Mar 23, 2020

2Pac -1997- R U Still Down ? [Remember Me] (Amaru / Interscope)

  • 1997, November 25
  • first posthumous project
  • compilation following a real project of compilation of leftover tracks titled R U Still Down / When I Get Free, while Pac was in prison in 95.

 
 
Discogs page
Listen to the album in YouTube or get it here and there

CD 1 :
1. Redemption
2. Open Fire 
3. R U Still Down ? (Remember Me) 
4. Hellrazor (Remix)
5. Thug Style (Remix) 
6. Where Do We Go From Here (Interlude) feat. Y?N-Vee 
7. I Wonder If Heaven Got A Ghetto (Remake)
8. Nothing To Lose
9. I'm Gettin' Money (Remix)
10. Lie To Kick It feat. Richie Rich (Remix)
11. Fuck All Y'all (Remix)
12. Let Them Thangs Go (Remix)
13. Definition Of A Thug Nigga 

CD 2 :
1. Ready 4 Whatever feat. Big Syke
2. When I Get Free (Remake)
3. Hold On Be Strong
4. I'm Losin' It (Remix) feat. Big Syke & Spice 1
5. Fake Ass Bitches (Remix)
6. Do For Love (Remix) feat. Eric Williams (Blackstreet)
7. Enemies With Me (Remix) feat. Outlawz
8. Nothin But Love feat. Dave Hollister (Blackstreet)
9. 16 On Death Row (Remix)
10. I Wonder If Heaven Got A Ghetto (Hip-Hop Version) feat. Maxee
11. When I Get Free II
12. Black Starry Night (Interlude)
13. Only Fear Of Death

Really close to the original (in Bold Blue).
Already available in their original form in 12'' : 1.7, 1.13, 2.8, 2.10
Songs included in "Pre-Death Row" compilation : CD1 : 3,4,6,8 CD2 : 3,6,11,13
Songs not included in any R U Still Down/When I Get Free known tracklists : CD1 : 1,7,9,10,12,13 CD2 : 1,2,4,5,7,10,8,9,10,12
 
Original Producers - Johnny J (2.1, 2.5), Tony Pizarro (1.3, 1.6), Bread & Water (2.11), DJ Daryl (2.8, 2.12), Warren G (1.10, 1.13), Live Squad (1.8, 2.13), Akshun (1.2), Mike Mosley (1.9), Choo (2.3)
New Producers - We Got Kidz & Ricky Rouse (1.1, 1.5, 1.11, 1.12, 2.2, 2.7, 2.9), Soulshock & Karlin (1.7, 2.6, 2.10), Tony Pizarro & Def Jef (2.4), QD3 (1.4)
 


1997, Afeni Shakur chose this symbolic title : R U Still Down 

Released about one year after Makaveli, The 7th Day Theory (giving some reality to Tupac's black Jesus resurrection fantasy), this first posthumous compilation wears the name of a song produced by Shock G in the beginning of 94 and still unreleased (the version here is a new version from the end of 1994), speaking about the rough fall of the media critics towards him after the two cases (of having shot at a cop in the Halloween night in 93 and of having raped a girl in a hotel room later in November). 
 
I wrote this for my critics and my enemies
Last year ya used to love me, huh, remember me
Now ya hate me with a passion... ("R U Still Down", verse 3)

The released version emphasizes on "remember me" lyric, giving a real impression that Tupac is speaking to us about his own death. But "R U Still Down" is also the title of a real album project Tupac had in 1994-1995. Firstly, it was a short lived anticipated title for his new solo (Me Against the World) around Feb.-March of '94 (when he recorded this song with Shock G), between "Out on Bail" in the end of 93 and "Stay True" in Spring of 94. Then when 2Pac went in jail, and after his album being released, he and Interscope thought about a compilation of unreleased tracks from 1993-1994 and the title "R U Still Down" came back alongside one "When I Get Free (1992-1996 Lost Trax)".

Thug Life / Me Against The World leftovers fair compilation + Strictly 4 my N... irrelevant remixed tracks

Even if this last title mentions "1992", there is absolutely no 1992 recorded tracks included in any of the handwritten tracklists we have for this 1995 project (cf. F.T.W. (Fuck The World) album) and in the source DAT/Tape of the state of this project around summer of 95. And no doubt that it is the main mistake of this first Amaru compilation. Except "When I Get Free" with Souljah pitched voice (and "Nothing But Love", already available as a b-side), all 1992 songs recorded for Troublesome / Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z are clearly not in the right place here. The voice and the style of 2Pac were very different, closer to his original Digital Underground funk vibe. All remixed songs of that time are failures for the simple reason that the producers try to give a more typical late 2Pac vibe. 

