N.O.R.E. (album)

N.O.R.E.
Studio album by Noreaga
Released	July 7, 1998
Recorded	1997–1998
Studio	Criteria (Miami) The Hit Factory (New York City) Electric Lady (New York City) Bearsville (N.Y.) House of Hits (N.Y.) The Cutting Room (New York City) Right Track (New York City)
Genre	Hip hop
Length	68:58
Label	Penalty Violator Tommy Boy
Producer	Curt Gowdy Dame Grease DJ Clue? Ez Elpee Jay "Waxx" Garfield Ken "Duro" Ifill L.E.S. Marley Marl Nasheim Myrick SPK Swizz Beatz The Neptunes Trackmasters
Noreaga chronology
N.O.R.E. (1998) Melvin Flynt – Da Hustler (1999)
Singles from N.O.R.E.
"N.O.R.E." Released: April 28, 1998 "Banned from T.V." Released: July 28, 1998 "Superthug" Released: September 21, 1998

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The Source	[2]
Spin	5/10 [3]

N.O.R.E. (an acronym for Niggas On The Run Eating) is the debut studio album by American rapper Noreaga. It was released on July 7, 1998, by Penalty Recordings. Recording sessions took place at Criteria Studios in Miami, at The Hit Factory, Electric Lady Studios, The Cutting Room and Right Track Recording in New York, at Bearsville Studios, and at House Of Hits. Production was handled by Trackmasters, L.E.S., Curt Gowdy, Dame Grease, DJ Clue?, EZ Elpee, Ken "DURO" Ifill, Marley Marl, Nashiem Myrick, SPK, Swizz Beatz, The Neptunes and J "Waxx" Garfield. It features guest appearances from Musaliny-N-Maze, Nature, Big Pun, Busta Rhymes, Cam'ron, Carl Thomas, Chico DeBarge, Jadakiss, Kid Capri, Kool G Rap, Nas, Spliff Star and Styles P.

The album debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200 and topped the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart with sales of 165,000 in its first week of release. It was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on September 15, 1998, for selling 500,000 copies.

The album contained the hit single "Superthug" which peaked at #36 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached #1 on the Hot Rap Singles chart.

The song "The Change" found new fame after then-underground rapper 50 Cent was filmed free-styling over its instrumental. The album's first single and title-track "N.O.R.E.", is featured on the soundtrack of the 2005 video game Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories , as the game was set in 1998, the year the album was released.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"The Jump Off"	Charles Callet		0:54
2.	"Banned from T.V." (featuring Nature, Cam'ron, Styles P, Jadakiss and Big Punisher)	Victor Santiago Jermaine Baxter Cameron Giles David Styles Jason Phillips Christopher Rios Kaseem Dean	Swizz Beatz	5:11
3.	"I Love My Life" (featuring Carl Thomas)	Santiago Lamont Porter Frederick Gordon Vincent Bell	EZ Elpee	4:36
4.	"N.O.R.E."	Santiago Jean-Claude Olivier Samuel Barnes	Poke & Tone	3:14
5.	"Hed Interlude"			1:00
6.	"Hed" (featuring Nature)	Santiago Baxter Olivier Barnes	Poke & Tone	4:48
7.	"It's Not a Game" (featuring Musaliny-N-Maze)	Santiago Michael Allen Musa Abdallah Edwin Almonte Manuel Álvarez-Beigbeder Pérez Purificación Casas Romero	SPK	3:12
8.	"Fiesta" (featuring Kid Capri)	Santiago Olivier Barnes	Poke & Tone	3:35
9.	"40 Island" (featuring Kool G Rap and Musaliny)	Santiago Nathaniel Wilson Abdallah Marlon Williams	Marley Marl	4:35
10.	"The Way We Live" (featuring Chico DeBarge)	Santiago Leshan Lewis Chris Jasper Ernie Isley Marvin Isley	L.E.S.	5:09
11.	"Animal Thug Interlude"			1:41
12.	"The Change"	Santiago Richard Pimentel	Curt Gowdy	3:32
13.	"Superthug" (featuring Tammy Lucas)	Santiago Chad Hugo Pharrell Williams Chris Stein Deborah Harry	The Neptunes	5:00
14.	"Da Story" (featuring Maze)	Santiago Allen Lewis	L.E.S.	4:43
15.	"Mathematics (Esta Loca)"	Santiago Ernesto Shaw Ken Ifill David Arkin Earl Robinson Pascal Gabriel Severo Lombardoni	DJ Clue? DURO	3:23
16.	"The Assignment" (featuring Busta Rhymes, Spliff Star and Maze)	Santiago Trevor Smith William Lewis Allen Nashiem Myrick Jay Garfield Jerry Butler Marvin Yancy	Nashiem Myrick J. "Waxx" Garfield	4:22
17.	"Body in the Trunk" (featuring Nas)	Santiago Nasir Jones Damon Blackmon	Dame Grease	3:49
18.	"One Love"			5:13
19.	"Outro"	Callet		1:01
Total length:				1:08:58

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1998) Peak position Canadian Albums (Billboard) [4] 19 US Billboard 200 [5] 3 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [6] 1

Year-end charts Chart (1998) Position US Billboard 200 [7] 131 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [8] 22

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [9]	Gold	500,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

• List of number-one R&B albums of 1998 (U.S.)

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (June 16, 1998). "N.O.R.E. - Noreaga | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved June 13, 2015.
2. Osorio, Kim (August 1998). "Record Report: Noreaga – N.O.R.E.". The Source . No. 107. New York. p. 166, 168.
3. Kulkarni, Neil (September 1998). "Reviews". SPIN . Vol. 14, no. 9. SPIN Media LLC. ISSN   0886-3032 . Retrieved June 27, 2023.
4. "Noreaga Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
5. "Noreaga Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
6. "Noreaga Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
7. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1998". Billboard. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
8. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1998". Billboard. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
9. "American album certifications – Noreaga – N.O.R.E." Recording Industry Association of America.

External links

• Noreaga – N.O.R.E. at Discogs (list of releases)