Death Before Dishonor (album)

Death Before Dishonor is the debut album by rapper 2 Pistols, released on June 17, 2008. Guests include T-Pain, Tay Dizm, Ray J, Slick Pulla, Blood Raw, Trey Songz, BMU & Tyra B. A version of "Candy Coated Diamonds" featuring Fergie (instead of Tyra B) leaked on various The Black Eyed Peas fansites.

Death Before Dishonor
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 17, 2008
Recorded2007-2008
GenreHip hop
Length54:54
LabelBlood Money Union/Universal Republic
ProducerJ.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, Honorable C.N.O.T.E., Coni' Cone, Bolo "Da" Producer, D.A. on the Track Man, Yung Chill
Singles from Death Before Dishonor
  1. "She Got It"
    Released: January 8, 2008[1]
  2. "You Know Me"
    Released: May 27, 2008

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
DJBooth[3]
RapReviews4/10[4]

Death Before Dishonor received mixed reviews from music critics. AllMusic editor David Jeffries was mixed towards the album, praising the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League's production but felt there were less quality street tracks to give it enough quality, concluding with, "Way too little, way too late to call this a compelling debut, but just like any given Ross album, Death Before Dishonor has singles to spare and enough of that Florida flavor to keep fans happy."[2] DJBooth's Nathan Slavik also gave praise to the production but found 2 Pistols to be an average rapper that delivers sub-standard street tracks, saying that "Death Before Dishonor doesn’t exactly cover a lot of musical ground, it’s essentially 'She Got It' and 'Eyes Closed' remixed and re-titled for an entire album."[3] Pedro Hernandez of RapReviews criticized the album for having nondescript party tracks with faceless production and 2 Pistols for only having the basics of hip-hop content, concluding that "If you absolutely love this type of rap and already ran through the good stuff, 2 Pistols might be something to hold you over. For all others, Death Before Dishonor is about as enjoyable as having '2 Pistols' and no ammo."[4]

Track listing

# Title Producer Featured guest(s) Time
1 "Intro" J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League 0:59
2 "Death Before Dishonor" Da Honorable C.N.O.T.E 2:09
3 "She Got It" J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League T-Pain & Tay Dizm 4:34
4 "Been Throwin' Money" Da Honorable C.N.O.T.E 3:49
5 "Gettin Money Mane" J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League 4:29
6 "Let's Ride" J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League 3:38
7 "Flex 2008" J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League 3:50
8 "Eyes Closed" J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League 3:49
9 "Phone (Skit)" 0:21
10 "You Know Me" J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League Ray J 3:36
11 "We Run It" J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League Slick Pulla & Blood Raw 4:00
12 "That's My Word (Intro)" J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League 0:31
13 "That's My Word" J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League Trey Songz 3:27
14 "Robbery" Coni' Cone 3:15
15 "Lookin Down on 'Em" Bolo "Da" Producer BMU 4:37
16 "Candy Coated Diamonds" D.A. on the Track Man Tyra B 3:42
17 "From the Bottom" Yung Chill 4:13

Personnel

  • Vincent Absher – Engineer
  • Leslie Brathwaite – Mixing
  • Dane'sha Bullard – Vocals (background)
  • Bolo "Da" Producer- Producer
  • Coni Cone – Producer
  • Ja$mine Conner – Vocals (background)
  • Ashanti Floyd – Violin
  • Andre Grell – Marketing Coordinator
  • Corey Harrison – Vocals (background)
  • Honorable C.N.O.T.E. – Producer
  • Justice League (Chuck Greene, Ivan Rivera, Kevin Crowe, Erik Ortiz, Kenneth Bartolomei) – Producer, Engineer, Executive Producer, Mixing
  • Imran Majid – A&R
  • Jonathan Mannion – Photography
  • Nicole Morgan – Creative Coordinator
  • Gillian Russell – A&R
  • Glenn Schick – Mastering
  • Justin Trawick – Assistant
  • 2 Pistols – Executive
  • Finis "KY" White – Engineer
  • Young Chu – Vocals (background)
  • Yung Chill – Producer

Chart positions

Chart (2008) Peak
position[5]
U.S. Billboard 200 32
U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 10
U.S. Billboard Top Rap Albums 6

Samples

"Flex 2008" is an interpolation of Mad Cobra's "Flex" and contains a direct vocal sample in the chorus. Rihanna also recently sampled the instrumental from "Flex" with the track "Say It" from her 2007 album Good Girl Gone Bad.

References

  1. http://www.fmqb.com/Article.asp?id=69239#2008
  2. Jeffries, David. "Death Before Dishonor - 2 Pistols". AllMusic. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
  3. Slavik, Nathan (June 17, 2008). "2 Pistols - Death Before Dishonor". DJBooth. Archived from the original on February 19, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
  4. Hernandez, Pedro (July 8, 2008). "2 Pistols :: Death Before Dishonor :: Universal Republic Records". RapReviews. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
  5. allmusic ((( Death Before Dishonor > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))
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