2Pac

Shortly after 2Pac died, there were rumors that hundreds of unreleased songs remained in the vaults; a mere two months after his death, the first posthumous record, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, appeared. Death Row released the record, and shortly afterward, 2Pac's mother, Afeni Shakur, gained the rights to all of his unreleased recordings from both the Interscope and Death Row labels. She founded the Amaru label and released the double-disc R U Still Down? (Remember Me) in late 1997. Culled from 2Pac's unreleased Interscope recordings between 1992 and 1994, including several tracks that have had backing musical tracks "reconstructed," R U Still Down? doesn't have the aura of exploitation that haunts the Makaveli album. For the most part, Shakur sounds good, spinning out rhymes that are alternately clever or startling, although he eventually begins repeating himself. As for the music itself, it's pretty much standard-issue gangsta rap that never deviates from the course. There are enough hidden gems to make R U Still Down? worthwhile for hardcore 2Pac fans. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi