Thug Cry

Album: Mastermind (2014)
Charted: 112
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Songfacts®:

  • The third official single from Mastermind, the song features a verse by Lil Wayne. It was serviced to rhythmic contemporary radio on April 1, 2014.
  • The hook was sung by Betty Idol, who also supplied vocals on 2 Chainz's B.O.A.T.S. II: Me Time track "So We Can Live."
  • This flips a sample of Jazz drummer Billy Cobham's 1974 tune "Heather," the same song that Californian Hip-Hop group Souls of Mischief made famous on their 1993 single "93 'Til Infinity."
  • The song was produced by J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League. The Tampa, Florida production group told XXL Magazine how the track came about: "You gotta remember that the beat was made in 2013," they said. "So it was the twenty year anniversary of '93 'til Infinity.' So we did that. It was paying homage. That decade year long classic."

    "We got Betty Idol to write and perform the hook on it," they added. "It was undeniable. We just went ahead and sent it off to Ross. You know Ross likes to push the boundaries, like we said earlier. Once you hear the hook? Ah, s--t. That s--t's crazy."
  • The video was directed by Dre Films and stars the American actor Wood Harris as the prisoner. We see him leaving jail after serving time and being welcomed by Ross as well as flashbacks of what led to his lock up. You might recognize Harris from his roles as high school student Julius Campbell in the 2000 movie Remember the Titans and the drug dealer Avon Barksdale on the HBO crime drama The Wire.

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