Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
Tha D and K.K. once confessed publicly that they were not capable of freestyling in the grand tradition of rap, so it would be quite reasonable if 2nd II None were not the most groundbreaking album in terms of its concepts and rhymes. And it is, in fact, lacking to some extent in those departments. On this debut album, the duo tended toward conventional gangsta braggadocio and, unfortunately also typical of the form, a rather blatant strain of misogyny. Crews like N.W.A. and the Geto Boys, while similarly inclined, had nonetheless found ways to undercut or at least give context to the more repugnant, offensive, and sexist themes running through their songs in the way of a trenchant ghetto philosophy that spoke to harrowing issues of the inner-city experience. 2nd II None had little of that insight or ability to tweak gangsta rap clichés. What they did have was their own Dr. Dre sitting behind the boards in the person of DJ Quik, their skilled labelmate, and as a result the album does not lack in the least in the vitality of its sound, a deep, organic funk. His skilled way with a sampler and, frequently, live instruments makes it entirely possible to listen to wonderful tracks like "Underground Terror" and the smoked-out blaxploitation porno of "Mystic" without noticing the trite words at all. Still, Tha D and K.K. deserve credit for breaking gangsta rap out of its aversion to the more melodious aspects of urban music. The duo had a tendency to slip into smooth R&B crooning during choruses, a novel technique at the time, previously seen as an affront to street authenticity but since quite commonplace in hip-hop. It helped the album break into the mainstream, and the singles "Be True to Yourself" and the horny "If You Want It" remain minor old-school classics by consequence.
© Stanton Swihart /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From CA$ 10.83/month
Howie Weinberg, Mastering Engineer - D. Blake, Composer - D. Blake, Lyricist - DJ Quik, Arranger - DJ Quik, Producer - DJ Quik, Mixing Engineer - DJ Quik, Engineer - DJ Quik, Keyboards - Sean Freehill, Engineer - D. Barnett, Composer - D. Barnett, Lyricist - Robert "Fonksta" Bacon, Jr., Guitar - Robert "Fonksta" Bacon, Jr., Acoustic Bass - K. McDonald, Composer - K. McDonald, Lyricist - 2nd II None, Performer - 2nd II None, Co-Producer
(P) 1991, 1999 Arista Records LLC
Howie Weinberg, Mastering Engineer - D. Blake, Composer - D. Blake, Lyricist - DJ Quik, Arranger - DJ Quik, Producer - DJ Quik, Mixing Engineer - DJ Quik, Engineer - DJ Quik, Keyboards - Sean Freehill, Engineer - D. Barnett, Composer - D. Barnett, Lyricist - Robert "Fonksta" Bacon, Jr., Guitar - Robert "Fonksta" Bacon, Jr., Acoustic Bass - K. McDonald, Composer - K. McDonald, Lyricist - 2nd II None, Performer - 2nd II None, Co-Producer
(P) 1991, 1999 Arista Records LLC
2nd II None, Performer - 2nd II None, Co-Producer - I. Hayes, Composer - I. Hayes, Lyricist - Howie Weinberg, Mastering Engineer - D. Barnett, Composer - D. Barnett, Lyricist - Sean Freehill, Engineer - K. McDonald, Composer - K. McDonald, Lyricist - Robert "Fonksta" Bacon, Jr., Guitar - Robert "Fonksta" Bacon, Jr., Acoustic Bass - DJ Quik, Producer - DJ Quik, Arranger - DJ Quik, Mixing Engineer - DJ Quik, Engineer - DJ Quik, Keyboards - D. Blake, Composer - D. Blake, Lyricist
(P) 1992 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Howie Weinberg, Mastering Engineer - D. Blake, Composer - D. Blake, Lyricist - DJ Quik, Arranger - DJ Quik, Producer - DJ Quik, Mixing Engineer - DJ Quik, Engineer - DJ Quik, Keyboards - Sean Freehill, Engineer - D. Barnett, Composer - D. Barnett, Lyricist - Robert "Fonksta" Bacon, Jr., Guitar - Robert "Fonksta" Bacon, Jr., Acoustic Bass - K. McDonald, Composer - K. McDonald, Lyricist - 2nd II None, Performer - 2nd II None, Co-Producer
