The Album (The Firm album)

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.[9] 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.[9] Nas began to make appearances on other artists' work, including "Fast Life" on Kool G Rap's "4,5,6" and "Verbal Intercourse" on Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... (1995), which made him the first non Wu-Tang member to appear on one of their recordings. Nas began to dub himself as Nas Escobar on these guest appearances.[9] Meanwhile, his excessive spending habits had left him with little money, as Nas had to ask for a loan to purchase clothes to wear to the 1995 Source Awards.[9] The success of fellow East Coast act The Notorious B.I.G. at the awards show sent a message to Nas to change his commercial approach, resulting in his hiring of Steve "The Commissioner" Stoute as manager.[9] While Illmatic attained gold status, Stoute convinced Nas to aim his efforts in a more commercial direction for his second album, after which Nas enlisted production team the Trackmasters, who were known for their mainstream success at the time.[9]

Meanwhile, Brooklyn-based female rapper Foxy Brown was brought to the attention of the Trackmasters, who were working on LL Cool J's Mr. Smith (1995).[10] 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".[10] Throughout 1995 and 1996, Brown appeared on several platinum and gold singles, including Jay-Z's "Ain't No Nigga" and the remix of Toni Braxton's "You're Makin' Me High". Her appearances sparked a recording company bidding war in early 1996, leading to her signing to Def Jam Recordings.[10] The success of "I Shot Ya" prompted her inclusion,[11] along with rappers AZ and Cormega, in collaborating with Nas on the song "Affirmative Action" for his second studio album, It Was Written (1996).[12] 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).[13] 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.[14]

Working with the Trackmasters as producers, Brown released her solo debut Ill Na Na (1996), which became a chart success and sold over two million copies.[10]

In an interview AZ personally picked Firm Biz, Phone Tap and Throw Your Guns as his favorites songs on the album.

In an interview, The Glove explained the mixed reception of the album: "Phone Tap” wasn't the first single. Do you know how many people would have ran out to buy that album if the first thing they heard was that song? They chose “Firm Biz” to be the first single and I was like, “You've got to be kidding! That's not Mob music!” There were problems with that project from the beginning. We had to replace Cormega with Nature and there was a bunch of label in-fighting. If you look at the back of that CD, you'll see like 50 logos on there. Every label and company involved wanted a piece of that project. Plus the album was rushed because it was done in Miami. Nobody wanted to come to L.A. because Biggie had been murdered and we didn't want to go out East."[15]

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.[16] While it was issued under the title The Album, writers and music critics have referred to the album with such titles as The Firm,[17] Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ, and Nature Present the Firm: The Album,[18] and The Firm — The Album,[19] or The Firm: The Album.[20]

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

• List of Billboard 200 number-one albums of 1997
• List of Billboard number-one R&B albums of 1997

• The Album at AllMusic
• The Album at Discogs (list of releases)