2Pac -2002- Better Dayz (Amaru / Interscope)

•  2002, november the 26th

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CD 1 :

1. Intro
2. Still Ballin' [Franky Nitty Pimental remix] feat. Trick Daddy
3. When We Ride On Our Enemies [Briss remix]
4. Changed Man [Jazze Pha remix] feat. T.I

5. F*** Them All (Bad Boy Killaz) feat. Outlawz 

6. Never B Peace [Nitty remix] feat. Outlawz

7. Mama's Just A Little Girl (KP Remix) feat. Kimmy Hill
8. Street Fame [Briss remix]
9. Whatcha Gonna Do [remix] feat. Outlawz 

10. Fair Xchange [Jazze Pha remix]

11. Late Night feat. Outlawz
12. Ghetto Star feat. Nutso 

13. Thugz Mansion feat. Nas

 

CD 2 :
1. My Block [Nitty remix]

2. Thugz Mansion [7 Aurelius remix] feat. Anthony Hamilton (chorus)

3. Never Call U B**** Again [remix] feat. Tyrese (chorus)
4. Better Dayz
5. U Can Call [Jazze Pha remix] feat. Jazze Pha
6. Military Minds [Edi remix] feat. Buckshot & Cocoa Brovaz
7. (Fortune &) Fame feat. Outlawz 

8. Fair Xchange [Troy Johnson remix] feat. Mya (chorus)
9. Catchin Feelins [Edi remix] feat. Outlawz
10. There U Go [remix] feat. Outlawz 

11. This Life I Lead [remix] feat. Outlawz
12. Who Do You Believe In feat. Kadafi
13. They Don't Give A F*** About Us feat. Outlawz 

Close to the original recordings in bold.

Track 2.1 was recorded for Fuck The World

Tracks 1.10,1.11,2.4,2.5 were recorded for When I Get Free / All Eyez on Me

Tracks 1.2,1.5, 1.6,1.10,1.11,2.10 were recorded for All Eyez on Me or Thug Life Volume 2

Track 2.11 was recorded for Thug Pound

Tracks 1.3,1.4,1.7,1.13,2.3,2.12 were recorded for Me Against The World pt. 2

Track 2.13 was recorded for Gridlock'd original soundtrack or for Immortalz

Tracks 1.9, 2.6, 2.7, 2.9, were recorded for One Nation Volume 1 or Volume 2 or for Ghetto Starz

Tracks 1.8 was recorded for Killuminati Original

Like Until The End of Time, Amaru continues to replace most of the original guests by new ones, in order to make 2Pac 1996 songs sound 2002ish. But the result is often weak.

But like R U Still Down, they decidate to incorpore many live instrumentation and that results in superb remix songs like "Thug Mansion", "Mama's Just A Little Girl", "My Block" or "Military Minds", different from the originals but that could totally compete with them (what is a total exception in posthumous 2Pac discography).

Furthermore, they let some remix work in the hands of Johnny J, Hurt M Badd and Edi, what leads to have many close to the original songs (even with new guests verses).

This compilation missed the occasion to be more like the release of One Nation project. Even if there are only a hand of tracks from these sessions, the vibe of instrumentation here stick to that project.

 

DETAILED TRACKLIST

CD 1 :

1. Intro / 7 Aurelius
2. Still Ballin [Franky Nitty Pimental remix] feat. Trick Daddy / Johnny J REMIXED by Franky "Nitty" Pimental

• 1995/12 - 2002. Outlaw Immortalz : Thug Life Volume 2 sessions. Initially with a totally different beat and a Kurupt verse.
  

3. When We Ride On Our Enemies [Briss remix] / Johnny J REMIXED by Briss

• 1996/03 - 2002. Black Gold / Me Against The World pt. 2 sessions. This remix sounds really childish (with an easy action movie sample) in comparison of the original and its destructive energy.
  

4. Changed Man [Jazze Pha remix] feat. T.I, Jazze Pha & Johnta' Austin (chorus) / Johnny J REMIXED by Jazze Pha

• 1996/02 - 2002. Black Gold / Me Against The World pt. 2 sessions. Originally with Nate Dogg and Big Syke and a totally different beat.
  

