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Hard to Earn by Gang Starr

F.A.L.A.

Gang Starr

Album: Hard to Earn

Genre: Rap

Composer: Guy/Elam/Big Shug/G

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4:17

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Show Track Metadata
ALBUM_ID194356
TRACK_NAMEF.A.L.A.
COMPOSERGuy/Elam/Big Shug/G
TRACK_NUMBER16
RUN_TIME4:17
TRACK_ID1947472
ALBUM_TITLEHard to Earn
ARTIST_NAMEGang Starr
SEARCH_NAMEGang Starr
RATED7
GENRE_DESCRIPTIONRap
FLAGS
SPIRALFROG_AVAILABLEYes
OFFICAL_LENGTH00:04:17
SITE_REVIEWGang Starr came out hard on their 1994 album, Hard to Earn, an album notably different from its two predecessors: Step in the Arena (1991) and Daily Operation (1992). While those two classic albums garnered tremendous praise for their thoughtful lyrics and jazzy beats, Hard to Earn seems much more reactionary, especially its lyrics. Guru opens the album with a tough, dismissive spoken-word intro: "Yo, all you kids want to get on and sh*t/Just remember this/This sh*t ain't easy/If you ain't got it, you ain't got it, motherf*cker." While this sense of superiority is undoubtedly a long-running convention of not just East Coast rap but rap in general, you don't expect to hear it coming from Gang Starr, particularly with such a bitter tone. Yet this attitude pervades throughout Hard to Earn. Songs such as "Suckas Need Bodyguards" and "Mass Appeal" take aim at unnamed peers, and other songs such as "ALONGWAYTOGO" similarly center on "whack crews." The best moments on Hard to Earn aren't these songs but instead "Code of the Streets" and "Tonz 'O' Gunz," two songs where Guru offers the type of social commentary that made Gang Starr so admirable in the first place. Yet, even though Hard to Earn is a bit short on such thoughtful moments, instead weighed down a bit with harsh attitude, it does offer some of DJ Premier's best productions ever. He's clearly at -- or, at least, near -- his best here. There isn't a song on the album that's a throwaway, and even the interludes are stunning. Given the subtly bitter tone of this album, it perhaps wasn't surprising then that Guru and Premier took some time to pursue solo opportunities after Hard to Earn. You can sense the duo's frustration with the rap scene circa 1994. The two didn't return with another Gang Starr album until four years later when they dropped Moment of Truth, a succinct comeback album that reaffirmed their status as one of New York's most thoughtful and artistic rap acts. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
ARTIST_ID41
UPC724382843559
ISRCUSCH34900194
VOLUME1
SIZE_OF_FILE6214327
ASSOCIATEDISRC
LABELNOO TRYBE
LABEL_GROUPEMI
GenreRAP
ExplicitLyricsYes
medialabel
CD Chrysalis
LP Chrysalis
CD Chrysalis
CS Chrysalis
CS Virgin
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