A Prince Among Thieves

Last updated
A Prince Among Thieves
Aprinceamongthieves.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedFebruary 23, 1999
Recorded1997–1998
StudioPaul's Coffee Shop
(Long Island, New York)
Genre Hip hop
Length77:11
Label Tommy Boy/Warner Bros.
01210
Producer Prince Paul
Prince Paul chronology
Psychoanalysis: What Is It?
(1996)
A Prince Among Thieves
(1999)
Politics of the Business
(2003)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [1]
Chicago Sun-Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [2]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
NME 8/10 [4]
Pitchfork 8.7/10 [5]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [7]
The Source Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [8]
Spin 9/10 [9]
The Village Voice A [10]

A Prince Among Thieves is the second studio album by hip hop artist Prince Paul. A Prince Among Thieves was well received by music critics. Music essayist Robert Christgau has called it "the closest thing to a true rock opera you've ever heard". [10]

Contents

Background

The concept follows the story of an aspiring young emcee named Tariq, played by emcee Breezly Brewin, who needs to collect money to record a demo tape before a meeting with Wu-Tang Clan leader RZA. The story follows a desperate Tariq, who skips work at his low-paying job and turns to his friend True, played by emcee Big Sha, who introduces him to drug dealing. The two make their way through the drug world, a police ambush, jail, and, finally, a deadly showdown.

The album features cameos by Kool Keith, Big Daddy Kane, Chubb Rock, Biz Markie, De La Soul, Everlast, Sadat X, Xzibit, Kid Creole, Special Ed, Chris Rock, RZA and Buckshot.

While recording, Prince Paul tried to get Vanilla Ice to appear on the album delivering a verse as one of the convicts in the jail scene, but was turned down by Ice's manager. [11]

A single version and video in the style of a film trailer was also produced. Although conceived as a story that would be filmed, a movie never came about. In a 2013 interview, Prince Paul said:

"That was the intention. When I first made it, I was inspired by Master P's I'm Bout It . I was like, 'This movie is so poorly shot, and it's popular. I could do that with more star power.' I tried to pitch it to Tommy Boy, and they apparently didn't see the vision. I was like, 'We could make so much money', but they were like 'Yeah, yeah Paul, we're going to put this million dollars in' whatever group that they had. Then at some point Chris Rock bought the rights to it, but he didn't do anything with it. So it sits and it sits. If I had the opportunity, if somebody said, 'Hey, I have a small budget', or wanted to get a Kickstarter going, I'd love to put that together." [12]

Track listing

#TitleProducer(s)Performer (s)Length
1"Tariq's Dilemma (Intro)"*Interlude*0:38
2"Pain"Prince PaulSha, Breeze 2:14
3"How It All Started"*Interlude*1:19
4"Steady Slobbin'"Prince PaulBreeze2:55
5"Just Another Day"*Interlude*2:19
6"What U Got (The Demo)"Prince PaulSha, Breeze2:29
7"The Hustles On"*Interlude*1:38
8"MC Hustler"Prince PaulHorror City3:51
9"The Call"*Interlude*0:52
10"The Other Line"Prince PaulBreeze, Heroine2:51
11"Crazy Lou's Hideout"*Interlude*1:49
12"Weapon World"Prince Paul Kool Keith 3:27
13"My Big Chance"*Interlude*1:54
14"War Party"Prince PaulHorror City3:10
15"Count Macula"*Interlude*0:22
16"Macula's Theory"Prince Paul Big Daddy Kane 2:36
17"Mr. Large"Prince Paul Chubb Rock, Biz Markie 1:06
18"Can You Handle It"*Interlude*0:21
19"Put the Next Man On"Prince PaulBreeze, Sha, Superstar3:46
20"I Was In"*Interlude*0:41
21"My First Day"*Interlude*2:29
22"More Than U Know"Prince Paul De La Soul 4:24
23"Room 69"*Interlude*1:49
24"Mood for Love"Prince PaulNewkirk, Sweet Dee, Breeze3:16
25"The Bust"*Interlude*0:45
26"The Men in Blue"Prince Paul Everlast 3:33
27"Central Booking"*Interlude*2:04
28"Handle Your Time"Prince Paul Sadat X, Xzibit, Kid Creole 3:53
29"The Rev"*Interlude*0:29
30"Sermon"*Interlude*1:01
31"Showdown"*Interlude*2:56
32"You Got Shot"Prince PaulSha, Breeze3:07
33"Every Beginning Must Have an Ending"*Interlude*1:43
34"The New Joint (DJ's Delite)"*Interlude*0:56
35"A Prince Among Thieves"Prince PaulSha4:42
Sample credits [13]

Personnel

The cast

The DJs and VJs

Background extras

Charts

Album

Chart (1999)Peak
position
US Billboard 200 138
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums46
US Top Heatseekers 5

Singles

YearSong Hot Rap Singles
1999"More Than U Know"45

References

  1. Huey, Steve. "A Prince Among Thieves – Prince Paul". AllMusic . Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  2. Kyles, Kyra (June 13, 1999). "Prince Paul, 'Prince Among Thieves' (Tommy Boy)". Chicago Sun-Times . Archived from the original on June 14, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  3. Baker, Soren (April 3, 1999). "Prince Paul, 'A Prince Among Thieves,' Tommy Boy". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  4. Crysell, Andy (February 3, 1999). "Prince Paul – A Prince Among Thieves". NME . Archived from the original on October 16, 2000. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  5. Aku, Timmhotep (February 10, 2019). "Prince Paul: A Prince Among Thieves". Pitchfork . Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  6. Stovall, Natasha (March 18, 1999). "Prince Paul: A Prince Among Thieves". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on October 2, 2007. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  7. Miles, Milo (2004). "Prince Paul". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p.  657. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
  8. Reeves, Marcus (March 1999). "Prince Paul: A Prince Among Thieves". Record Report. The Source . No. 114. p. 196, 198, 200.
  9. Kulkarni, Neil (March 1999). "Prince Paul: A Prince Among Thieves / The Roots: Things Fall Apart". Spin . Vol. 15, no. 3. p. 142. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  10. 1 2 Christgau, Robert (March 23, 1999). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice . Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  11. "Prince Paul Tells All: The Stories Behind His Classic Records (Part 2)". Complex Networks .
  12. Yohance Kyles (2013-11-07). "EXCLUSIVE: Prince Paul Discusses His "All Purpose Show," Art vs Business & Refusing To Sell Out". AllHipHop.com. Retrieved 2014-08-14.
  13. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : Discover Samples Used On Prince Paul's 'A Prince Among Thieves'. YouTube .