Thug Life Army

Hip Hop Album Review: Pac’s Life by Robert aka RB

It is hard to say how many hip hop and rap albums are released every year. Hip hop has grown and matured since its early conception but one thing is for certain, when an icon of hip hop culture puts an album out it is always analyzed.

No other ‘star’ in the hip hop and rap genres work is more closely analyzed and put under a microscope than the posthumously released work of hip hop and rap icon Tupac Shakur (2Pac).

The recently released ‘Pac’s Life’ is no exception. I would like to approach this album on its own merit and leave all the speculation of what Pac would do aside. Tupac has been gone for over 10 years now, so there is no real way to known what he would have done or if he would still be rapping if he were alive today.

Tupac (2Pac) was so much deeper of a man than a hip hop artist or a rapper. His writings and activist work would have surely taken him to a higher position in life and too there was his acting career.

The US album has 13 tracks and features some of the talent that was around Tupac (2Pac) plus artists most of us will recognize for their talent of today. Putting all the talk of the OG versions aside, let’s look at what this album has to offer.

Among the featured artist are two outstanding performances by females. Ashanti and Keyshia Cole, beautiful voices by beautiful female artists; is a great addition to this album and their tracks are stand outs on the album.

Tupac’s original Outlawz make appearances along with Thug Life member Big Syke. Bone Thugs-n-Harmony also do a good job on the track Untouchable, and we even get to hear Snoop on the Pac’s Life re mix.

The Track Dumpin’ features Carl Thomas, Hussein Fatal and Papoose. This is a good track and a very deep track.

The featuring of Ludacris on this album is special to me. Ludacris, who also appeared on the Tupac album The Rose 2 , is the closest thing we have to Pac today. His genius in the hip hop music culture is today only approachable by Missy Elliott. Everyone wants to talk about who 2Pac would work with, since Luda is at the top of his game now it is only fitting that he has a spot on this album.

Total rating for Pac’s Life is 8/10

1. Untouchable Swizz Remix featuring Bone Thugs – Produced By Swizz Beatz – Not being a big fan of Swizz Beatz the production could be better but Pac and the Bone Thugs together hold this track together. 6/10

2. Pac’s Life featuring T.I., Ashanti – Produced By LT Hutton. – The video really brought this track to life. Ashanti has a great voice and she looks great in the video. T.I. does a good job topping off a great production job by LT Hutton. 9/10

3. Dumpin’ featuring Hussein Fatal, Papoose, Carl Thomas – Produced By Sha Money XL and Canei Finch – I was surprised at the quality of the production. Sha Money and Canei Finch lay a great beat for a great track. The addition of Carl Thomas makes this track another stand out on the album. 9/10

4. Playa Cardz Right (Female) featuring Keyshia Cole – Produced By Carvin and Ivan. – Pac and Keyshia Cole now that is a good pair. A nice lay back type track and one that you can just imagine Pac’s smile as he llistens to Keyshia Coles’ sweet lyrics. 9/10

5. Whatz Next Featuring A3, Jay Rock – Produced By Salih – This is one of my least favorite tracks, the tracks just seems to ‘drag out’ and the beat seems to be ‘off’. 4/10

6. Sleep featuring Young Buck, Chamillionaire – Produced By Sha Money XL. – Good track but I didn’t care much for the beat. It is very repetitive and takes you nowhere. 5/10

7. International featuring Nispey Hussle, Young Dre – Produced By LT Hutton. – Another banger laid by LT Hutton. The track flows well and shows LT’s mastery. 8/10

8. Don’t Sleep featuring Lil Scrappy, Nutso, Kadafi – Produced By E.D.I – By the end of this track it is hard to remember you are listening to a Tupac album. Pac spits in the beginning of this track and then it turns into all featured artists. 5/10

9. Soon As I Get Home featuring Yaki Kadafi – Produced By QDIII – This is the only original track on the album. Of course QDIII lays his unique powerhouse beat and to hear Kadafi and Pac together again is a pure treat. 9/10

10. Playa Cardz Right (Male) featuring Ludacris, Keon Bryce – Produced By Sha Money XL – Sha Money XL does a good job on the production and Luda and Keon Bryce top off the track well. 9/10

11. Don’t Stop featuring Big Syke, Yaki Kadafi, Fatal Hussain, E.D.I., Young Noble, Stormy – Produced By LT Hutton – Another production from LT Hutton and he does his usual great job on the production end. The flows are up there and compliment Pac’s verses. It is GREAT to hear Big Syke on this track. The man still has it and he delivers well on this track. 9/10

12. Pac’s Life Remix featuring Snoop – Produced By LT Hutton. – This is a remix of Pac’s Life and even though I am a little tired of Snoop turning up on so many songs lately, the addition of Snoop on this track is great. It is good to hear Pac and Snoop together again, and Snoop does Pac proud with his spit on his ‘homie’. 9/10

13. Untouchable featuring Yaki Kadafi, Fatal Hussain, Kastro – Produced By Sha Money XL – On this track the beginning is Pac talking and you can imagine the look on his face and then the beat kicks in. Sha Money’s adaptation of this track makes it better than the Swizz beats track, production wise. The Outlawz top off the track with the ‘back in the day’ memories of spittin with Pac. This is a fitting track to close the album with. 8/10

This album is a lot better than Loyal to the Game. Afeni and the whole Amaru camp spent a lot of time putting this project together and it shows. Take the album on it’s own merits. Don’t try to project what it would be like if this or that was different; it is what it is and it is a good album.

Everyone should support this album and the actions that Afeni and Amaru are taking to carry on the legacy of Tupac.

Buy the album – DON’T DOWNLOAD IT OFF THE NET. The Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts needs to be finished and the TASF needs to be supported so they can carry on with their work.

Amaru has a contest for fans who want to have input on Pac’s Life. Fans can submit poems, essays, video and artwork at

http://www.tupaccontests.com .

Please visit the only Official Tupac Shakur web site at

http://www.2paclegacy.com

and the web site of TASF at http://tasf.org

And if you are one of those who just had to download the album before it was released – go buy it now and don’t steal from Tupac or any other artist.

Related article on Pac’s Life from ThugLifeArmy.com

http://www.thuglifearmy.com/news/?id=3090

www.ThugLifeArmy.com Give Away of Pac’s Life

http://www.thuglifearmy.com/news/?id=3129

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http://www.crnlive.com/pacvid.htm

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*Robert aka RB can be reached for feedback This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it by email.