2Pac -1998- Greatest Hits (Death Row / Interscope)

• 1998 november the 24th
• Last 2Pac album Death Row will release without Amaru entertainement  
  

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Listen to it in Youtube or grab it there 

CD 1 :
1. Keep Ya Head Up
2. 2 Of Amerikaz Most Wanted feat. Snoop Doggy Dogg
3. Temptations
4. God Bless the Dead feat. Stretch / Stretch & 2Pac
5. Hail Mary feat. Outlawz & Prince Ital Joe
6. Me Against the World feat. Dramacydal
7. How Do U Want It (Uncensored) feat. K-Ci & Jojo  

==> vocals are censored in some original editions of the album
8. So Many Tears
9. Unconditional Love / Johnny J
10. Trapped (Uncensored)
==> vocals are censored in some original editions of the album
11. Life Goes On
12. Hit Em Up feat. Outlawz / Johnny J
== > already available in "How Do U Want It (12'')".

CD 2 :
1. Troublesome 96' / Johnny J
2. Brenda's Got a Baby feat. Dave Hollister
3. I Ain't Mad At Cha feat. Danny Boy
4. I Get Around feat. Digital Underground
5. Changes feat. Talent (Remix) / Deon Evans, 2Pac 

==> Pac's voice has been slowed down to give the sound of his late voice.
6. California Love feat. Dr. Dre & Roger Troutman / Dr. Dre
==> already available in California Love (12'') and in some European edition of All Eyez on Me.
7. Picture Me Rollin' feat. Danny Boy, CPO & Big Syke
8. How Long Will They Mourn Me ? feat. Thug Life & Nate Dogg
9. Toss It Up (Altered Mix with altered lyrics) feat. K-Ci & Jojo, Danny Boy & Aaron Hall

==> No diss introduction, altered singing takes

10. Dear Mama
11. All About U (Top Dogg Version) feat. Nate Dogg, Outlawz & Top Dogg
==> the main mistake of this edition, a posthumous remix with an unwelcome featuring of Top Dogg replacing Snoop Dogg... Wheras in video version, we could have the same different mix but with a new 2Pac verse !!

12. To Live & Die in L.A. feat. Val Young
13. Heartz of Men

Tracks 1.1, 1.10, 2.2 are taken from 2Pacalypse Now

Tracks 2.4 are taken from Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.

Track 2.8 is taken from Thug Life : Volume 1

Tracks 1.3, 1.6, 1.8, 2.10 are taken from Me Against the World

Tracks 1.2, 1.7, 1.11, 2.3, 2.7, 2.13 are taken from All Eyez on Me

Tracks 1.5, 2.9, 2.12 are taken from Makaveli the Don Killuminati : The 7 Day Theory

A typical compilation leaning too much to All Eyez on Me

This compilation is a typical Greatest Hits album that compiles all singles released by the artist. But they omit singles "If My Homie Calls", "Holla If Ya Hear Me", "Papa'z Song", "Cradle 2 the Grave", "Pour Out A Little Liquor" and above all the underground superhit "Pain", played as the ending of the soundtrack Above The Rim.

They chose to not include posthumous songs from R U Still Down, nor from Gridlock'd OST and Gang Related OST. No songs from Soundtracks at all nor from compilation : no "Runnin'", no "My Block", no "High Til I Die", no "Definition of a Thug Nigga"... No featuring singles neither : no "Same Song", no "Call It What U Want", no "Gotta Get Mine", no "Smile"...

Some of them could have replaced some of the too numerous All Eyez on Me songs (two non-singles songs : "Heartz of Men", "Picture Me Rollin'"), or merely complete the short tracklists of these two CDs. 

Four exclusive songs

"Changes", "God Bless The Dead", "Unconditional Love" and "Troublesome '96" were totally unknown at that time (maybe in the Makaveli bootlegs, but not sure at all). These are great songs ! The two first from Pre-Death Row era, the two other from the last period. Of course, they could release a lot more but it wouldn't be a Greatest Hits anymore.

 

205. Changes feat. Talent (chorus) / Deon Evans aka Big D The Impossible & 2Pac REMIXED by ?

• 1991/12/25 (new mix ?). This is a remixed version of a Dec. '91 recorded song with a new chorus and a slowed Pac voice for making him sound as old as in All Eyez on Me. The original song appeared nowhere in any Tupac's handwritten papers. Nobody knows why this song has been recorded for, why 2Pac recorded some verses of it for "I Wonder If Heaven's Got A Ghetto" a few months later. At the time, 2Pac was planning a side project called Nothing Gold with a group of young rappers (cf. The Kidz sessions) and was considering his second solo album (cf Troublesome 21 / Fragile sessions). Who gave this new mix of the song ? Is it possible that 2Pac himself worked at it ?
  
