Tough Luv

2004 studio album by Young Gunz
Tough Luv
Studio album by
Young Gunz
ReleasedFebruary 24, 2004 (2004-02-24)
Recorded2003
Studio
  • Sony Music Studios (New York, NY)
  • The Studio (Philadelphia, PA)
  • Homebase Studios (Philadelphia, PA)
  • Baseline Studios (New York, NY)
  • Quad Recording (New York, NY)
GenreHip hop
Length1:12:37
Label
  • Roc-A-Fella
  • Def Jam
Producer
  • Jay-Z (exec.)
  • Damon Dash (exec.)
  • Kareem "Biggs" Burke (exec.)
  • Bink!
  • Boola
  • Chad Hamilton
  • Darrell "Digga" Branch
  • EZ Elpee
  • Just Blaze
  • Ruggedness
  • Scott Storch
Young Gunz chronology
The Chain Gang Vol. 2
(2003) 		Tough Luv
(2004) 		Brothers from Another
(2005)
Singles from Tough Luv
  1. "No Better Love"
    Released: 2004
  2. "Friday Night"
    Released: 2004
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Pitchfork4.1/10[2]
RapReviews7/10[3]
SpinB−[4]

Tough Luv is the debut studio album by American hip hop duo Young Gunz. It was released on February 24, 2004 via Roc-A-Fella Records. Recording sessions took place at Sony Music Studios, Baseline Studios and Quad Recording in New York, and at The Studio and Homebase Studios in Philadelphia. Production was handled by Chad Hamilton, Just Blaze, Bink!, Boola, Darrell "Digga" Branch, Ez Elpee, Ruggedness and Scott Storch, with Jay-Z, Damon Dash and Kareem "Biggs" Burke serving as executive producers. It features guest appearances from Denim, Beanie Sigel, Cam'ron, Chingy, Freeway, Jay-Z, Juelz Santana, Omillio Sparks and Rell.

The album peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and topped the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and sold 128,000 copies in its first week. By 2010, it sold 421,000 units in the US.[5] Its lead single "No Better Love" peaked at number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Future of the Roc"
  • Bink!
  • Spunk Digga (co.)
2:59
2."Roc U" (featuring Beanie Sigel)
Chad Hamilton4:52
3."No Better Love" (featuring Rell)
  • Chad Hamilton
  • Ryan Press (co.)
3:55
4."Friday Night"Just Blaze4:09
5."$$$ Girlz" (featuring Juelz Santana)
Chad Hamilton3:54
6."Never Take Me Alive" (featuring Jay-Z)Scott Storch4:59
7."Tough Luv" (featuring Denim)
  • Ries
  • Muhammad
  • Smith
  • Dee Ervin
Just Blaze5:39
8."Grown Man"
  • Ries
  • Muhammad
  • Hamilton
  • L. Bell
  • C. James
Chad Hamilton3:13
9."North of Death"
  • Ries
  • Hamilton
Chad Hamilton4:59
10."Look in Your Eyes" (featuring Cam'ron)
Ruggedness4:13
11."Take It How U Want It" (featuring Sparks)
Chad Hamilton5:10
12."That's Right"
  • Muhammad
  • Alrad Lewis
Boola4:31
13."Parade" (featuring Freeway)
  • Chad Hamilton
  • Ryan Press (co.)
4:31
14."Time"
  • Ries
  • Muhammad
  • Hamilton
  • Presson
  • Bob Reneu
  • Chad Hamilton
  • Ryan Press (co.)
3:46
15."Life We Chose" (featuring Denim)
  • Chad Hamilton
  • Shane Boog (co.)
  • Ryan Press (co.)
4:13
16."Problemz"
  • Ries
  • Muhammad
  • Lamont Porter
  • Ez Elpee
  • The Thorobreads (add.)
3:12
17."Can't Stop, Won't Stop Remix" (featuring Chingy)
Darrell "Digga" Branch4:22
Total length:1:12:37
Sample credits
  • Track 1 contains elements of "(Do It, Do It) No One Does It Better" by The Spinners.
  • Track 3 contains a sample of "Better Love" by Luther Vandross.
  • Track 4 contains interpolations of "Peter Piper" by Run-DMC and "Flash to the Beat" by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.
  • Track 5 contains a sample of "Rich Girl" by Hall & Oates.
  • Track 7 contains an interpolation of "I'd Rather Share You" written by D. Ervin.
  • Track 8 contains a sample of "Don't Stop Loving Me Now" by L.T.D.
  • Track 13 contains a sample of "I Need You" by The Temptations.
  • Track 14 contains a master sample use of the original recording of "All I Need Is Time" by First Choice.
  • Track 15 contains a sample of "(They Long to Be) Close to You" by Isaac Hayes.
  • Track 17 contains interpolations of "Gyrlz, They Love Me" by Heavy D and "Superrappin'" by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.

