Wikipedia

The Last Shall Be First (Sunz of Man album)

The Last Shall Be First is the debut studio album by American hip hop group Sunz of Man. It was released on July 21, 1998, through Red Ant Entertainment/Wu-Tang Records. Production was handled by 4th Disciple, True Master, RZA, Supreme and Wyclef Jean, with Cathy Jones and Sunz of Man serving as executive producers. It features guest appearances from Method Man, Traybag, Beretta 9, Earth, Wind & Fire, Masta Killa, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Raekwon and U-God.

The Last Shall Be First
Studio album by
Sunz of Man
ReleasedJuly 21, 1998 (1998-07-21)
Recorded1996–1998
Studio
GenreHip hop
Length1:12:42
Label
Producer
Sunz of Man chronology
The Last Shall Be First
(1998) 		The First Testament
(1999)
Singles from The Last Shall Be First
  1. "Natural High"
    Released: 1997
  2. "Shining Star"/"Cold"
    Released: 1998
  3. "The Plan"/"Collaboration '98"
    Released: November 10, 1998
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Robert ChristgauA−[2]
Spin5/10[3]

The album peaked at number 20 on the Billboard 200 and number 7 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums in the United States, as well as number 100 on the Dutch Album Top 100.

Track listing edit

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Intro"  1:07
2."Cold"
4th Disciple3:49
3."Natural High" (featuring Tray Bag)
Supreme4:15
4."Flaming Swords"
True Master5:18
5."Illusions" (featuring Masta Killa)
4th Disciple5:25
6."Shining Star" (featuring Ol' Dirty Bastard and Earth, Wind & Fire)
Wyclef Jean4:21
7."Israeli News" (featuring Tray Bag)
  • Chron Smith
  • Reed
  • T. Smith
  • Wilder
Supreme4:13
8."Tribulations"
RZA4:25
9."The Interview"  1:05
10."The Plan"
  • Ruff
  • Cuffie
  • Bogard
4th Disciple5:09
11."Collaboration '98" (featuring Method Man and True Master)
True Master5:11
12."Inmates to the Fire"
  • Chron Smith
  • Cuffie
  • Ruff
  • Diggs
RZA3:41
13."Not Promised Tomorrow"
  • Chron Smith
  • Cuffie
  • Ruff
  • Bogard
4th Disciple4:11
14."For the Lust of Money / The Grandz"
  • Cuffie
  • Ruff
  • Chron Smith
  • Harris
True Master5:54
15."Can I See You?"
  • Ruff
  • Chron Smith
  • Diggs
RZA3:27
16."The Battle"  1:08
17."Next Up" (featuring Method Man)
  • Cuffie
  • Ruff
  • Chron Smith
  • Clifford Smith
  • Harris
True Master3:57
18."Intellectuals" (featuring Raekwon and U-God)
True Master4:55
19."Five Arch Angels"  1:11
Total length:1:12:42

Personnel edit

  • Chron "Hell Razah" Smith – vocals (tracks: 2–8, 11–15, 17, 18), A&R
  • Virgil "Prodigal Sunn" Ruff – vocals (tracks: 2–6, 8, 10–15, 17)
  • Frederick "60 Second Assassin" Cuffie – vocals (tracks: 4–6, 8, 10, 12–14, 17, 18)
  • Walter "Killah Priest" Reed – vocals (tracks: 3, 4, 7, 8)
  • Tracy "Trebag" Smith – vocals (tracks: 3, 7)
  • Clifford "Method Man" Smith – vocals (tracks: 11, 17)
  • Elgin "Masta Killa" Turner – vocals (track 5)
  • Russell "Ol' Dirty Bastard" Jones – vocals (track 6)
  • Earth, Wind & Fire – vocals (track 6)
  • Derek "True Master" Harris – vocals (track 11), producer (tracks: 4, 11, 14, 17, 18), mixing (tracks: 11, 17, 18)
  • Corey "Raekwon" Woods – vocals (track 18)
  • Lamont "U-God" Hawkins – vocals (track 18)
  • Lashaunda "Harmony" – backing vocals (track 14)
  • Selwyn "4th Disciple" Bogard – producer (tracks: 2, 5, 10, 13), mixing (track 2)
  • Robert "RZA" Diggs – producer (tracks: 8, 12, 15), engineering (track 12)
  • Alaric "Supreme" Wilder – producer (tracks: 3, 7)
  • Rob Chiarelli – additional producer (tracks: 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15), mixing (tracks: 3, 4, 6–8, 10, 12–15), additional mixing (track 17)
  • Nolan 'Dr. No' Moffitte – engineering (tracks: 2, 5, 10, 11, 17, 18)
  • Carlos Bess – engineering (tracks: 4, 8, 15)
  • Tony Black – engineering (track 3)
  • Steve Hall – mastering
  • Cathy Jones – executive producer
  • Tom Jermann – art direction, design
  • Michael Lavine – photography
  • Meredith Brunswick – A&R
  • Tony Calcote – A&R
  • James Elliott – A&R

Charts edit

Chart (1998) Peak
position
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[4] 100
US Billboard 200[5] 20
US Top R&B Albums (Billboard)[6] 7

References edit

  1. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Last Shall Be First - Sunz of Man | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  2. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: Sunz of Man". www.robertchristgau.com. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  3. ^ Frere-Jones, Sasha (September 1998). "Reviews". Spin. Vol. 14, no. 9. SPIN Media LLC. ISSN 0886-3032. Retrieved January 7, 2022.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  4. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Sunz Of Man – The Last Shall Be The First" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  5. ^ "The Billboard 200". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 32. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. August 8, 1998. p. 80. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  6. ^ "Top R&B Albums". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 32. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. August 8, 1998. p. 27. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved January 7, 2022.

External links edit

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