The biggest failure is of course the remix version of "I Wonder If Heaven Got A Ghetto". Even if the first mix stays really close to the original, we don't really understand why they didn't just release the original version of the song published in Keep Ya Head Up 12'' b-side, like they made for "Nothing But Love" or "Definition of a Thug Nigga". Soulshock & Karlin who produced "Me Against The World" and "Old School" for 2Pac (and some songs for Dramacydal shelved album), are relevant for producing/remixing 2Pac's songs, but maybe not old 1992 songs. 
 
On the other hand, their remix of Moe-Z produced "Do 4 Love", still close to the original, is a huge success and even an improvement of the original... And even the presence of Eric Williams of Blackstreet at the chorus instead of G-Money (who was also singing in "Temptations") stays relevant because 2Pac often worked with another Blackstreet member Dave Hollister (here in "Nothing But Love"), and will work in summer of 96 with Aaron Hall, ex-partner of Blackstreet's leader Teddy Riley in his first group Guy.  

QD3, We Got Kidz & Ricky Rouse : a discret touch of Death Row's vibe ?

Out of these 1992 false notes, most of the compilation clearly tries to respect the original 93-94 songs 2Pac recorded. Many songs sound almost untouched (maybe just a final mix or just a sound cleant) or the original song seem to have been kind of finalized by the original producers (Johnny J, Warren G or Mike Mosley...) or by We Got Kidz. And most of the remixes try to stay close to the original, keeping many elements of the beat (like "16 on Death Row").
 
We Got Kidz stays a mysterious name today. The fact that they are associated to Ricky Rouse who was a musician for live instrumentation in Death Row in many songs while 2Pac was recording for the label, that QD3 who also worked in Death Row for 2Pac, and that their works here are mainly instrumentation, could indicate that they more like an instrumentation team, gathered for the occasion, maybe close to Death Row, and that they were in charge for the whole balance of this compilation. By entrusting the compilation to them, maybe Afeni Amaru tries to make these old 92-94 sound more like the successful 96 Death Row album. 
 
But anyway, it was a really good way to clear the original samples like Bob Marley's "No More Troubles" without paying too much... A pity that they didn't use that strategy for more songs and in the next posthumous compilations. If they clearly missed their remixes of "Let the Thangs Go", "Fuck All Y'All", "Enemies With Me" too far from the original, their work in "Thug Style" and "Fake Ass Bitches" is great. The other great remix is clearly "Hell Razor" by Quincy Jones' son QD3.



DETAILED TRACKLIST

01. Redemption (Intro) / We Got Kidz, Ricky Rouse
02. Open Fire / Akshun 
  • 1993/07 (~). The song is a Mr Middle Finger/ Out on Bail leftover. The version here is almost identical to the original, except for some erased adlibs from 2Pac.
03. R U Still Down ? (Remember Me) / Tony Pizarro
  • 1994/01-06 (~). Also known as "Raise Em Up Remix" in 2Pac's handwritten tracklist "Me Against The World/Thug Life/Exodus EP & B-Sides". Stay True sessions / F.T.W. (Fuck The World) leftover. Straight from the unreleased vault : it seems the song has absolutely not being retouched (was leaked in this form in the early Makaveli bootlegs in 1997). This version has a totally different music from the original Shock G produced version (7'). It has a new 3rd verse and doesn't have the first one. It has been said that this second version could have been recorded because Shock G and Tupac had a little argument in the beginning of 94.
  • Sample :  
4. Hellrazor (Remix) feat. Stretch (chorus) & Val Young (chorus) / Live Squad REMIXED by QD3
  • 1994/01-06 (~). Stay True sessions. This is a second version from a 93 Mr Middle Finger song titled "Dear Lord" (two same verses). This is a fair remix that clearly tries to keep the original vibe.
  • Sample :  
5. Thug Style (Remix) / Bread & Water REMIXED by We Got Kidz, Ricky Rouse
  • 1994/07 (~). Stay True sessions. The song was included in any R U Still Down compilation handwritten tracklists.
6. Where Do We Go From Here (Interlude) feat. Y?N-Vee / 2Pac & Tony Pizarro
  • 1994/01-06 (~). Stay True sessions. The song was included in Pre-Death Row compilation sequence. What is strange with this beat is that it will be reused in late 95 for the song "What's Next" featuring Thug Life, but the song is there said produced by Johnny J... Maybe the sample was a 2Pac idea worked in 94 by Tony Pizarro and in 95 by Johnny J.
  • Sample :  
7. I Wonder If Heaven Got A Ghetto (Remix) / Lay Law REMIXED by Soulshock & Karlin
  • 1992/01-06. Troublesome 21 sessions. Released in its original form as a b-side for Keep Ya Head Up 12'' (1993).
  • Sample :  
8. Nothing To Lose / 2Pac, Live Squad
  • 1993/11 (Pac's take) - 1994/07-12 (new mix). F.T.W. (Fuck The World) sessions. 5th version of the song, with original music mix but the usual lyrics (not the Mr. Middle Finger unleaked version nor the clean version). It was included in Pre-Death Row compilation sequence.
  • Sample :
9. I'm Gettin' Money (Remix) / Mike Mosley (?) REMIXED by Mike Mosley, Natures Fynest
  • 1993/01-06. Thug Life Original sessions. The original was said produced by Mike Mosley but some say it could be a Johnny J beat. This remix stays close to the original with a similar sample.
10. Lie To Kick It (Remix) feat. Richie Rich / Warren G REMIXED by Warren G
11. Fuck All Y'all (Remix) / 2Pac & Duane Nettlesbey REMIXED by We Got Kidz, Ricky Rouse
  • 1994/01-06. Stay True sessions. Completely different from the original, but We Got Kidz and Ricky Rouse tried to keep the same peaceful and musical vibe than the original.
  • Sample : "Street Life" by Geto Boys
12. Let Them Thangs Go (Remix) / DJ Daryl REMIXED by We Got Kidz, Ricky Rouse, Quimmy Quim
13. Definition Of A Thug Nigga / Warren G & 2Pac
 
