''Thug Life, Volume I'' is the only studio album by the American hip-hop group Thug Life. The album was released on September 26, 1994, by

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...

and Out da Gutta Records and distributed by

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

. The group, started by American rapper

2Pac Tupac Amaru Shakur (; born Lesane Parish Crooks; June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor, regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all tim ...

, comprised 2Pac, his stepbrother

Mopreme Shakur Maurice Shakur ( né Harding; August 16, 1967), better known by his stage name Mopreme Shakur, originally known as Wycked, is an American rapper. He was a member of the hip-hop group Thug Life and is the stepbrother of rapper Tupac Shakur. He wa ...

, and Stretch, who was heavily involved in 2Pac's previous two albums,

Big Syke Tyruss Gerald Himes (November 22, 1968 – December 5, 2016), better known by his stage names Big Syke and Mussolini, was an American rapper best known for his work with the American hip-hop groups Thug Life and Outlawz. His stage name "Big S ...

, The Rated R, and Macadoshis. The album features guest appearances by Y.N.V. and Nate Dogg and production by Thug Music, comprising 2Pac and Stretch, Stretch himself, Professor Jay, Johnny "J",

Warren G Warren Griffin III (born November 10, 1970) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and DJ who helped popularize West Coast hip hop during the 1990s.Steve Huey"Warren G: Biography" ''AllMusic.com'', Netaktion LLC, visited May 8, 2020. ...

, and Easy Mo Bee. Since 1998, the album has been reissued by

Amaru Entertainment Amaru Entertainment (formerly Amaru Records) was a record label founded in 1997 by Afeni Shakur after the death of her son Tupac Amaru Shakur. The label was created to handle the release of Tupac's previously unreleased material, and was give ...

. The album debuted at number 42 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and was certified

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA).

Background

In 2016, Mopreme Shakur, Macadoshis, and Big Syke, members of Thug Life, spoke exclusively to VladTV about how 2Pac heavily advocated for Interscope to sign them after he formed the group. Syke explained that it took a lot of persuading from 2Pac to convince the label to sign them and added that they then faced an uphill battle with censorship on the album, revealing that due to the heavy criticism of

gangsta rap Gangsta rap or gangster rap, initially called reality rap, is a subgenre of rap music that conveys the culture, values, and experiences of urban gangs and street hustlers, frequently discussing unpleasant realities of the world in general th ...

at the time, the original album wasn't what got released to the public. Speaking more about their debut project, Syke revealed that Thug Life was never supposed to be a group, it was supposed to be a movement, a compilation album represented by more rappers than what appeared on the album, one rapper being The Notorious B.I.G. He added that the idea of making Thug Life a group was thought up by Interscope Records during their rearranging of the album's tracks. With many songs deemed by

too controversial to release, the album only features ten songs, with two being solo songs by 2Pac and two not featuring the rapper. Since 2Pac died in 1996, many songs removed from the album have been released on the rapper's posthumous releases. One song recorded during the album's creation and scrapped due to its theme is Runnin', which features The Notorious B.I.G., Dramacydal, and Brown Man alongside 2Pac and Stretch of Thug Life. The song was officially released in November of the following year as a single from the compilation album '' One Million Strong'' with a different hook made by the West Coast Long Beach rapper

Radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

. In 2003, a remix of the song, with an alternate verse from 2Pac and featuring only The Notorious B.I.G., was released as a single from the

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

to the Academy Award-nominated documentary film Tupac: Resurrection.

Singles

The first single, " Pour Out a Little Liquor" was released on August 23, 1994. It was first released on the

for the film '' Above the Rim'' earlier the same year. The second single, " Cradle to the Grave", was released on November 4, 1994. An earlier version of which had been released that same year on 2Pac's "

Papa'z Song "Papa'z Song" is a song by American rapper 2Pac from his second solo album, '' Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z...'' (1993). It was released as the fourth and final single from the album. A music video was made for the single. The song peaked at number ...

" single. A clean version of "How Long Will They Mourn Me?" was released as a promo single and music video in 1995, and in 1998, the album version appeared on 2Pac's ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

'' album. As the original version of the album never came to fruition, the planned first single from the album, "Out on Bail" was never released, although 2Pac did perform it at the 1994 Source Awards, and it has since been remixed by

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...

and included on 2Pac's posthumous album '' Loyal to the Game''.

Critical reception

The album has been met with critical acclaim retrospectively as a classic underground rap album. "Full of

machismo Machismo (; ; ; ) is the sense of being " manly" and self-reliant, a concept associated with "a strong sense of masculine pride: an exaggerated masculinity". Machismo is a term originating in the early 1940s and 1950s and its use more wi ...

and do or die stances," wrote Jake Barnes in '' Q'', "the lyrics' hardcore posturing is perversely undercut by sweet and delicate backings from artists like

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Dubbed the " Gentle Genius", he is considered one of the most influential musicians of soul and socially conscious Afric ...

, George Clinton and

The Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American soul group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of the brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decades, ...

."'' Q'', February 1995 "A shockingly considered, thoughtful rap record," opined '' Select''s Matt Hall. "And a very chilling one."'' Select'', January 1995

Commercial performance

The album was certified gold on January 24, 1996, selling over 500,000 copies.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1994 albums Albums produced by Easy Mo Bee Albums produced by Johnny "J" Albums produced by Warren G Tupac Shakur albums Big Syke albums Mopreme Shakur albums Jive Records albums Interscope Records albums Atlantic Records albums Thug Life albums