''Hard to Earn'' is the fourth studio album by American hip hop duo

Gang Starr Gang Starr was an American hip hop duo, consisting of Texas record producer DJ Premier and Massachusetts rapper Guru. For the entirety of their association, they were based out of Brooklyn, New York. Gang Starr was at its height from 1989 to 2 ...

. It was released on March 8, 1994, by

Chrysalis A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in thei ...

and

EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company of the same name in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succ ...

in North America. The album featured the singles "Mass Appeal", (their first charting single on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart), "DWYCK" (featuring Nice & Smooth), and "Code of the Streets". Guest appearances on the album include

Group Home A group home, congregate living facility, or care home (the latter especially in British English and Australian English) is a residence model of medical care for those with complex health needs. Traditionally, the model has been used for children ...

, Jeru the Damaja, and

Big Shug Cary Guy (born December 13, 1961), better known as Big Shug, is a rapper and actor from Boston, Massachusetts, a co-founder of Gang Starr and a member of the Gang Starr Foundation collective. Biography Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Cary spen ...

. At the time, all were part of the

Gang Starr Foundation Gang Starr Foundation is a collective of east coast rappers led by the hip hop group Gang Starr. It was co-founded by Boston legend Big Shug. It was established in 1993. Group members Current members *Big Shug * Jeru the Damaja * Group Hom ...

, which made the album a stepping-stone for future DJ Premier-helmed projects by Group Home and Jeru. ''Hard to Earn'' received acclaim and commercial success upon release. The single "DWYCK" recorded in 1992 also featured hip hop duo

Nice & Smooth Nice & Smooth is an East Coast hip hop duo from New York City that consists of Gregory O. "Greg Nice" Mays (born May 30, 1967) and Darryl O. "Smooth B" Barnes (born August 3, 1967) plus their deejay Tedd "DJ Teddy Tedd" Whiting. The duo released f ...

. The track "Now You're Mine" originally appeared on the 1992 soundtrack '' White Men Can't Rap''. ''Hard to Earn'' is also the duo's first album to carry the "

Parental Advisory Advisory (abbreviated PAL) is a warning label introduced by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1985 and adopted by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in 2011. It is placed on audio recordings in recognition of profan ...

" label.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Singles chart positions

References

{{Authority control 1994 albums Gang Starr albums Albums produced by DJ Premier Albums produced by Guru Chrysalis Records albums