Death Before Dishonor | ||||||||||
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Studio album by 2 Pistols | ||||||||||
Released | June 17, 2008 | |||||||||
Recorded | 2007-2008 | |||||||||
Genre | Hip hop | |||||||||
Length | 54:54 | |||||||||
Label | Poe Boy Entertainment/Universal Republic | |||||||||
Producer | J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, Honorable C.N.O.T.E., Coni' Cone, Bolo "Da" Producer, D.A. on the Track Man, Yung Chill | |||||||||
2 Pistols chronology | ||||||||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
DJBooth | |
RapReviews | 4/10 |
Death Before Dishonor is the debut album by rapper 2 Pistols, released on June 17, 2008. Guests include T-Pain, Tay Dizm, Ray J, Slick Pulla, Blood Raw, Trey Songz, BMU & Tyra B. A version of "Candy Coated Diamonds" featuring Fergie (instead of Tyra B) leaked on various The Black Eyed Peas fansites.
Death Before Dishonor received mixed reviews from music critics. David Jeffries of AllMusic 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." Nathan Slavik of DJBooth also gave praise to the production but found 2 Pistols to be an average rapper that delivers sub-standard street tracks, saying that "Death Before Dishonor doesn’t exactly cover a lot of musical ground, it’s essentially 'She Got It' and 'Eyes Closed' remixed and re-titled for an entire album." 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."
"Flex 2008" is an interpolation of Mad Cobra's "Flex" and contains a direct vocal sample in the chorus. Rihanna also recently sampled the instrumental from "Flex" with the track "Say It" from her 2007 album Good Girl Gone Bad.