== 1997- OUTLAWZ - RETRIBUTION ==

• "Originally recorded in 1996 and was supposed to drop on Death Row Records" - more exactly recorded in second half of 96 and first half of 97.
  
• released in 2006 as : DJ Fatal presents... Outlawz - Retribution (The Lost Album, Ten Years Later) (Outlawz Records / One Nation Entertainment)
  

 the cover is a mosaic of pictures from various periods :

new picture for Kastro, Noble and Edi (2006 ?)

Outlawz' Immortalz LP picture for Fatal, Napoleon and Kadafi

You have also 2Pac pictured with them in "Hit Em Up" video in the top left,

2Pac with them in his car in summer of 96 (cover of Still I Rise album) 

 

See Discogs page

Listen to it in Deezer, iTunes, myzuka

1. Intro*
2. Komatose with Storm
3. Thug Nation
4. Soulja's Story pt. 2
5. What Goes Around, Comes Around
6. Retribution

7. Still Mournin'  -  (aka Life Goes On Stay Strong)
8. Bless My Soul feat. Bad Azz & Prince Ital Joe
9. Novakane
10. Under Pressure pt. 2 feat. Storm
11. Pass The Heat feat. Wack Duece  -  (aka Money On My Mind)
12. Angel
13. Hold On

14. Stay Awake  -  (aka Did You Pray Today)
15. Family Pictures
16. In God's Eyes
17. The Hunger feat. Wack Duece
18. Mr. Makaveli
19. Outro*

*not in the original recording, long time available as a bootleg (many of the songs were already in Makaveli bootlegs in 1997).

 

Rap – Edi, Hussein, Kadafi, Kastro, Napoleon, Young Noble

Producers – Darryl Harper, Daz Dillinger, Hurt-M-Badd, Johnny J, QD3

Chorus – Jewell (8, 12, 13, 17) Val Young (6)

Mixed and presented by – DJ Fatal

Hosted By – Bad Azz (8), Daz Dillinger (9), E.D.I. (1), 2Pac (1, 10, 11, 13, 15, 17), Method Man (7), Young Noble (1)

Voice (Intro) – Malcolm X (14, 16) 

 

But it has had a decent and respectful edition as a mixtape in 2006 (DJ Fatal is discret and just added introduction, conclusion and short hosts between the tracks). On some tracks, you can really recognize the taste of the One Nation and Makaveli times. Thanks for the famous same producers...

 Track 3 "Thug Nation" was supposed to be included in the 2Pac/Outlawz album Ghetto Starz (cf. tracklist War Gamez / Ghetto Starz) but was recorded later in 1997.

Outlawz at its fullest

All the Outlawz are still here :
K-Dog aka Kastro
Big Malc aka Edi
Mutah aka Napoleon
Young Hollywood aka Kadafi
Fatal Hussein
Young Noble
Storm

Outlawz are NOT Outlaw Immortalz, so there are no Thug Life membars : no Mopreme, no Big Syke (who was preparing his solo album at the same period). Only Nutt-So, Street Thugs leader, announced in Ghetto Starz tracklist as a member of the group, could have been added to the lineup of the group.

They started to record this album just before the death of 2Pac, during summer 96, when Death Row more or less shelved Johnny J's Outlawz Troublesome/Secretz of War album (because Johnny J left the label on a discord with Suge Knight). But after Pac's death, the project then called "Ghetto Starz" changed a lot and became "Retribution". But Death Row, like many other projects, never released it... And it could not be due to a lack of quality and selling potential. 

The Outlawz here will never be at this level again. Fatal & Kadafi are still here to give strong Rap delivery. And most of the producing team is the same than on 2Pac's Makaveli album. At that time, it could have been easy to make of this album a huge commercial success (with maybe 2-3 Pac featurings added). That could have changed the destiny of the group. 

TIMELINE

10th of November - death of Yafeu Akiyele Fula

This album in its way to be finished, the death of their mentor, the publishing of Makaveli album... May all these events have make the pressure grow up between Outlawz members and their environment ?

