www.thug.com

“www.thug.com” is the second studio album by Trick Daddy, released on September 22, 1998, through Slip-n-Slide Records and Warlock Records.

The story

Trick Daddy’s 1997 debut, “Based on a True Story,” had built a local following for the Liberty City rapper and for Ted Lucas’s Slip-n-Slide label. For the follow-up, Lucas served as executive producer, and the album was recorded during 1997 and 1998. The title came from the address of Trick Daddy’s website at the time. The lead single, “Nann N***a,” was released on July 14, 1998. It was a duet with Trina, a Liberty City neighbor who had never recorded before and who was working toward a real estate license when Trick Daddy asked her to take a verse. The song reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart and number 62 on the Hot 100, and its success led Slip-n-Slide to sign Trina as a solo artist.

Sound and production

Production was split among several teams, including Righteous Funk Boogie, DJ Spin, Abebe & Hugo, Rush, The Committee and Tony Galvin. The record runs about 45 minutes and mixes Southern gangsta rap with the explicit humor of Miami’s bass tradition. Guests include Trina, J-Shin, J.A.B.A.N., C.O. and Tre+6. Trick Daddy’s delivery is rough and conversational, and the songs center on Liberty City street life, a theme he returned to on later albums built around the word “thug.”

Legacy

The album reached number 30 on the Billboard 200 and number 7 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and it placed at number 125 on the Billboard 200 year-end chart for 1999. The RIAA certified it gold in 1999. The record gave Slip-n-Slide its first national success, and Trick Daddy’s next five albums came out through Slip-n-Slide and Atlantic. It also started Trina’s career, and the Trick Daddy and Trina pairing became a fixture of Miami rap into the 2000s. The album marks the point where Miami rap moved from the party-focused bass records of the 1980s toward street narratives, a direction later followed by artists such as Rick Ross.

Released September 22, 1998. More from hip hop in 1998.