- December 93 - March 94 : new mix for the Easy Mo Bee sessions and new recordings to replace songs rejected by Interscope.
- This Interscope project is supposedly directed by engineers Duane Nettlesbey & Norman Whitfield Jr., also known by the name of Vibe Tribe
- Delayed because of justice cases ? Rumor about a dispute between 2Pac and Shock G regarding the mix of the album ? New direction when Pizarro started to work with 2Pac in March ?
- main source : the demo tape commonly known as "Manu Tape"
### This tracklist follows the so-called "Manu" tape and is completed by the very probable expected songs. ###
Tracklist - Listen in Youtube
3. Nothing To Lose (Chorus Start) feat. Natasha Walker - snippet
6. Hellrazor (Stretch Version)
== B-Side ==
10. My Only Fear of Death
A third attempt to release his third solo album ?
The 17th of January '94, 2Pac and Interscope were announcing in Papa'z Song single
credits a new album coming titled "Out on Bail" for spring of '94 (cf. Out on Bail). When they chose the text to print, we were probably in December or early January. Final mixdown and even the tracklist were probably not totally fixed ("Thug In Me" had been already dropped and 2Pac or Interscope decided to drop "Wonda Why They Call U Bitch" or to re-record a softer version). During this process, 2Pac notably recorded "R U
Still Down" that gave a new title to his album and a whole new direction.
It has been said that Interscope rejected the Out On Bail Demo (what we know as the so called "Cradle2TheGrave" Demo Tape). Everything suggests that Interscope gave Norman Whitfield Jr. and Duane Nettlesbey - known as Vibe Tribe in the Keep Ya Head Up, Papa'z Song singles - the responsibility of remixing / transforming the Demo into a more reasonable album. If Out on Bail was the rough version of the album, R U Still Down will be a proper final mix. This is what was called the Interscope Project.
Like we can read in this newspaper from the 2nd of April, 2Pac announced an album with the title of "Are U Still Down" for the summer of 94, with a first single being "Dear Mama" (then the Original Master T version with the scratched chorus). At that time, the project had probably already evolved a bit from the Demo tape, with the inclusion of songs like "High Til I Die", "Hold On", "Fuck The World", and the exclusion of "Nothing 2 Lose" (not satisfied with the mix ?), "Hard on a Nigga" (sample issue ?), "Bury Me A G" (group version chosen for the Thug Life album).
But, the "Manu" tape remained the material iteration of the album which was purposed to be released.
The "Manu" tape : a promo tape dramatically damaged
The so-called "Manu Tape" is unfortunately incomplete (first part of the A-side has been erased - it has been said that the guy named Manu could have overrecorded some opera music on it...!?). But it contains a selection of tracks that we can clearly compare to Tupac's handwritten tracklists from Jan. - March 94. So it is very probably an advanced state of that Interscope Project album, just before Tony Pizarro put his hands on it with notably the recording of "High Til I Die" solo version in mid March of 94 (cf. Stay True).
Vibe Tribe sessions ?
The coming back of Shock G
If Shock G didn't produce new tracks for 2Pac
since mid 92, they were often in concert together playing "I Get
Around" (in the first half of 93), and 2Pac is featured in Digital Underground 3rd album (The Body-Hat Syndrome, published the 5th of October 93), for "Wassup Wit The Luv" (probably recorded in late 92 - early 93). But the new song "R U Still Down" sounds unusually darker than everything Shock G made before... He will again produce for 2Pac the also dark "So Many Tears" in the late summer of 94. Above that, he could have also produced an early version of "Fuck The World" in March.
Except for this eponymous song, most of the songs of these sessions could have been given new mixes by Norman Whitfield Jr. and Duane Nettlesbey (most of them already included in Out on Bail tracklists). Even "Hard on a Nigga" could be a re-use of the Led Zeppelin sample, firstly intended for a leftover version of "Wonder Why They Call U B-I-T-C-H" (cf. Honor Among Thugz, Volume One sessions), produced by Stretch & Duane Nettlesbey.
Dispute upon the mix of the album ?
All these mixes could have been made between December of 93 and February of 94. In March, 2Pac incorporated new songs to the album produced by Tony Pizarro ("High Til I Die"), Shock G ("Fuck The World" unleaked original ? maybe not a Shock G production but a Stretch one ?) and Choo ("Hold On Be Strong", maybe the real original is also a Stretch production...). Anyway, something seemed to have happened around April of 94, maybe an argument with Shock G about the mixing of the album, maybe sample clearance issues, maybe 2Pac was not satisfied, maybe Interscope decided to delay the album waiting for the justice cases to be over...
