Gang Starr had always been partial to spending time to educate ignorant rappers and Hard To Earn showcases this. The song was apparently originally recorded for the Poetic Justice soundtrack, which explains all the allusions to the title of the Janet Jackson/ 2Pac film vehicle within the lyrics. He continues to hold court on “ALONGWAYTOGO,” where he explains the importance of work ethic and commitment to hip-hop if you’re going to excel in this field.
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Hard To Earn has the most memorable opening of any Gang Starr album, starting with “The First Step,” Guru’s essential spoken instructions for aspiring rappers on how to conduct themselves around established artists. Arguably the most skillfully produced album in the duo’s discography, Primo demonstrates the breadth and depth of his production talent across the expanse of the long player. Primo really started making his case for that title with Hard To Earn. And among Gang Starr’s six studio albums, Hard To Earn is the one that feels the most quintessentially New York.ĭJ Premier is regarded as one of the greatest producers in hip-hop history, with many considering him to be number one. Somewhat ironically, neither member is in fact from New York (Guru is from Boston, MA and Primo was born and grew up in Houston and Prairie View, TX). Gang Starr personified the gritty, boom-bap, beats and rhymes approach that New York-based hip-hop was known for during the early to mid ’90s. Keith “ Guru” Elam and Chris “ DJ Premier” Martin were already known as one of the strongest MC-DJ duos making hip-hop, and this album further solidified their status. Hard To Earn is Gang Starr’s fourth full-length, and it’s their best, in my opinion. I also know that the first indication that 1994 was going to be a truly special year for hip-hop was when I first heard Gang Starr’s Hard To Earn. However, I certainly acknowledge that 25 years ago I spent a ton of money on tapes, and have lost track of all of the great albums released that year. Personally, I don’t come down on either side of the argument. Furthermore, by 1994 hip-hop was not completely focused on the NY/LA axis, so dope music was surfacing from all across the country. That argument is sound as well, since 1994 introduced us to some of the greatest and most important artists in hip-hop history, while spawning loads of monumental albums. 1988 was essential to building the foundation of what hip-hop has become in the three decades since.īut the other prevalent school of thought is that hip-hop peaked a quarter of a century ago. They have a good argument-I wrote A LOT of tributes last year to the embarrassment of riches that was unleashed upon the public a little over 30 years ago.
For many strict traditionalists, it was 1988. There are pretty much two schools of thought about which year was hip-hop’s dopest. Happy 25th Anniversary to Gang Starr’s fourth studio album Hard To Earn, originally released March 8, 1994.
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