Loyal to the Game
| Loyal to the Game | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by 2Pac | ||||
| Released | December 12, 2004 | |||
| Recorded |
1991–1994 (2Pac's vocals) 2003–2004 (Production, guest vocals, and mixing) | |||
| Genre | West coast hip hop, gangsta rap | |||
| Length | 64:56 | |||
| Label |
Amaru Entertainment Interscope Records | |||
| Producer |
Afeni Shakur (exec.), Eminem (also exec.) Scott Storch, Red Spyda, Raphael Saadiq, DJ Quik, Luis Resto | |||
| 2Pac chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Loyal to the Game | ||||
| ||||
Loyal to the Game is the ninth studio album and fifth posthumous studio album by Tupac Shakur. It contains remixes of previously unreleased music recorded by Shakur before his death in 1996. Released in the United States on December 14, 2004 (December 12 in the United Kingdom), Loyal to the Game was produced by Eminem.
Background
According to an interview with MTV, Eminem 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 the album. Shakur agreed, giving Eminem the go ahead.[1] The album featured two singles: "Thugs Get Lonely Too" featuring Nate Dogg and "Ghetto Gospel".[2]
Production
Eminem used various unusual production techniques during the creation of this album, namely modifying the pace and pitch of Tupac's voice to better suit the beats produced.[3] There were also various uses of the cutting and pasting of vocals to produce new words synonymous with rap culture at the time, such as saying "G-Unit", "Obie Trice" and "Em" instead of "LG", the original producer of "Out On Bail".[3]
The original title track was recorded in 1993 by 2Pac, Treach and Riddler for the film Above The Rim (1994) and was produced by Reginald Heard. DJ Quik made a remix, the tempo of which is the same as the original, that was added as a bonus track; DJ Quik also suggested to Tupac's mother, Afeni Shakur, that the title track be known as "Loyal to the Game".
The original versions of the songs were originally recorded for 2Pac's debut album 2Pacalypse Now (1991), for his second album 'Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z (1993), for Thug Life: Volume 1 (1994, with his group Thug Life) and for Me Against The World (1995), but were cut. In 1993 2Pac recorded a track named "Po Nigga Blues"" with a rapper named The Governor. Later 2Pac's producer Shock-G produced a remix of the song, which is still unreleased. However Scott Storch made a remix of the song, which was added as a bonus track.
Commercial reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [4] |
| Los Angeles Times | [5] |
| PopMatters | [6] |
| RapReviews | (8/10) [7] |
| Rolling Stone | [8] |
| Vibe |  [9] |
| MusicBox | |
| Xtam4 RTC | |
Loyal to the Game debuted on the US Billboard 200 at number one with sales of over 330,000 copies in its first week. It was later certified platinum in the US.[10]
It has sold 1,204,124 copies in the United States of America as of 2011.[11]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Producer | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Soldier Like Me" (featuring Eminem) | Eminem, Luis Resto (Originally produced by Big D The Impossible / Stretch From the Live Squad) | 3:50 |
| 2. | "The Uppercut" (featuring E.D.I. Mean & Young Noble) | Eminem, Luis Resto | 3:50 |
| 3. | "Out on Bail" | Eminem, Luis Resto (Originally produced by LG) | 3:54 |
| 4. | "Ghetto Gospel" | Eminem, Luis Resto (Originally produced by Big D The Impossible) | 3:58 |
| 5. | "Black Cotton" (featuring Eminem, Kastro & Young Noble) | Eminem, Luis Resto (Originally produced by Big D The Impossible) | 5:03 |
| 6. | "Loyal to the Game" (featuring G-Unit) | Eminem, Luis Resto (Originally produced by Reginald Heard) | 3:23 |
| 7. | "Thugs Get Lonely Too" (featuring Nate Dogg) | Eminem, Luis Resto (Originally produced by Stretch from the Live Squad) | 4:48 |
| 8. | "N.I.G.G.A." (featuring Jadakiss) | Eminem, Luis Resto (Originally produced by Big D The Impossible) | 3:02 |
| 9. | "Who Do You Love?" | Eminem, Luis Resto | 3:28 |
| 10. | "Crooked Nigga Too" | Eminem, Luis Resto (Originally produced by Big D The Impossible) | 2:55 |
| 11. | "Don't You Trust Me?" (featuring Dido) | Eminem, Luis Resto (Originally produced by Big D The Impossible) | 4:55 |
| 12. | "Hennessey" (featuring Obie Trice) | Eminem, Luis Resto | 3:27 |
| 13. | "Thug 4 Life" | Eminem, Luis Resto (Originally produced by Johnny "J") | 2:54 |
| Bonus track | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
| 14. | "Po Nigga Blues (Scott Storch Remix)" (featuring Ron Isley) | Scott Storch (Originally Produced by Daryl L. Anderson (DJ Daryl) | 3:38 |
| 15. | "Hennessey (Red Spyda Remix)" (featuring E.D.I. Mean & Sleepy Brown) | Red Spyda | 3:18 |
| 16. | "Crooked Nigga Too (Raphael Saadiq Remix)" (featuring Raphael Saadiq) | Raphael Saadiq (Originally produced by Big D The Impossible) | 4:02 |
