Loyal to the Game
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Loyal to the Game is the ninth studio album and fifth posthumous studio album by American rapper Tupac Shakur. 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.<ref name="BB200" /> It was later certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).<ref name="RIAA" />
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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The album has a version of "Ghetto Gospel" with a much faster tempo and contains a third and fourth verse which did not appear in Eminem's remix.<ref name="Deon Evans Interview">Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref>Template:YouTube</ref>
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.<ref name="aeom">Template:Cite web</ref> 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".<ref name="aeom" />
The album includes four bonus remixes by Scott Storch, Red Spyda, Raphael Saadiq, and DJ Quik.
Critical reception and commercial performance
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.<ref name="BB200">Template:Cite magazine</ref> 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.<ref name="RIAA">Template:Cite web</ref> As of September 2011, the album has sold 1,204,124 copies in the United States.<ref name=sales>Template:Cite news</ref>
Track listing
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- 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
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Weekly charts
| Chart (2004–2005) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Urban Albums (ARIA)<ref>Template:Cite journalTemplate:Cbignore</ref> | 3 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 68 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 21 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (2005) | Position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums (OCC)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 143 |
| US Billboard 200<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 51 |
| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 21 |
Certifications
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Release history
| Region | Date |
|---|---|
| United States | December 14, 2004 |