MarketThe Album (The Firm album)
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The Album (The Firm album)

The Album is the only studio album by the American hip-hop supergroup The Firm. It was released on October 21, 1997, by Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. The group was formed by rapper Nas, his manager Steve Stoute, and producers Dr. Dre and Trackmasters. The original lineup — Nas, AZ, Foxy Brown, and Cormega — had first collaborated on the song "Affirmative Action" from Nas' 1996 album It Was Written. Cormega later left the group due to artistic differences with Nas and contract disputes with Stoute, and was replaced by Nature before recording began.

Background
Prior to the formation of The Firm, future members and affiliates of the group were at transitional stages of their careers. Following the acclaim of his landmark debut album Illmatic (1994), Queensbridge-based emcee Nas decided to concentrate his efforts in a mainstream direction. Despite its significant impact on hip-hop at the time, Illmatic did not experience the larger sales of most major releases of the day, due in part to Nas' shy personality and withdrawal from promoting the record. After impressing the production team with an on-stage freestyle rap, she earned a guest appearance on Mr. Smith, contributing a verse to the remix of "I Shot Ya". along with rappers AZ and Cormega, in collaborating with Nas on the song "Affirmative Action" for his second studio album, It Was Written (1996). The collaboration came in the wake of the critical success of AZ's debut album Doe or Die (1995). He initially garnered attention with his appearance on Nas' "Life's a Bitch" (1993). Cormega, whose rapping career had been put on hold due to his incarceration during the early 1990s, was referenced by Nas on "One Love" (1994), and was released from jail in 1995. In an interview, Dr. Dre gave a reason why the album was a failure. "When we were doing that record, it was a lot of problems in the studio. I only spent maybe four days in the studio with the artists and we're supposed to do a record with them for days. The all album. Nas was cool. He came in and did his thing. Foxy missed like 5 airplanes to getting to the studio. She's in here like 1 hour so we got to work with her 1 hour. That's the reason why that record wasn't successful as we planned". In an interview, The Glove explained the mixed reception of the album: ==Title==
Title
According to critic Steve "Flash" Juon of RapReviews, the title of the album, as well as the group's name, was inspired by John Grisham's 1991 legal thriller-novel The Firm and the 1993 film adaption of the same name. While it was issued under the title The Album, writers and music critics have referred to the album with such titles as The Firm, Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ, and Nature Present the Firm: The Album, and The Firm — The Album, or The Firm: The Album. ==Track listing==
Track listing
AZ, Nas and Foxy Brown }} • Dr. DreThe Glove }} • Cruz • Jones • Taylor • Young • Jermaine Baxter }} • AZ, Nas, Nature and Dr. Dre }} • Dr. Dre • The Glove }} • Baxter • Cruz • Jones • Samuel BarnesJean-Claude Olivier • Richard Pimentel }} • Nas, Nature and AZ }} • Poke and Tone • Curt Gowdy }} • Baxter • Al Goodman • Harry Ray • Sylvia Robinson • Richard Vick }} • Dr. Dre and Nature }} • Dr. Dre • The Glove }} • Barnes • Marchand • Olivier }} • Foxy Brown and Pretty Boy }} • Marchand • Kenneth GambleLeon Huff }} • Foxy Brown }} • Dr. Dre • The Glove }} • Barnes • Jones • Marchand • Olivier • James Harris IIITerry Lewis }} • Foxy Brown and Nas }} • Jones • Melvin Bradford }} • Wizard }} • Dr. Dre • Mel-Man }} • Baxter • Young • John FletcherJalil HutchinsLarry Smith }} • Nature }} • The Glove • Dr. Dre }} • Barnes • Baxter • Cruz • Olivier • Pimentel • Germaine WilliamsWasis Diop }} • Canibus, AZ and Nature }} • Cruz • Jones • Marchand • Anthony Brockert • Leshan Lewis • Allen McGrier }} • AZ, Nas and Foxy Brown }} • Barnes • Baxter • Olivier • Victor Santiago }} • Noreaga and Nature }} • Barnes • Cruz • Olivier • Jasun Wardlaw }} • Half-A-Mil and AZ }} }} Sample credits • "Phone Tap", samples "Petite Fleur" by Chris Barber's Jazz Band • "Fuck Somebody Else", samples "You Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else" by The Jones Girls • "Hardcore", samples "Your Love (Encore)" by Cheryl Lynn • "Five Minutes to Flush (Intro)", samples "Hard to Handle" by Etta James • "Five Minutes to Flush", samples "Five Minutes Of Funk" by Whodini • "Firm Biz", samples "Square Biz" by Teena Marie • "Firm All Stars", samples "Turn Off the Lights" by Young Larry • "Firm Fiasco", samples "A Ma Fille" by Charles Aznavour • "Firm Family" samples "Come On Sexy Mama" by The Moments • "Untouchable", samples "Mother Nature" by The Temptations • "I'm Leaving", samples "I'm Leaving On a Jet Plane" by John Denver • "Desparados", samples "Dune" by Wasis Diop • "Executive Decision", samples "Ô Corse île d'amour" by Tino Rossi ==Charts==
Charts
Weekly charts Year-end charts ==Certifications==
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