''Cradle 2 the Grave'' is the soundtrack to

Andrzej Bartkowiak Andrzej Bartkowiak, A.S.C. (born 6 March 1950) is a Polish cinematographer and film director. Career In the early 1980s, Bartkowiak was cinematographer on three films that received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture: ''The Verdict'', ...

's 2003 action film ''

Cradle 2 the Grave ''Cradle 2 the Grave'' is a 2003 American action film directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak and starring Jet Li and DMX. The film was released in the United States on February 28, 2003. Plot Anthony Fait and his crew of thieves attempt to steal diamo ...

''. It was released on February 18, 2003 through

Bloodline Records Bloodline Records was an American hip hop record label, founded by Earl "DMX" Simmons. Bloodline used to be distributed by Def Jam Recordings but is no more, as DMX left Def Jam for Sony BMG Records. Bloodline Records is now in search of a new ...

and

Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...

. Recording sessions took place at Quad Recording Studios, at Teamwork Music Studios, at

Chung King Studios Chung King Studios was a recording studio that operated in New York City under that name from 1986 to 2015. It was founded by producer John King and engineer Steve Ett with financial backing from the Etches brothers, occupying three different locat ...

, at Right Track Recording, at

Sony Music Studios Sony Music Studios was an American music recording and mastering facility in New York City. The five-story building was a music and broadcasting complex located at 460 W. 54th Street, at 10th Avenue, in the Hell's Kitchen section of Manhattan. I ...

, at Sound On Sound, at

The Hit Factory The Hit Factory is a recording studio in New York City owned and operated by Troy Germano. History On March 6, 1975, Edward Germano, a singer, record producer, and one of the principal owners of the Record Plant Studios New York, purchased the ...

, at Soul Clap Studios, and at Gold Mine Studios in New York, at the Room Lab in Hackensack, at the Studio in Philadelphia, at Soundcastle in California, at Enterprise Studios in

Burbank Burbank may refer to: Places Australia * Burbank, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane United States * Burbank, California, a city in Los Angeles County * Burbank, Santa Clara County, California, a census-designated place * Burbank, Illinois, ...

, at Larrabee West in West Hollywood, and at Battery Studios in Chicago. Production was handled by several record producers, including Shatek King,

DJ Envy RaaShaun Casey (born September 3, 1977), known professionally as DJ Envy, is an American disc jockey (DJ), record producer, and radio personality.DJ Envyat AllmusicBaker, Al (May 13, 2006D.J. Is Arrested Over His Threat to Rival's Child ''The N ...

Dame Grease Damon J. Blackman (born August 9, 1974), better known by his stage name Dame Grease or simply Grease, is an American record producer from New York City. In 1996, he gained recognition in the hip hop industry through his production work with Bad ...

Elite In political and sociological theory, the elite (french: élite, from la, eligere, to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. D ...

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

Mannie Fresh Byron Otto Thomas (born March 20, 1969), better known by his stage name Mannie Fresh, is an American music producer and rapper. He's best known for his productions on Cash Money Records releases, as well being half of the hip hop duo (alongside ...

Tony Pizarro Tony Pizarro is an American entertainment executive and record producer, listed as one of the "Top 50 Hip Hop Producers" of all time. Contributing to selling over 75 million records as Tupac Shakur's producer, songwriter, recording engineer, and m ...

and

Sha Money XL Sha or SHA may refer to: Places * Sha County, Fujian, China * Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, (IATA code) * Sia, Cyprus, also spelled ''Sha'' * Sagamihara Housing Area, an army installation in Japan * Vehicle registration plates in th ...

. It features contributions from film star

DMX Earl Simmons (December 18, 1970 – April 9, 2021), known professionally as DMX, was an American rapper and actor. He began rapping in the early 1990s and released his debut album ''It's Dark and Hell Is Hot'' in 1998, to both critical acclaim ...