DISC 2 :

01. Ready 4 Whatever feat. Big Syke / Johnny J
02. When I Get Free / Lay Low REMADE by We Got Kidz, Ricky Rouse 
  • 1992/01-06. The song was intended to be released in Troublesome 21 scrapped album in 1992. I consider the song as an original because it is very similar. But for sure the original Bob Marley sample, non-declared here has been replayed live by We Got Kidz.
  • Sample :
    • live replayed : Bob Marley & The Wailers - "No More Trouble"
03. Hold On Be Strong feat. Stretch (chorus) / Choo
  • 1994/01-06 (~). Stay True sessions leftover. Included in Pre-Death Row compilation sequence. The song is very similar and sounds to have only been cleant.
04. I'm Losin It (Remix) feat. Big Syke, Spice 1 / Johnny J (?) REMIXED by Tony Pizarro, Def Jef, Levant Marcus
  • 1993/01-06 (~). Totally remixed from an original version intended to be in Thug Life Original scrapped album. The original was said produced by Johnny J. Def Jef is a rapper who released two conscious solo albums in 1989 and 1991 and was the main producer of Bo$$ album in 1993. Is it possible that Tony Pizarro who let "R U Still Down" unchanged was the original producer of the track, or that he made an unknown remix in 1994 close to this one ? Could Def Jef be the real original producer ? Nothing is sure here...
05. Fake Ass Bitches (Remix) feat. Rated R (chorus) / Johnny J REMIXED by We Got Kidz
  • 1993/01-06 (~). Thug Life Original. This is a very slightly remixed version that keeps almost everything from the original.
06. Do For Love (Remix) feat. Eric Williams (Blackstreet) / Moe-Z REMIXED by Karlin, Soulshock
  • 1994/07-12. F.T.W. (Fuck The World) sessions. This remix uses the "Sucka 4 Love" version from late 1994, not the 1992 early song recorded during Tales of a 90's sessions. The music stays very close to the original but the original singer G-Money (mainly known for his chorus on "Temptation") has been replaced by Eric Williams. This choice is not totally strange because 2Pac used to work with Dave Hollister who is also a member of Blackstreet.
  • Sample :
    "What You Won't Do for Love" by Bobby Caldwell
07. Enemies With Me (Remix) feat. Outlawz / Live Squad REMIXED by We Got Kidz, Ricky Rouse
08. Nothin But Love feat. Dave The Black Angel / 2Pac & Dj Daryl
  • 1992/01-06. Released in "I Get Around (12'')" (1993). The song was also intended to be released in Troublesome 21 scrapped album in 1992.
  • Sample : "Something About That Woman" by Lakeside
09. 16 On Death Row (Remix) / Ricky Rouse
  • 1992/01-06. Fragile / Troublesome 21 sessions. This remix keeps many elements of the original but the synthĂ© thing giving a live instrumentation feeling is not welcome and distort the original dark mood of the song.
10. I Wonder If Heaven Got A Ghetto (Hip-Hop Version) feat. Maxee / Lay Law REMIXED by Karlin, Soulshock
  • 1992/01-06. Difficult to understand the choice of this second remix particularly irrelevant.
  • Sample : "Two of Us" by Cameo
11. When I Get Free II feat. Kadafi (chorus) / Bread & Water
  • 1994/07 (~). Stay True sessions. The song was included in Pre-Death Row compilation sequence.
  • Sample :
    • "Synthetic Substitution" by Melvin Bliss
    • "Concerto for Jazz/Rock Orchestra, Part I" by Stanley Clarke
12. Black Starry Night (Interlude) / DJ Daryl
13. Only Fear Of Death / Live Squad & Duane Nettlesbey (?)




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