(P) 1991 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
2nd II None, Performer - 2nd II None, Co-Producer - Howie Weinberg, Mastering Engineer - D. Barnett, Composer - D. Barnett, Lyricist - Sean Freehill, Engineer - K. McDonald, Composer - K. McDonald, Lyricist - Robert "Fonksta" Bacon, Jr., Guitar - Robert "Fonksta" Bacon, Jr., Acoustic Bass - J. Lewis, Composer - J. Lewis, Lyricist - DJ Quik, Arranger - DJ Quik, Producer - DJ Quik, Mixing Engineer - DJ Quik, Engineer - DJ Quik, Keyboards - D. Blake, Composer - D. Blake, Lyricist
(P) 1992 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
2nd II None, Performer - 2nd II None, Co-Producer - Howie Weinberg, Mastering Engineer - Hi-C, Vocal - D. Barnett, Composer - D. Barnett, Lyricist - Sean Freehill, Engineer - C. Wilkerson, Composer - C. Wilkerson, Lyricist - K. McDonald, Composer - K. McDonald, Lyricist - Robert "Fonksta" Bacon, Jr., Guitar - Robert "Fonksta" Bacon, Jr., Acoustic Bass - J. Lewis, Composer - J. Lewis, Lyricist - DJ Quik, Arranger - DJ Quik, Producer - DJ Quik, Mixing Engineer - DJ Quik, Engineer - DJ Quik, Keyboards - D. Blake, Composer - D. Blake, Lyricist
(P) 1991, 1999 Arista Records LLC
Howie Weinberg, Mastering Engineer - D. Blake, Composer - D. Blake, Lyricist - DJ Quik, Arranger - DJ Quik, Producer - DJ Quik, Mixing Engineer - DJ Quik, Engineer - DJ Quik, Keyboards - Sean Freehill, Engineer - D. Barnett, Composer - D. Barnett, Lyricist - Robert "Fonksta" Bacon, Jr., Guitar - Robert "Fonksta" Bacon, Jr., Acoustic Bass - K. McDonald, Composer - K. McDonald, Lyricist - 2nd II None, Performer - 2nd II None, Co-Producer
(P) 1991, 1999 Arista Records LLC
Howie Weinberg, Mastering Engineer - D. Blake, Composer - D. Blake, Lyricist - DJ Quik, Arranger - DJ Quik, Producer - DJ Quik, Mixing Engineer - DJ Quik, Engineer - DJ Quik, Keyboards - Sean Freehill, Engineer - Robert "Fonksta" Bacon, Jr., Guitar - Robert "Fonksta" Bacon, Jr., Acoustic Bass - K. McDonald, Composer - K. McDonald, Lyricist - 2nd II None, Performer - 2nd II None, Co-Producer
(P) 1991, 1999 Arista Records LLC
Howie Weinberg, Mastering Engineer - D. Blake, Composer - D. Blake, Lyricist - DJ Quik, Arranger - DJ Quik, Producer - DJ Quik, Mixing Engineer - DJ Quik, Engineer - DJ Quik, Keyboards - Sean Freehill, Engineer - D. Barnett, Composer - D. Barnett, Lyricist - Robert "Fonksta" Bacon, Jr., Guitar - Robert "Fonksta" Bacon, Jr., Acoustic Bass - K. McDonald, Composer - K. McDonald, Lyricist - 2nd II None, Performer - 2nd II None, Co-Producer
(P) 1991, 1999 Arista Records LLC
Howie Weinberg, Mastering Engineer - D. Blake, Composer - D. Blake, Lyricist - DJ Quik, Arranger - DJ Quik, Producer - DJ Quik, Mixing Engineer - DJ Quik, Engineer - DJ Quik, Keyboards - Sean Freehill, Engineer - D. Barnett, Composer - D. Barnett, Lyricist - Robert "Fonksta" Bacon, Jr., Guitar - Robert "Fonksta" Bacon, Jr., Acoustic Bass - K. McDonald, Composer - K. McDonald, Lyricist - 2nd II None, Performer - 2nd II None, Co-Producer
(P) 1991, 1999 Arista Records LLC
Howie Weinberg, Mastering Engineer - D. Blake, Composer - D. Blake, Lyricist - DJ Quik, Arranger - DJ Quik, Producer - DJ Quik, Mixing Engineer - DJ Quik, Engineer - DJ Quik, Keyboards - Sean Freehill, Engineer - D. Barnett, Composer - D. Barnett, Lyricist - Robert "Fonksta" Bacon, Jr., Guitar - Robert "Fonksta" Bacon, Jr., Acoustic Bass - K. McDonald, Composer - K. McDonald, Lyricist - 2nd II None, Performer - 2nd II None, Co-Producer
(P) 1991, 1999 Arista Records LLC