5. F*** Them All feat. Kadafi, Edi, Young Noble, Napoleon, Kastro / Johnny J

• 1995/12 - 2002. Outlaw Immortalz : Thug Life Volume 2 sessions. The beat is very close to the original like if Johnny J tried to finalize his first idea. A pity that Outlawz recorded new verses instead of the original Hussein's one except for Kadafi.
  

6. Never B Peace [Nitty remix] feat. Outlawz / Johnny J REMIXED by Franky "Nitty" Pimental

• 1996/01. Outlaw Immortalz : Thug Life Volume 2 sessions or Lil Homies sessions. Originally with Storm and other female rapper Marvalous, with a Danny Boy chorus. The original beat has been reused for Never Call U Bitch Again, for 2Pac's second solo or for Outlawz LP.

7. Mama's Just A Little Girl [KP remix] feat. Kimmy Hill / Johnny J REMIXED by KP

• 1996/02 - 2002. Black Gold / Me Against The World pt. 2 sessions. the original had no chorus.
  

8. Street Fame [Briss remix] / Daz REMIXED by Briss

• 1996/07 - 2002. Makaveli, Mr Killuminati or One Nation part 2 sessions.
  

9. Whatcha Gonna Do (Remix) feat. Kastro & Young Noble / Duane Nettlesbey REMIXED by Edi

• 1996/06 - 2002. One Nation part 2 sessions. Initially a duet 2Pac/Storm that was recorded over the same beat than Outlawz/Furious Five's Fright Night recorded for One Nation. 

10. Fair Xchange [Jazze Pha remix] feat. Jazze Pha (chorus) / Johnny J REMIXED by Jazze Pha

• 1995/11 - 2002. When I Get Free / All Eyez on Me sessions or Thug Life Volume 2 sessions. Initially features a chorus by Hurt-M-Badd & Capucine Jackson (Johnny J's wife)
  

11. Late Night feat. Hussein & Kadafi / DJ Quik

• 1995/11. When I Get Free / All Eyez on Me sessions. Initially appeared in Still Smokin, Chronic 2000 Death Row compilation. DJ Quik was not aware of this second version 2Pac recorded with Outlawz instead of him and AMG. There are different alternatives : either 2Pac recorded this Outlawz version waiting for Quik and AMG, either he recorded a second version for his side Thug Life Volume 2 project, or for Thug Pound / Lil Homies sessions.
  

12. Ghetto Star feat. Nutt-So / GO Twice

• 1996/03 (?). Intended to be in Nutt-So solo album The Betrayal, finally leftover.
  

13. Thugz Mansion (Acoustic Remix) feat. Nas & J. Phoenix (chorus) / Johnny J REMIXED by Claudio Cueni, Michael Herring

• 1996/02 - 2002. Black Gold / Me Against The World pt. 2 sessions. It is said that the original sample was totally impossible to clear. This totally renewed version with live instrumentation is a great improvement. Nas verse is not that irrelevant because Nas and Tupac spoke together a few days before 2Pac's death and the intended to record together. So this song released the dream of many fans of both artists. Nas will also release the song in an alternate form in his album God's Son. In 2007, in Best of 2Pac, Amaru will release a full 2Pac solo version of this acoustic remix.
  

 

CD 2

1. My Block [Nitty remix] / Easy Mo Bee REMIXED by Franky "Nitty" Pimental

• 1994/06 - 2002. Stay True or Fuck the World Me Against The World sessions. We could ask ourselves why the chose to remix a song that was already released in The Show Souyndtrack (1995). But we have to recognize than this remix can clearly compete the original.
  

2. Thugz Mansion [7 Aurelius remix] feat. Anthony Hamilton (chorus) / Johnny J REMIXED by 7 Aurelius

• 1996/02 - 2002. Black Gold / Me Against The World pt. 2 sessions. Difficult to understand the purpose of this second remix even if it is not that bad (but useless in comparison of the Nas version).
  