, alongside Birdman, C-N-N,

Drag-On Melvin Smalls, known professionally as Drag-On, is an American rapper. He is best known for his time on Ruff Ryders, through whom he released his debut album, ''Opposite of H2O'' (2000). The album was successful, debuting at number five on the ...

Fat Joe Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper from New York City. He began his music career as a member of hip hop group Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.), then forged a sol ...

, Foxy Brown,

G-Unit G-Unit (short for Guerilla Unit) was an American hip hop group formed by longtime friends and East Coast rappers 50 Cent, Tony Yayo, and Lloyd Banks. After amassing a string of self-released mixtapes in the early 2000s, the group released th ...

Joe Budden Joseph Anthony Budden II (born August 31, 1980) is an American media personality and former rapper. He first gained recognition as a rapper with his 2003 top 40 single " Pump It Up" and as a member of the hip hop supergroup Slaughterhouse. In ...

M.O.P. M.O.P. (short for Mash Out Posse) is an American hip hop duo composed of East Coast rappers Billy Danze and Lil' Fame. The song " Ante Up", was released on their ''Warriorz'' album in 2000. The group has frequently collaborated with DJ Premi ...

Obie Trice Obie Trice III (born November 14, 1977) is an American rapper. He was signed to fellow Detroit rapper Eminem's Shady Records in 2002, where he released the albums ''Cheers'' (2003) and ''Second Round's on Me'' (2006). Trice formed his own record ...

and the

Clipse Clipse, also known as The Clipse, is an American hip hop duo, chiefly active from 1994 to 2010. It consists of brothers Gene "No Malice" and Terrence "Pusha T" Thornton. Pusha T was known as Terrar during the group's early years, while No Mal ...

among others. The soundtrack was very successful, peaking at number 6 on the ''Billboard'' 200, number 3 on the

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated J ...

and number 1 on the

Top Soundtracks The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

, also the soundtrack included DMX's single, "

X Gon' Give It to Ya "X Gon' Give It to Ya" is a 2002 song by American rapper DMX, released as the lead single from the soundtrack ''Cradle 2 the Grave''. The song is also a hidden track on DMX's greatest hits album, '' The Definition of X: The Pick of the Litter'' an ...

". The soundtrack was also certified gold by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

on May 19, 2003, with over 500,000 copies sold. The song "Go to Sleep" has been used as the entrance song to

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

fighters

Sam Stout Samuel James Stout (born April 23, 1984) is a retired Canadian professional mixed martial artist. A professional from 2003 until 2015, Stout is best known for his 20-fight stint with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), winning ''Fight of the ...

and

Dan Cramer Daniel John Cramer (born October 31, 1985) is an American retired mixed martial artist. A professional from 2009 until 2014, Cramer made his professional debut with the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) and was a competitor on SpikeTV's '' T ...

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

writer John Bush found the opening track up there with the rest of DMX's work but said it "doesn't sound too special". He added that he was surprised by the contributions from Foxy Brown and Drag-On, saying that "My Life (Cradle 2 the Grave)" had Brown being "curiously reflective (and more than just a bit poignant)" and the samples of

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

and

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

used on "Fireman" make it "sound completely original". Steve Juon of ''RapReviews'' said, "Taken as a whole ''Cradle 2 the Grave'' is about par for most compilations, soundtrack or otherwise, released in the last twelve months. With a few nice surprises ..this soundtrack is slightly better than most. It's not an overwhelming success, but it's good enough to ensure that DMX fans won't be calling for his head if the movie tanks".

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cradle 2 The Grave (Soundtrack) 2003 soundtrack albums Action film soundtracks Albums produced by Eminem Albums produced by Dame Grease Albums produced by Mannie Fresh Albums recorded at Chung King Studios Albums recorded at Unique Recording Studios Def Jam Recordings soundtracks Gangsta rap soundtracks Hip hop soundtracks Ruff Ryders Entertainment albums