by Taj Mahal
• "It's All Because She's Gone" by Steve Davis
• "Holy War (Live)" by Divine Force
• "Lyte as a Rock" by MC Lyte
• "The Place Where We Dwell" by Gang Starr

Aiiight Chill

• "Love and Happiness" by Monty Alexander
• "Dynomite - Part 1" by Tony Camillo's Bazuka

Speak Ya Clout

• "Cucumber Slumber" by Weather Report
• "Shack Up" by Banbarra
• "Up Against the Wall" by Quincy Jones
• "The Jam" by Graham Central Station
• "Funk It Up" by Caesar Frazier

DWYCK

• "Hey Jude" by Clarence Wheeler & the Enforcers
• "Synthetic Substitution" by Melvin Bliss
• "Funky for You" by Nice & Smooth
• "No Bones in Ice Cream" by Nice & Smooth
• "Bumpin' Bus Stop" by Thunder and Lightning
• "Side One" by Redd Foxx

Words from the Nutcracker

• "Lock It in the Pocket" by Grover Washington, Jr.
• "Journey from Within" by The Crusaders
• "Long Red" by Mountain

Mass Appeal

• "Horizon Drive" by Vic Juris
• "You're a Customer" by EPMD
• "Pass Da Mic (Remix)" by Da Youngsta's
• "Raw" by Big Daddy Kane

Blowin' Up the Spot

• "All Night" by George Clinton
• "I Didn't Come Rhythm" by George Clinton

Suckas Need Bodyguards

• "Put Your Love (In My Tender Care)" by The Fatback Band
• "It Takes Two" by Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock

Now You're Mine

• "Feel the Heartbeat" by The Treacherous Three
• "Rock Box" by Run-DMC

Mostly Tha Voice

• "Time Will Be Your Doctor" by Fuzzy Duck
• "You Gots to Chill" by EPMD
• "Give It Up or Turnit a Loose" by James Brown
• "Bam Bam" by Sister Nancy

F.A.L.A.

• "Get Up and Dance" by Freedom
• "Hard Like a Criminal" by Das EFX

Comin' for Datazz

• "Blind Alley" by The Emotions
• "Here We Go (Live at the Funhouse)" by Run-DMC

Charts

Singles chart positions

References