DESCRIPTION:
Thug Life: Volume 1 is the debut album by the group Thug Life, started by rapper Tupac Shakur, and was released on September 26, 1994. The album was originally released by Shakur's label Out Da Gutta Records. Due to heavy criticism on gangsta rap at the time, the original version of the album was scrapped and re-recorded with many of the original songs being cut. It has been said that 2Pac created two other versions of this album, with many of the songs still remaining unreleased[citation needed].
The group featured Big Syke, Macadoshis, Mopreme, The Rated R and Tupac Shakur. Among the notable tracks on the album are "Bury Me a G," "Cradle to the Grave," "Pour Out a Little Liquor," "How Long Will They Mourn Me?" and "Str8 Ballin'." In 1996 Big Syke and Shakur planned to create Thug Life: Vol. 2 - Out On Bail which would have been released on Makaveli Records, but the latter's murder in Las Vegas prevented this from becoming a reality[1].
Although the second album never came to fruition, Tupac performed the planned first single off the album, "Out on Bail" at the 1994 Source Awards.[2] Although the album was originally released on Shakur's label Out Da Gutta, Amaru Entertainment, the label owned by the mother of Tupac Shakur, has since gained the rights to it. Thug Life: Volume 1 was certified Gold[3]