• Samples : 
• "The Way It Is" by Bruce Hornsby & The Range
• "Set it Off" by Strafe.

104. God Bless The Dead feat. Stretch / Stretch

• 1994/03. Thug Life Volume One sessions. This is a tribute to Biggie Smalls aka Big Dric, close friend to Stretch, who died at that time (nothing to do with Biggy Smallz, young white rapper from Los Angeles, produced by Johnny J). Christopher Wallace when he makes his first records under the name of "Biggie Smalls", had risks of being sued by the young Biggy Smallz (who has published some 12'' under this alias since 91) so he changed his name to The Notorious B.I.G. Fact that this song starts by "Biggie Smalls rest in peace" in 1998, a few months after Notoriou B.I.G's death is for sure not a coincidence. Death Row kept on feeding the feud with Bad Boys records and the rumour of 2Pac being alive and speaking through death like a Black Jesus. Bomb 1st member Banned said the song was initially a Live Squad's song intended to be in their second album titled Diary of a Poor Man / Ghetto Blues in 94, but probably in a different version with a Majesty verse.

109. Unconditional Love feat. Eboni Foster (chorus) / Johnny J

• 1996/02/02. Me Against the World pt. 2 sessions. This song is often mistakely considered as a reference for MC Hammer because 2Pac finally sold the song to him. But the song was one of his title track, maybe considered by him for a single, for his second Death Row album, appearing in many tracklists, and having many mixes (you don't make 4 mixes just to give a reference to somebody else...). The song is almost untouched.
  

201. Troublesome '96 / Johnny J 

• 1996/04/08. This mix is known as the second mix of the song with 2Pac singing at the chorus, strangely incorporating behind the first verse a hided verse known as "Criminal Timez". This is the follow up of a 92 leftover song and project. In 1996, he recorded this song for his second Death Row solo album, then planned to release it in Outlawz first album, eventually called Troublesome, Tha Secretz of War. The song is almost untouched but slightly shortened. In the released single, Death Row also gave a short alternate mix of the song probably made during One Nation sessions or in the beginning of July '96 (cf One Nation sessions). 
  

B-sides and Alternate versions

They also chose to include two b-sides : "California Love (Original)" and "Hit 'Em Up". They could release in a CD quality a lot of other b-sides like "If Heaven's Got a Ghetto", "Flex", "Nothing But Love", "Loyal 2 The Game", original "Cradle 2 The Grave"... "Toss It Up (Alternate Version)" is interesting for itself but not necessary. The real mistake is to have included a posthumous remix version of "All About U" with Top Dogg instead of Snoop Dogg, whereas the video version has the same mix and a new 2Pac verse...

 

They could also release a lot of alternate radio or video versions of the known songs. Some of them have new verses (like "How Long Will They Mourn Me", "All About U"), remixed beat ("Brenda's Got A Baby", "2 of Amerikaz"), remade music ("I Ain't Mad at Cha", "Life Goes On") but some clean lyrics could have weaken the album (like video version of "Hit 'Em Up").

There were also remix versions of these hits that could have be very interesting for fans like "I Get Around (Battlecat Remix)", "Me Against The World (Soul Power Mix)", "Temptations (Batttlecat Remix)", "Dear Mama (Death Row Remix)"...

206. California Love feat. Dr. Dre & Roger Troutman / Dr. Dre

• 1995/11/02. Released in California Love single and in European versions of All Eyez on Me. It was initially a full Dr. Dre's song featuring Roger Troutman, probably intended to be in Dr. Dre's Chronic II. The project being already more or less given up, Dr. Dre and Death Row decided to give the track to promote the new star they enrolled in Death Row.

112. Hit Em Up feat. Outlawz / Johnny J 

• 1996/03/29. Finalised the 19th of April and published as a b-side of How Do U Want It (12'') the 4th of june 1996. This is in fact the second version of a song initially recorded in late October 95 for 2Pac's leftover project Thug Life Volume Two with Outlaw Immortalz. He re-recorded the song with a new Johnny J beat for his second Death Row solo album, before giving the song to the Outlawz first LP, including the song in the b-side of "How Do You Want It" the 4th of June 96 for promoting this forcoming album.
  
• Sample : Dennis Edwards - "Don't Look Any Further"