Personnel

  • Christopher "Young Chris" Ries – vocals
  • Hanif "Neef Buck" Muhammad – vocals
  • Dwight "Beanie Sigel" Grant – vocals (track 2)
  • Gerrell "Rell" Gaddis – vocals (track 3)
  • LaRon "Juelz Santana" James – vocals (track 5)
  • Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter – vocals (track 6), executive producer
  • Denim – vocals (tracks: 7, 15)
  • Cameron "Cam'ron" Giles – vocals (track 10)
  • Kenneth "Omillio Sparks" Johnson – vocals (track 11)
  • Leslie "Freeway" Pridgen – vocals (track 13)
  • Howard "Chingy" Bailey – vocals (track 17)
  • Steve Tirpak – trumpet (track 1)
  • Emma Kummrow – violin (track 1)
  • Igor Szwec – violin (track 1)
  • Gloria Justen – violin (track 1)
  • Larry Gold – cello, additional strings and horns (track 1)
  • E-Bass – keyboards and guitars (tracks: 4, 7)
  • Matt McCarrin – additional keyboards (track 9)
  • J. I. of Team PB – additional vocals (track 10)
  • Cosmic Kev – additional scratches (track 13)
  • Roosevelt "Bink!" Harrell III – producer (track 1)
  • Spunk Digga – co-producer (track 1)
  • Shane "Bermuda" Woodley – recording (tracks: 1, 3-5, 7, 10, 12, 14)
  • Jeff Chestek – recording (track 1)
  • Dragan "Chach" Cacinovic – mixing (tracks: 1, 3, 5, 9, 10, 16, 17)
  • Chad Hamilton – producer & recording (tracks: 2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 11, 13-15)
  • Doug Wilson – mixing (tracks: 2, 8, 11, 13-15)
  • Ryan Presson – co-producer (tracks: 3, 13-15)
  • Justin "Just Blaze" Smith – producer (tracks: 4, 7)
  • Ken Lewis – mixing (tracks: 4, 7)
  • Scott Storch – producer (track 6)
  • Gimel "Young Guru" Keaton – recording (track 6), mixing (track 12)
  • Kam Houff – mixing (track 6)
  • Melvin "Ruggedness" Carter – producer (track 10)
  • Alrad "Boola" Lewis – producer (track 12)
  • Caveman – recording (track 13)
  • Shane Boog – co-producer (track 15)
  • Lamont "Ez Elpee" Porter – producer (track 16)
  • The Thorobreads – additional producer(s) (track 16)
  • Carlisle Young – recording (tracks: 16, 17)
  • Darrell "Digga" Branch – producer (track 17)
  • Tony Dawsey – mastering
  • Damon "Dame" Dash – executive producer
  • Kareem "Biggs" Burke – executive producer
  • Andrew Huggins – recording administrator
  • Eric Weissman – sample clearance agent
  • Dawud West – art direction, design
  • Mark Mann – photography
  • Oluwaseye Olusa – additional photography
  • Patrick Reynolds – A&R administrator
  • Darcell Lawrence – A&R direction
  • Darrin Chandler – A&R direction
  • Ramses Francois – A&R coordinator
  • Travis Cummings – A&R coordinator
  • Gary "Big Face" Bien-Aime – A&R
  • Shalik Berry – A&R
  • Sherman Dudley – management
  • Jay Brown – management
  • Amber Noble – marketing
  • Girard Hunt – marketing
  • Shari Bryant – marketing
  • Jennifer Justice – legal

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2004) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[6] 3
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[7] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2004) Position
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[8] 52

References

  1. ^ Kellman, Andy. "Young Gunz - Tough Luv Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  2. ^ Pemberton, Rollie (April 5, 2004). "Young Gunz: Tough Luv". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  3. ^ Juon, Steve 'Flash' (February 24, 2004). "Young Gunz :: Tough Luv – RapReviews". www.rapreviews.com. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  4. ^ Ryan, Chris (April 2004). "Reviews". Spin. Vol. 20, no. 4. SPIN Media LLC. p. 93. ISSN 0886-3032. Retrieved January 25, 2023.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  5. ^ "(XXL Scan)Def Jam's Entire Rap Discography & Their Record Sales". www.hiphopstan.com. Archived from the original on 2010-10-03.
  6. ^ "Young Gunz Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  7. ^ "Young Gunz Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  8. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2004". Billboard. Retrieved September 14, 2020.

External links

  • Young Gunz – Tough Luv at Discogs (list of releases)
  • v
  • t
  • e
AlbumsMixtapes
  • Rapid Fire
Singles
  • "Can't Stop, Won't Stop"
  • "Set It Off"
With State Property
Related
Authority control databases Edit this at Wikidata
  • MusicBrainz release group