music.wikisort.org - Composition

Loyal to the Game is the ninth studio album and fifth posthumous studio album by American rapper Tupac. The album was produced by Eminem and consists of remixes of previously unreleased music recorded by Tupac before his death in 1996. Released in the United States on December 14, 2004, Loyal to the Game debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart.[3] It was later certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[4]

Loyal to the Game
Studio album by 2Pac
Released	December 14, 2004 (2004-12-14)[1]
Recorded	1991–94, 2003–04
Genre	East Coast hip hop West Coast hip hop gangsta rap
Length	64:56
Label	Amaru Interscope
Producer	Eminem (also exec.) DJ Quik Luis Resto Raphael Saadiq Red Spyda Scott Storch
2Pac chronology
2Pac Live (2004) Loyal to the Game (2004) The Rose, Vol. 2 (2005)
Singles from Loyal to the Game
"Thugs Get Lonely Too" Released: September 23, 2004 "Ghetto Gospel" Released: April 25, 2005[2]

Background

During an interview with MTV, Eminem stated he 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 his next album. Shakur agreed, allowing Eminem to produce three new songs for the 2003 soundtrack album, Tupac: Resurrection, and the entirety of Loyal to the Game, bar bonus content.[5]

All songs on the album were recorded prior to Tupac's involvement in the controversial East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry, serving as the second posthumous album released consisting of material from this time period, the first being 1997's R U Still Down? (Remember Me). Although the songs are mostly unreleased, the title track, "Loyal to the Game", was previously released on the cassette edition of the 1994 soundtrack album Above the Rim, and subsequently as the B-side to the album's lead single, "Regulate".

The album featured two singles: "Thugs Get Lonely Too", which served as a promotional single for the album, and "Ghetto Gospel", which served as the lead single.[6] Originally, "Ghetto Gospel" was recorded for inclusion on the 1992 Christmas compilation A Very Special Christmas 2, but due to Tupac's legal troubles, the song was dropped from the album. This original version has a much faster tempo and features a third and fourth verse which didn't feature in Eminem's remix.[7][8]

Production

Loyal to the Game marks the only posthumous Tupac album not to feature any original production. When remixing these songs, Eminem used various unusual production techniques, namely, modifying the pace and pitch of Tupac's voice to better suit the instrumentals he produced. The style of the production on the album fitted more to the form of a Shady/Aftermath release, of which Eminem partly created, than it did to any original or previous posthumous Tupac release.[9] There were also various uses of cutting and pasting vocals to produce new words synonymous with rap culture at that time, such as making it sound as though Tupac is saying, "2005", "G-Unit", "Obie Trice" and "Em".[9]

Although Loyal to the Game was produced by Eminem, the album does feature four bonus remixes, with production coming from Scott Storch, Red Spyda, Raphael Saadiq, and DJ Quik, though, the bonus track produced by Scott Storch, "Po Nigga Blues", does not feature in Eminem form on the main album. It is unknown if Eminem did or did not produce a version of that song.

Critical reception and commercial performance

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[10]
RapReviews	8/10[11]
Los Angeles Times	[12]
Rolling Stone	[13]
Vibe	[14]

Loyal to the Game debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week-sales of over 330,000 copies in its first week.[3] On February 15, 2005, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over a million copies in the US.[4] As of September 2011, the album has sold 1,204,124 copies in the United States.[15]

Track listing

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.

Notes

• Originally, "Out on Bail" was intended for an unreleased version of Thug Life: Volume 1 but due to controversial reasons, the original version did not make the final cut and was remixed after Eminem went on board. The original version can be found on YouTube.

Charts

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[34]	Gold	100,000^
United States (RIAA)[35]	Platinum	1,000,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date
United States	December 14, 2004

References

На других языках

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[de] Loyal to the Game

Loyal to the Game (englisch für: dem Spiel treu) ist das neunte Studioalbum des US-amerikanischen Rappers Tupac Shakur. Es ist das vierte postum veröffentlichte Album des Künstlers und erschien am 12. Dezember 2004 über die Labels Interscope und Amaru.

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- [en] Loyal to the Game

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[es] Loyal to the Game

Loyal To The Game es un álbum póstumo del rapero 2Pac lanzado el 14 de diciembre de 2004 (en el Reino Unido dos días antes). El álbum contiene material inédito grabado por Tupac durante el periodo de sus álbumes 2Pacalypse Now y Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z..[1] La producción corrió a cargo de Eminem.

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[ru] Loyal to the Game

Loyal to the Game — пятый посмертный альбом американского рэп-исполнителя Тупака Шакура, издан 12 декабря 2004 года в Европе и 14 декабря в Северной Америке. Альбом почти полностью (за исключением 4-х бонус-треков) спродюсирован Эминемом, благодаря чему, так похож на стиль Эминема.

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