Overview
Death Before Dishonor is the debut studio album by American rapper 2 Pistols. It was released on June 17, 2008, through Universal Republic Records. Recording sessions took place at Hot Beats Recording Studios and J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League Studio in Atlanta, Music Matrix Recording Studios in Tampa, Florida), The Boom Boom Room in Los Angeles, and Untitled Music and Media in Richmond, Virginia. Production was handled by J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, Honorable C.N.O.T.E., Bolo "Da" Prosucer, Coni' Cone, D.A. Got That Dope and Young Chill. It features guest appearances from Blood Raw, BMU, Ray J, Slick Pulla, Tay Dizm, T-Pain, Trey Songz and Tyra B. The album debuted at number 32 on the Billboard 200, number 10 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and number 6 on the Top Rap Albums chart in the United States.
The album was preceded with two singles: "She Got It" and "You Know Me". Its lead single, "She Got It", peaked at No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 9 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, while "You Know Me" reached only No. 38 on the Rhythmic chart in the US. A version of "Candy Coated Diamonds" featuring Fergie (instead of Tyra B) leaked on various the Black Eyed Peas fansites.
Critical reception
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". 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".
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