| 17. | "Loyal to the Game (DJ Quik Remix)" (featuring Big Syke & DJ Quik) | DJ Quik | 4:20 |
- Sample credits
- "Ghetto Gospel" contains a sample of "Indian Sunset" performed by Elton John
- "Don't You Trust Me?" contains a sample of "Do You Have a Little Time" performed by Dido
- "N.I.G.G.A." contains a sample of "(Don't Worry) If There's a Hell Below, We're All Going to Go" performed by Curtis Mayfield
Leftover Tracks
- "Don't You Trust Me? (Stereo-Types Remix)" feat. Keyshia Cole
- "Thug 4 Life (Jelly Roll Remix)" feat. Jelly Roll
- "Thug 4 Life (Johnny J Remix)"
- "Deadly Combination (Ron G Remix)" feat. Big L, The Notorious B.I.G. & Stretch
- "Tears of a Clown (Mike Mosley Remix)"
Release history
| Region | Date |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | December 12, 2004 |
| United States | December 14, 2004 |
Chart positions
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[12] | 21 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[13] | 100 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard)[14] | 7 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[15] | 50 |
| Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[16] | 44 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[17] | 55 |
| Irish Albums (IRMA)[18] | 20 |
| Italy (FIMI)[19] | 68 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[20] | 31 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[15] | 21 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[21] | 20 |
| US Billboard 200[22] | 1 |
| US Top Rap Albums (Billboard)[23] | 1 |
| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[24] | 1 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/Sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[25] | Platinum | 1,204,124[11] |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[26] | Silver | 60,000^ |
|
*sales figures based on certification alone | ||
References
- ↑ village voice > nyclife > The Essay: The End of Eminem by Jon Caramanica
- ↑ Amazon.com: Loyal to the Game: 2Pac: Music
- 1 2 2Pac (Tupac Shakur) Loyal to the Game Lyrics Sounds and More
- ↑ Birchmeier, Jason. "Loyal to the Game - 2Pac". AllMusic.com. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
- ↑ Dreisinger, Baz. "Something gets lost in Em's mix". LaTimes.com. Tribune Publishing. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
- ↑ Hamilton, Pierre. "2Pac: Loyal to the Game". PopMatters. PopMatters. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
- ↑ Juon, Steve. "2Pac: Loyal to the Game". RapReviews. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
- ↑ Sheffield, Rob. "Tupac Shakur Loyal To The Game". RollingStone.com. Wenner Media LLC. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
- ↑ "Tupac - Loyal to the Game". Cd Universe. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
- ↑ Tupac's 'Game' Haunts Album Chart At No. 1
- 1 2 "Tupac Month: 2Pac’s Discography". Retrieved May 27, 2013.
- ↑ "Australiancharts.com – 2Pac – Loyal to the Game". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – 2Pac – Loyal to the Game" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
- ↑ "2Pac – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for 2Pac. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
- 1 2 "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
- ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – 2Pac – Loyal to the Game" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
- ↑ "Lescharts.com – 2Pac – Loyal to the Game". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
- ↑ "Irish-charts.com – Discography 2Pac". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
- ↑ http://www.fimi.it/ricerca#/type:artists/show:charts/keyword:Tupac/page:0
- ↑ "Charts.org.nz – 2Pac – Loyal to the Game". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
- ↑ "2Pac | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved 11 December 2015.
- ↑ "2Pac – Chart history" Billboard 200 for 2Pac. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
- ↑ "2Pac – Chart history" Billboard Top Rap Albums for 2Pac. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
- ↑ "2Pac – Chart history" Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums for 2Pac. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
- ↑ "American certifications – 2 Pac – Loyal to the Game". Recording Industry Association of America. June 23, 2011. Retrieved December 8, 2011.
- ↑ "British album certifications – 2Pac – Loyal to the Game". British Phonographic Industry. 2004. Retrieved December 8, 2011. Enter Loyal to the Game in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
| Preceded by The Red Light District by Ludacris |
Billboard 200 number-one album December 26, 2004 - January 1, 2005 |
Succeeded by Encore by Eminem |