2000 - Grand Puba
2000

2000 is the second album by New Rochelle, NY rapper Grand Puba. It was released in the summer of 1995, three years after his solo debut and four years after splitting with Brand Nubian. The title is a reference to Puba’s futuristic flow. The album spawned the minor hit “I Like It (I Wanna Be Where You Are),” but failed to achieve the commercial or critical success of Puba’s earlier work. According to his longtime collaborator Dante Ross, Puba had lost the passion for making music: You can hear that he was just trying to get paid. He wasn’t into tryin’ to make great art, and that’s what it became for him, like it was a hustle. So many things, when they’re really easy for people, take them for granted. Puba’s best work found the sweet spot between politics and partying. But on 2000, the Five Percenter knowledge and socially-conscious lessons that distinguished his earlier records is completely absent, save for the closing track “Change Gonna Come.” It’s also the first of his albums to not feature any production by Puba himself. The primary producer is Mark Sparks, best known for Salt-N-Pepa’s smash hit “Shoop.” The album also features beats by newcomers Minnesota and Chris “CL” Liggio, as well as longtime Puba collaborators DJ Alamo and Dante Ross. Puba integrates R&B influences more deeply into his sound this time around. The samples—DeBarge, Barry White, Manzel—are more smooth than funky. And while Puba’s pop culture punchlines are as on-point as ever, he spends much of 2000 spontaneously singing, breaking out into quick interpolations of classic soul melodies (The Delfonics, Rose Royce, The Stylistics). While 2000 was not the major comeback Puba fans had been waiting for, it did receive fairly positive reviews. VIBE called the album “dope, if not essential”. The Source gave the album 4 mics, the same rating as Puba’s debut. 2000 was Puba’s last album with Elektra Records. He reunited with Brand Nubian in 1998, but would not release another solo album until 2001.
Distribution of songs on 2000 by producer