Howie Weinberg, Mastering Engineer - D. Blake, Composer - D. Blake, Lyricist - DJ Quik, Arranger - DJ Quik, Producer - DJ Quik, Mixing Engineer - DJ Quik, Engineer - DJ Quik, Keyboards - Sean Freehill, Engineer - D. Barnett, Composer - D. Barnett, Lyricist - Robert "Fonksta" Bacon, Jr., Guitar - Robert "Fonksta" Bacon, Jr., Acoustic Bass - K. McDonald, Composer - K. McDonald, Lyricist - 2nd II None, Performer - 2nd II None, Co-Producer
(P) 1991, 1999 Arista Records LLC
Howie Weinberg, Mastering Engineer - D. Blake, Composer - D. Blake, Lyricist - DJ Quik, Arranger - DJ Quik, Producer - DJ Quik, Mixing Engineer - DJ Quik, Engineer - DJ Quik, Keyboards - Sean Freehill, Engineer - D. Barnett, Composer - D. Barnett, Lyricist - Robert "Fonksta" Bacon, Jr., Guitar - Robert "Fonksta" Bacon, Jr., Acoustic Bass - K. McDonald, Composer - K. McDonald, Lyricist - 2nd II None, Performer - 2nd II None, Co-Producer
(P) 1991, 1999 Arista Records LLC
2nd II None, Performer - 2nd II None, Co-Producer - Howie Weinberg, Mastering Engineer - Hi-C, Vocal - D. Barnett, Composer - D. Barnett, Lyricist - Sean Freehill, Engineer - C. Wilkerson, Composer - C. Wilkerson, Lyricist - K. McDonald, Composer - K. McDonald, Lyricist - Robert "Fonksta" Bacon, Jr., Guitar - Robert "Fonksta" Bacon, Jr., Acoustic Bass - J. Lewis, Composer - J. Lewis, Lyricist - DJ Quik, Arranger - DJ Quik, Producer - DJ Quik, Mixing Engineer - DJ Quik, Engineer - DJ Quik, Keyboards - D. Blake, Composer - D. Blake, Lyricist
(P) 1991, 1999 Arista Records LLC
Album review
Tha D and K.K. once confessed publicly that they were not capable of freestyling in the grand tradition of rap, so it would be quite reasonable if 2nd II None were not the most groundbreaking album in terms of its concepts and rhymes. And it is, in fact, lacking to some extent in those departments. On this debut album, the duo tended toward conventional gangsta braggadocio and, unfortunately also typical of the form, a rather blatant strain of misogyny. Crews like N.W.A. and the Geto Boys, while similarly inclined, had nonetheless found ways to undercut or at least give context to the more repugnant, offensive, and sexist themes running through their songs in the way of a trenchant ghetto philosophy that spoke to harrowing issues of the inner-city experience. 2nd II None had little of that insight or ability to tweak gangsta rap clichés. What they did have was their own Dr. Dre sitting behind the boards in the person of DJ Quik, their skilled labelmate, and as a result the album does not lack in the least in the vitality of its sound, a deep, organic funk. His skilled way with a sampler and, frequently, live instruments makes it entirely possible to listen to wonderful tracks like "Underground Terror" and the smoked-out blaxploitation porno of "Mystic" without noticing the trite words at all. Still, Tha D and K.K. deserve credit for breaking gangsta rap out of its aversion to the more melodious aspects of urban music. The duo had a tendency to slip into smooth R&B crooning during choruses, a novel technique at the time, previously seen as an affront to street authenticity but since quite commonplace in hip-hop. It helped the album break into the mainstream, and the singles "Be True to Yourself" and the horny "If You Want It" remain minor old-school classics by consequence.
© Stanton Swihart /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 14 track(s)
- Total length: 00:48:30
- Main artists: 2nd II None
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Arista
- Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap
(P)1991, 1999 Arista Records, Inc.
Why buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.