- Moment of Truth (Gang Starr album)
-
For other uses, see Moment of Truth (disambiguation).
Moment of Truth Studio album by Gang Starr Released March 31, 1998 (US) Recorded 1997–1998
D&D Studios in New York, New YorkGenre Hip hop, East Coast hip hop Label Noo Trybe/Virgin/EMI Records
7243 8 45585 2 9
V2-45585Producer DJ Premier (Producer)
Guru (Co-producer)Gang Starr chronology Hard to Earn
(1994)Moment of Truth
(1998)Full Clip: A Decade of Gang Starr
(1999)Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating Allmusic [1] Entertainment Weekly B+[2] RapReviews (9.5/10)[3] Moment of Truth is the fifth album by hip hop duo Gang Starr.
Contents
Overview
Released four years after their previous album, Hard to Earn, this album could be perceived as a comeback, with a newer, updated style of the group's already-established jazz-tinged hip-hop, as stated by Guru in the introduction:
"We have certain formulas, but we update 'em
With the times and everything, you know
So you know the rhyme style is elevated
The style of beats is elevated, but it's still Guru and Premier."Stylistically, Premier's beats, while maintaining the signature two-measure loop and scratched-chorus formula, expand their range of samples. Not only does he use more orchestral (ie, less funk/soul-based) horns and strings, but he also features more atonal, non-melodic samples, a style he had first explored on Jeru the Damaja's The Sun Rises in the East. Guru also grows somewhat on the album: he focuses more openly on social issues, and attempts to embrace his status, which had grown considerably during Gang Starr's hiatus to the point where many already considered him a hip-hop legend. Of course, his trademark battle rhymes are also in full force on many tracks.
Despite being overshadowed by more mainstream artists, the album gained immense respect within the underground hip-hop circuit, and is the group's most commercially successful album to date. Moment of Truth debuted at #1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. It went on to sell over 500,000 copies and was certified Gold by the RIAA on May 7, 1998.[citation needed] The lead single, "You Know My Steez," became the duo's second Billboard Hot 100 hit in 1997, peaking at #76. Spin magazine ranked it as the #16 album of 1998.[1]
The album features more guest artists than previous Gang Starr releases; collaborations include songs with Inspectah Deck, Scarface, G-Dep, Freddie Foxxx, K-Ci & Jo-Jo, M.O.P. and more.
The title track also appeared in the soundtrack of the 2001 video game Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2.
Track listing
# Title Producer(s) Performer (s) Length 1 "You Know My Steez" DJ Premier, Guru Guru 4:07 2 "Robbin Hood Theory" DJ Premier, Guru Guru 3:44 3 "Work" DJ Premier, Guru Guru 2:57 4 "Royalty" DJ Premier, Guru Guru, K-Ci & JoJo 5:11 5 "Above the Clouds" DJ Premier, Guru Guru, Inspectah Deck 3:41 6 "JFK 2 LAX" DJ Premier, Guru Guru 3:34 7 "Itz a Set-Up" DJ Premier, Guru Guru, Hannibal Stax 3:49 8 "Moment of Truth" DJ Premier, Guru Guru 4:07 9 "B.I. vs. Friendship" DJ Premier, Guru Guru, M.O.P. 4:37 10 "The Militia" DJ Premier, Guru Guru, Big Shug, Freddie Foxxx 4:48 11 "The Rep Grows Bigga" DJ Premier, Guru Guru 4:55 12 "What I'm Here 4" DJ Premier, Guru Guru 2:45 13 "She Knowz What She Wantz" Guru, DJ Premier Guru 3:00 14 "New York Strait Talk" DJ Premier, Guru Guru 4:14 15 "My Advice 2 You" DJ Premier, Guru Guru 2:31 16 "Make 'Em Pay" Guru, DJ Premier Guru, Krumbsnatcha 4:21 17 "The Mall" DJ Premier, Guru Guru, G-Dep, Shiggy Sha 3:40 18 "Betrayal" DJ Premier, Guru Guru, Scarface 5:29 19 "Next Time" DJ Premier, Guru Guru 3:06 20 "In Memory Of…" DJ Premier, Guru DJ Premier, Guru 3:50 Chart positions
Album
Chart (1998) Peak
positionCanadian Albums Chart 14 U.S. Billboard 200 6 U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums 1 Singles
Chart positions from Billboard magazine
Year Song Billboard Hot 100 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks Hot Rap Singles Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales 1997 "You Know My Steez" 76 32 5 2 1998 "The Militia" – 68 38 – See also
- List of number-one R&B albums of 1998 (U.S.)
References
Gang Starr Foundation Groups Rappers Affiliates M.O.P. • NYGz • Fabidden • DJ Kanzer • Ill Kid FamilyGang Starr albums No More Mr. Nice Guy • Step In the Arena • Daily Operation • Hard to Earn • Moment of Truth • The OwnerzRelated Samples
Betrayal -War - Deliver The Word
Next Time -Monk Higgins - A Good Man Is Gone
Above The Clouds -John Dankworth - Two-Piece Flower
Categories:- 1998 albums
- Gang Starr albums
- Albums produced by DJ Premier
- Albums produced by Guru
- Virgin Records albums
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.