2Pac and the Outlaws

This is the newest posthumous Tupac Shakur release (not counting the 20 Makavelli bootlegs floating around the streets). The first one was pretty average entitled R U Still Down (Remember Me?) while the second one, a greatest hits package was more like what we were yearning for. While it only had 4 unreleased songs, the four were very good and packaged with his best hits, it was one of the best buys of late last year and early this year.

As for this release, entitled Still I Rise, Tupac and the Outlaws rock the mic on 15 new cuts. Tupac is exceptionally good on most of the songs. He's always best when he's angry and boy is he angry on this album. I believe most of these cuts were finished right before he died.

While Tupac is great, the rest of the Outlaw crew is decent at best. Tupac carries all the songs while the Outlaws follow behind. The do their best at matching Tupac's fervor, but fail and actually showcase Tupac. Everyone who bought this CD probably did so to hear Pac so I guess it isn't half bad.

Also, the production is very suspect. The beats were laid down long after the vocals were so I know this was a hard process. It's the producer's job to get it right though and I think that some of the beats were not up to par. If Tupac were alive to see this release, I'm sure he would've been on the production team to clean it up and make this album feel more west coast. It was a west coast album, but had some east coast tones.

A few of these cuts are very heartfelt. Tupac describes sadness for a female friend in the song, "Baby Don't Cry (Keep Ya Head Up Part II)". He talks about the good people passing away early in life in the song, "The Good Die Young" which is dedicated to the kids at Columbine High School that were killed earlier this year. But the gem of this album is the song, "Still I Rise". Tupac and company speak about how they can overcome anything even dealt the cards they were handed. It is a good song and is top dog on the album.

Overall, I like the album, but would have liked more Tupac and less Outlaws. I had an eery feeling while listening to this album because Tupac was spitting bars at his best. I almost forgot that he had passed away.