Originally released in 1994 as the follow-up to 1992's Daily Operation, Hard To Earn was Gang Starr's fourth full-length and it found the duo stripping things down and offering more of a straight up hip-hop record full of raw beats and attitude.
The title is a reference to the Black Star Line, a shipping company founded by Pan-Africanist Marcus Garvey. The album deals with modern-day issues, philosophies and life in Brooklyn.
Released four years after its previous album, Hard to Earn, this album could be perceived as a comeback, with a newer, updated style of the group's already-established jazz-tinged hip-hop.
The late Gary Young is best known as the talented and eccentric drummer on Pavement’s early records, including their breakout full-length Slanted and Enchanted.