| Product Summary | | Label: Universal Music Group | | UPC: 00602498616635 | | Release Date: 2/24/2004 | | Buy.com Sku: 60626686 | | Item#: MQFCYN | Format:  CD |
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(P) 2004 Roc-A-Fella Records, LLC
(C) 2004 Roc-A-Fella Records, LLC
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| | Album Notes and Credits |
Notes & Personnel Info |  | Young Gunz: Young Chris, Neef (rap vocals). | | Additional personnel includes: Jay Z, Cam'Ron, Chingy, Beanie Sigel, Denim, Juelz Santana, Sparks, Freeway. | | Producers include: Bink, Chad Hamilton, Just Blaze, Scott Storch, Ruggedness. | | Young Gunz: Young Chris, Neef (rap vocals). | | Additional personnel includes: Jay Z, Cam'Ron, Chingy, Beanie Sigel, Denim, Juelz Santana, Sparks, Freeway. | | Producers include: Bink, Spunk Digga, Chad Hamilton, Ryan Press, Just Blaze. | | Recorded at Sony, Baseline, Quad, New York, New York; Homebase, The Studio, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. | | Roc-a-Fella had high hopes for Young Gunz. They gave the Philadelphia duo top billing on the second State Property compilation, and that move paid off: "Can't Stop Won't Stop" hit the Top Ten of the rap track chart, and the accompanying video was in constant rotation on M2 and BET for at least two months. The Roc rolled the success of that track right into the first proper single from Tough Luv, "No Better Luv." Smoother in tone but no less lyrically challenged ("Give me the sex then I'm tired of y'all/So find the next to provide for y'all"), it was a bid to build the duo's female fan base. It worked, too. MCs Young Chris and Neef claim to be the future of their label in the wake of Jay-Z's supposed retirement, but they'll have to take their spot in line behind several others -- despite a small clutch of high-performing single material (all of which owe much to the production work), the two are, at best, third- or fourth-stringers. Though they strive for something deeper, the album isn't much beyond a decent party record, and a good percentage of the lyrics leave a lot to be desired. They're caught up, too willing to rely on their associations. However, forget not that Young Gunz's low stature within Roc-a-Fella says more about the depth of the label's roster than anything else. ~ Andy Kellman | | Young Chris and Neef, the Philadelphia duo who make up Young Gunz, are just emerging from their teens, yet the pair betray hip-hop wisdom far beyond their years on their highly anticipated debut, TOUGH LUV. The two were showcased as part of Beanie Sigel's State Property crew, and managed to stand out in a talented crowd, scoring a most-deserved hit from the excellent STATE PROPERTY VOL. 2 with the playful "Can't Stop, Won't Stop." TOUGH LUV contains a fun, funky remix of that song (featuring Chingy), along with 16 other lyrically skilled tracks of varying styles and shades. | | The tag Young Gunz, while seemingly reflecting the violent world in which the duo grew up, is actually a reference to basketball, a fact revealed in both their lyrics and rhyming style. While the words are aggressive in a fun-loving, freewheeling manner, their rhymes are passed off from one to another in easy and inviting flows. After opening with a few modern R&B-infused anthems, Young Gunz kick back into a pitch-perfect old-school throwback on the beat-box propelled "Friday Night," before flawlessly sampling fellow Philly natives Hall & Oates on "$$$ Girlz." When label icon Jay-Z drops by on the commanding "Never Take Me Alive," the die is cast, and Young Gunz have scored an impressive debut. |
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| | Technical Info | | Release Date : 02/24/2004 | | Original Release Date : 2004 | | Catalog ID : 0001937 | | Label : Def Jam (USA) | | Number of Discs : 1 | | Studio/Live : Studio | | Mono/Stereo : Stereo | | SPAR Code : n/a | | UPC : 00602498616635 |
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| | Professional Reviews | | Rolling Stone (3/18/04, p.73)
- 3 stars out of 5 - "[G]rim street tales leavened by vibrant production [and] up-tempo tracks tempered with a dash of naive street-corner bravado..."Spin (4/04, p.93)
- "The title track is an oddly moving account of Neef's struggle to extricate himself from a life of crime....Chris can be charming, funny, and menacing all in one verse." - Grade: B- Spin (4/04, p.93)
- "The title track is an oddly moving account of Neef's struggle to extricate himself from a life of crime....Chris can be charming, funny, and menacing all in one verse." - Grade: B-g |
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