3. Never Call U B**** Again (Remix) feat. Tyrese (chorus) / Johnny J

• 1996/02 - 2002. Black Gold / Me Against The World pt. 2 sessions. There are many versions of this song reworked during One Nation sessions intended to be in Outlawz LP. Original has Danny Boy at the chorus and then Danny Boy and Jewell.
  

4. Better Dayz (Remix) feat. Mr. Biggs (chorus) / Johnny J

• 1995/10 - 2002. When I Get Free / All Eyez on Me sessions. Almost similar to the original. 2Pac gave the song to O.F.T.B. around March and they recorded a new version also with Big Syke for their album (released as "the Missing D.R. Files", in 2007).
  

5. U Can Call [Jazze Pha remix] feat. Jazze Pha (chorus) / Johnny J REMIXED by Jazze Pha

• 1995/11 - 2002. When I Get Free / All Eyez on Me sessions. Original had Puff Johnson, who was also the singer of "Me Against The World".
  

6. Military Minds (Edi remix) feat. Buckshot & Cocoa Brovaz / Darryl Harper REMIXED by Edi

• 1996/06 - 2002. One Nation sessions. This remix keeps the same atmosphere than the original.
  

7. Fortune & Fame (Remix) feat. Kadafi, Young Noble, Napoleon & Kastro (?) / Hurt-M-Badd

• 1996/08. One Nation part 2 sessions. The music is the original but only Pac & Kadafi verses are original. Initially it has Kokane, Edi and Spice 1 instead of Noble, Napoleon and Kastro (but it absolutely does not sound like Kastro). Spice 1 claimed that this song was the last song recorded by 2Pac the night before going to Vegas for Tyson fight and get shot to death after. But if it is the last song they recorded together, it is said they recorded it days before, probably in August, the last recording session being the night before Vegas, where 2Pac recorded a song for being played during Tyson entrance : Let'z Get it On. Having still studio time he also recorded Hell 4 A Hustler and All Out.
  

8. Fair Xchange [Troy Johnson remix] feat. Mya (chorus) / Johnny J REMIXED by Troy Johnson

• 1995/11 - 2002. When I Get Free / All Eyez on Me sessions or Thug Life Volume 2 sessions. Difficult to understand the reason of this second failed remix...
  

9. Catchin Feelins (Edi remix) feat. Outlawz / Darryl Harper REMIXED by Edi

• 1996/08 - 2002. One Nation part 2 sessions or Outlawz : Ghetto Starz sessions or eventually for Makaveli LP. The original is clearly unfinished waiting for guests to record. So these new Outlawz verses are welcome even if they have been recorded years later.
  

10. There U Go (Remix) feat. Kastro, Kadafi, Young Noble, Big Syke & Jazze Pha (chorus) / Johnny J

• 1995/11 - 2002. When I Get Free / All Eyez on Me sessions or Thug Life Volume 2 sessions. This version has a beat close to the original (maybe close to a third version intended to be in Outlawz LP). Kastro and Kadafi verses are original too but Kastro re-recorded his. Original has Nanci Fletcher at the chorus and an outro by Lil' Malik of Illegal (also featured in Dogg Pound album).
  

11. This Life I Lead (Remix) feat. Outlawz / Daz REMIXED by Johnny J

• 1996/01 - 2002. Thug Pound sessions. Original  has Gonzoe, Dogg Pound and Nutt-So instead of the Outlawz. Also strange to give this Daz produced beat to Johnny J...
  

12. Who Do You Believe In feat. Kadafi, Nanci Fletcher (chorus) & Big Pimpin' (speaking) / Johnny J

• 1996/01. Black Gold / Me Against The World pt. 2 sessions. Exactly similar to the original, but maybe they gave a new live instrumentation to the song.
  

13. They Don't Give A F*** About Us feat. Edi, Kastro, Kadafi & Napoleon / Johnny J

• 1996/04. Lil Homies compilation sessions. The song is the original almost untouched.
  

 14. Outro / -