''Tough Luv'' is the debut studio album by American hip hop duo

Young Gunz Young Gunz is an American hip hop duo from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, composed of rappers Young Chris (born Chris Ries in 1983) and Neef Buck (born Hanif Muhammad in 1983). The group is part of Beanie Sigel's State Property collective and wa ...

. It was released on February 24, 2004 via

Roc-A-Fella Records Roc-A-Fella Records was an American hip hop record label and music management company founded by record executives and entrepreneurs Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Damon "Dame" Dash, and Kareem "Biggs" Burke in 1994. History 1994–2000: Formation ...

. Recording sessions took place 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 ...

, Baseline Studios and Quad Recording in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, and at The Studio and Homebase Studios in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

was handled by Chad Hamilton,

Just Blaze Justin Gregory Smith (born January 8, 1978), known professionally as Just Blaze, is an American hip hop record producer and DJ. Born in Paterson, New Jersey, Blaze attended Rutgers University for three years before dropping out to pursue his m ...

Bink! Roosevelt Harrell III (born February 20, 1972) professionally known as Bink is an American hip hop producer from Norfolk, Virginia, who is noted for his work with Roc-A-Fella Records artists. His most high-profile work has been Jay-Z's critica ...

, Boola, Darrell "Digga" Branch, Ez Elpee, Ruggedness and

Scott Storch Scott Spencer Storch (born December 16, 1973) is an American record producer and songwriter. He started off as a keyboardist for the group the Roots. Early life Storch was born on Long Island, New York. He was raised in South Florida and Phila ...

, with

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

Damon Dash Damon Anthony Dash (born May 3, 1971) is an American entrepreneur and record executive. Dash is best known as co-founder of Roc-A-Fella along with Jay-Z and Kareem Burke. Early life Born in New York City, Dash swept the floors of a local barbe ...

and Kareem "Biggs" Burke serving as executive producers. It features

guest appearance In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other p ...

s from Denim,

Beanie Sigel Dwight Equan Grant (born March 6, 1974), better known by his stage name Beanie Sigel, is an American rapper from South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He first became known for his association with Jay-Z and Roc-A-Fella Records, releasing his debut ...

Cam'ron Cameron Ezike Giles (born February 4, 1976), better known by his stage name Cam'ron, is an American rapper, record executive, and actor from Harlem, New York City. Beginning his career in the mid-1990s as Killa Cam, Giles signed to Lance "Un" ...

Chingy Howard Earl Bailey Jr. (born March 9, 1980), known professionally as Chingy, is an American rapper. Chingy grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and began rapping in his late teens. He toured as an opening act with Nelly in the summer of 2002 and then ...

Freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

, Jay-Z,

Juelz Santana LaRon Louis James (born February 18, 1982), better known by his stage name Juelz Santana, is an American rapper and member of East Coast hip hop group The Diplomats, also known as Dipset. He is best known for his appearances on Cam'ron's 2002 si ...

Omillio Sparks Kenneth Johnson (born October 17, 1977) better known by his stage name Omillio Sparks is an American rapper from West Philadelphia. Discography Sparks started his career off as a member of State Property and signed a recording contract with Jay- ...

and Rell. The album peaked at number three on the ''Billboard'' 200 and topped 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 ...

. By 2010, it sold 421,000 units in the US. Its lead single "No Better Love" peaked at number 36 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Track listing

;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 Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his sweet and soulful vocals, Vandross has sold over 40 million records worldwide. He achieved eleven consecutive P ...

. *Track 4 contains interpolations of "Peter Piper" by

Run-DMC Run-DMC (also spelled Run-D.M.C.) was an American hip hop group from Hollis, Queens, New York City, founded in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of ...

and "Flash to the Beat" by

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were an American hip hop group formed in the South Bronx of New York City in 1978. The group's members were Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel, Kidd Creole (not to be confused with Kid Creole), Keef Cowboy, Sc ...

. *Track 5 contains a sample of " Rich Girl" by

Hall & Oates Daryl Hall and John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, are an American pop rock duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two ...

. *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 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 ...

. *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 "(They Long to Be) Close to You" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. The best-known version is that recorded by American duo the Carpenters for their second studio album '' Close to You'' (1970) and produced by Jack Daugherty. Rele ...

" by

Isaac Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, actor, songwriter, and composer. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwri ...

. *Track 17 contains interpolations of "Gyrlz, They Love Me" by

Heavy D Dwight Arrington MyersCuda, Heidi Sigmund Keeping it reel. ''Vibe'' ("born Dwight Arrington Myers")Samuels, Anita M. (January 12' 1996)Heavy D, the C.E.O. ''New York Times'' (May 24, 1967 – November 8, 2011), known professionally as Heav ...

and "Superrappin'" by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.

Personnel

*Christopher "

Young Chris Christopher Francis Ries (born March 9, 1983), known professionally as Young Chris, is an American rapper. He is a member of Philadelphia rap duo Young Gunz alongside his childhood friend, rapper Neef Buck, signed to Roc-A-Fella Records. The duo ...

" Ries – vocals *Hanif " Neef Buck" Muhammad – vocals *Dwight "

" Grant – vocals (track 2) *Gerrell " Rell" Gaddis – vocals (track 3) *LaRon "

" James – vocals (track 5) *Shawn "

" Carter – vocals (track 6), executive producer *Denim – vocals (tracks: 7, 15) *Cameron "

" Giles – vocals (track 10) *Kenneth "

" Johnson – vocals (track 11) *Leslie "

" Pridgen – vocals (track 13) *Howard "

" 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 "

" 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 "

" Smith – producer (tracks: 4, 7) *Ken Lewis – mixing (tracks: 4, 7) *

– producer (track 6) *Gimel "

Young Guru Gimel Androus Keaton (born February 27, 1974), better known by his stage name Young Guru, is an American audio engineer, record producer, disc jockey, and record executive from Wilmington, Delaware. In 2019, Young Guru won a Grammy Award for Be ...

" 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 Tony Dawsey is an American mastering engineer at Masterdisk in New York City. He has been active since 1980.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 Mark Mann (born 1970) is an American artist. Biography Born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Mann lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. His work has been purchased and collected by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County M ...

– 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

Year-end charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2004 debut albums Young Gunz albums Def Jam Recordings albums Roc-A-Fella Records albums Albums produced by Just Blaze Albums produced by Scott Storch Albums produced by Bink (record producer)