So Yaki has been shot dead. Shot in the hallway of a friend's appartment building... The killer is Rashad Beale, a cousin of Napoleon... Jealousy ? Money, drug, gang affair ? Was Yaki turning to be a 2Pac-a-like paranoic ?

Anyway, after that awful event, the group more or less disbanded for a couple of years. And Death Row instead of releasing this album, will capitalize on the death of 2Pac only. 

Circa mid 97. Outlawz LP. DAT PO775568, PO775569, PO775572

1. In The Morning
2. Karma
3. Yesterday - ?
4. In Godz Eyes
5. Runnin on E
6. Komatose
7. Bless My Soul
8. Retribution
9. Soldier Story '97
10. Hold On
11. Who Do You Believe In ?
12. Thug Nation
13. Angel

These three DAT could be from the first half of 97. The Tupac featurings were probably removed in order to give them to the posthumous compilations after Afeni Shakur got the rights of her son's material. It's a pity because even if they are not the most bombing 2Pac songs, they could have gain enough exposure for the album.

DETAILED TRACKLIST

(Special thanks to Bomb1st members Filla and Dominator for samples credits)

 

01. Intro / DJ Fatal

• 2006.

02. Komatose with Storm / ?

• 1996/09/26.

03. Thug Nation / ?

• 1996/08 (?) - 1997/05/16. The song was supposed to be included in Ghetto Starz album. We don't know if it is the same exact version than the one recorded for it.
  

04. Soulja's Story pt. 2 / ?

• 1997/05/18. This song pays respect to 2Pac's song from 2Pacalypse Now where he was rapping with his Soulja pitched voice violent avatar.
  

05. What Goes Around, Comes Around / ?

• 1997/11/01.

06. Retribution feat. Val Young / ?

• 1997/05/11. This title appears in one of the first Outlawz' Immortalz tracklist.
  

07. Still Mournin' (Life Goes On Stay Strong) / ?

• 1996/09/14.

08. Bless My Soul feat. Bad Azz, Prince Ital Joe & Jewell / ? 

• 1997/01/20. Guests and topic make a strong link with Makaveli album.
  

09. Novakane / ?

• 1996/09/20 - 12/11.

10. Under Pressure pt. 2 feat. Storm / ?

• 1996/09/19. This song is a follow-up to the Thug Life : Volume One song from the same name.
  

11. Pass The Heat (aka Money On My Mind) feat. Wack Duece / ?

• 1997/05/18.

12. Angel feat. Jewell / ?

• 1997/05/09.

13. Hold On feat. Jewell / ?

• 1997/05/09.

14. Stay Awake (Did You Pray Today) / ?

• 1996/09/16.
• Samples :
• Malcolm X
  

15. Family Pictures / ?

• 1996/09/28.

16. In God's Eyes / ?

• 1996/07/22 - 1997/07/24 (new mix ?). Recorded the exact same day than "The Good Die Young", cf. Ghetto Starz. If this first date is right, it would be the first recorded song of this album. 
  
• Samples :
• Malcolm X

17. The Hunger feat. Wack Duece & Jewell / ?

• 1997/05/11. This song is inspired by a short lived title of Outlawz Immortalz LP.
  

18. Mr. Makaveli / ?

• 1996/10/01 (?).

19. Outro / DJ Fatal

• 2006.
   

. Can U Relate (by Young Noble, Kastro, Napoleon, Edi & Asu) / ?

• 1997 (?). No known date of recording. The song was in the bootleg Revenge iz Sweet by Dramacydal (tracks recorded in 94-95 before Death Row for a Dramacydal album). But of course this is a later track with Young Noble. With the Asu featuring and the kind of strange sound, it sounds kind a like One Nation. But it is more probably from after Pac's death (Edi saying "Makaveli lives on"). So a Retribution leftover track or even later because Kadafi isn't there (or an Asu song).