By John Sutherlin
Thug Life Vol 1 is the first and only album put out by the Hip-Hop group Thug Life. The members of thug life are: 2PAC, Big Syke, Stretch and 2PAC’s brother Mopreme Shakur. The group was formed in 1992. They put out 1 album being Thug Life Vol 1 and disbanded in 1994. 2PAC went on to find immense fame afterwards before he was killed in 1996. Big Syke continued to work alongside 2PAC but didn’t get as much fame as he did, he also sadly died in 2016 because of natural causes. Mopreme faded into obscurity and did not make any hits, And Finally Stretch was sadly killed in 1995 in a gunfight in New York. The album debuted at the 42nd spot on the Billboard Hot 100 and 6th on the top Hip-Hop/ R&B albums chart. It was certified gold shortly after.
For the rating I will rate every track out of 10 and the album out of ten at the end. We will exclude all intros/interludes/skits. This album doesn’t have any. There are a total of 10 tracks.
Track 1: “Bury Me A G” this song is about what the members have gone through and how when they die they want to be buried like a G. 8/10.
Track 2: “Don’t Get It Twisted” this song interestingly doesn’t include 2PAC but it’s a nice addition to the album and features a really good beat. 9/10.
Track 3: “Sh*t Don’t Stop” this song used a much chiller beat and is one of my personal favorites on the album. This song also doesn’t feature 2PAC. 10/10
Track 4: “Pour Out A Little Liquor” this song was the lead single and features a much simpler beat. The song is about pouring out a little liquor for the dudes who have died too young. Which coincidentally would apply to 2 of the members. (2PAC and Stretch) 10/10.
Track 5: “Stay True” a little bit of a chiller track. This one seems to be meant to be played when you’re cruising in your car. 8/10.
Track 6: “How Long Will They Mourn Me” HLWTMM was another lead single put out before the full album. It features a chiller beat. The song was featured in the 1994 crime drama movie Above The Rim. (Which also starred 2PAC) 9/10.
Track 7: “Under Pressure” this track was surprising to me. It suddenly switches to a much darker beat. With very poetic lyrics from 2PAC himself. The song is among some of my favorites from Thug Life. 10/10.
Track 8: “Street Fame” I didn’t quite like this track. The beat is very bad and is a mashup of a dozen different instruments and the lyrics themselves are nowhere near what the previous songs had. 4/10.
Track 9: “Cradle To The Grave” this was another one of the lead singles released before the initial album. It’s also only one of 2 songs on the album that actually have a music video. (the other being Sh*t Dont Stop) the song also shares the same name as the 2003 action movie Cradle 2 The Grave which starred fellow rapper DMX and martial arts star Jet Li. 9/10.
Track 10: “Str8 Ballin” this is the most popular track on the list and was made exclusively by 2PAC himself. The song has a more chiller beat compared to the other tracks and is one of 2PAC’s best songs. The song was so good that it got a sequel “Still Ballin” on 2PAC’s 7th album “Better Dayz” ; this was also the 3rd album released after his death. 10/10.
In all, I think Thug Life Vol 1 is a masterpiece of an album. There is only 1 song on this album I absolutely disliked (Street Fame). But all of the other songs were really good. My personal favorite had to be Str8 Ballin. It’s a real shame that Thug Life never reunited before either Stretch’s or 2PAC’s death even though they were all on good terms after the split. As a whole i am going to give this album a 9/10. I would have given it a 10 if Street Fame didn’t exist.