Anyway, the album will change its name in May for an anticipated "Me Against The World" (alteration of "Fuck The World", what could reflect the argument with Shock G or simply the fatigue from 2Pac in front of the difficulties for releasing his new album), five months before recording the so-titled song... 2Pac also recorded a new version of "R U Still Down" with Tony Pizarro (circa March) and then gave him the responsibility of mixing his album that will become Stay True.
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1. January of 94 (~). R U Still Down.
We presume it is the first iteration of R U Still Down original project, probably right after the eponymous song was recorded, in January. The song is here between inverted commas... what could indicate that the song was freshly recorded, or it could be not recorded yet, in an earlier state, or why not still in a kind of introduction form (because the long song and its mood doesn't fit very well for the beginning of an album - but the track position is confirmed in the next tracklist...).
Let's notice that "Bury Me A G" is probably here again in its solo version (the featuring has always been written down in earlier tracklists). The group version appears in his solo album since the moment where the collective project Thug Life Original has been scrapped in October. With the signature of the group, maybe, 2Pac didn't need to give his friends a hand in his album. Either, 2Pac was maybe already thinking to have the group version in the Thug Life Vol. 1.
This tracklist contains all the songs of the "Manu" tape, except "Hard on a Nigga" which will be recorded a bit later maybe in February, maybe to replace "Can't Turn Back", which is probably a one time inclusion (even if we don't know the rest of the A-side - low probability to have that song or "Runnin" in it).
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2. February of 94 (~). Untitled
The
photography shows just a part of the tracklist but we have the full list :
7. Hellrazor, 8. Lord Knows, 9. My Only
Fear of Death, 10. Runnin. 11. Where Do We Go From Here Str8 Ballin'
It has only 11 tracks but maybe 2Pac just stopped his list after having changed his mind about "Where Do We Go From Here".
3. Feb. - March '94 (~). Untitled Interscope Project (The "Manu" tape).
The previous tracklist was written not a long time before the "Manu Tape" was recorded. The tape also includes "Hard on a Nigga" but probably does not include the featuring songs ("Runnin'", "Can't Turn Back"). Difficult to imagine these songs in the first side of the tape. Maybe this is the exact time Brown Man recorded a new hook for "Runnin" and 2Pac chose to have the song in Thug Life Vol. 1 (cf. Honor Among Thugz).
Considering that "Temptations", "Death Around The Corner" and "Thugz Get Lonely Too" are in the next tracklist, we assume they were in the A-side of the tape. There is still a space for "Runnin'", "Can't Turn Back" or "Where Do We Go From Here" but we tend to think that it is very likely "Nothing To Lose" (especially with the snippet leaked by Banned labeled as "R U Still Down final mixdown").
Like we explained in our reconstruction of the tracklist, the tape could have only 13 tracks, except if there is also an intro (what is possible considering the next one has 12 tracks, then even 10).
The next tracklist suggests (all lyrics written by T. Shakur) that 2Pac wanted a fully solo album without any guests, whereas Thug Life was a collective project.
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4. End of March 94. R U Still Down.
"High Til I Die", "Hold On Be Strong" and "Fuck The World" entered the list but as well as "Runnin", "Hard on a Nigga" has also disappeared (for good, so sample issue ?). We don't know anything about that early version of "Fuck The World", if it is identical to the leaked OG we have, if it is still a Shock G production, if the song has even been recorded at that time...
"High Til I Die" is the first time Pizarro worked with Tupac (except if the R U Still Down compilation credits are right about "Where Do We Go From Here"). It can be seen as a recreation of the old Thug Life song "High Till I Die" recorded in 93 (cf. Thug Life Demo Tape / Thug Life Original). So since the beginning, Pizarro was involved as a kind of remix engineer.
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5. April of 94 (~). R U Still Down
In this one, 2Pac has dropped "Death Around The Corner" (difficult to understand why) and "Thugz Get Lonely Too" but he will change his mind for that last one.
"R U Still Down" is back in its first position. At that time, the song could be in its "Raise Em Up" Pizarro version but don't think so. That alternate version was probably always aimed for a B-side of the planned eponymous first single of the album (as we can seen written down).
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6. May of 94 (~). Me Against The World.
There we are, the project has changed of title. "Stay True" and "Pain Remix" entered the tracklist (the come back of Stretch who with 2Pac was recording many new songs in March - April for the new Thug Life, maybe for an East part) in replacement of "Hold On Be Strong" and "Fuck The World" which entered the compilation of leftovers Exodus. The first one will come back in Pizarro later sequences (cf. Stay True). The second one will disappeared for a long time until Me Against The World (cf. Fuck The World).
"Out on Bail" and "Thugz Get Lonely Too" returned in. It is maybe at that time 2Pac decided to group the two different sessions of Thug Life (West side with Syke, Johnny J, Macadoshis and Rated R... ; East side with Live Squad, like it is still presented in Volume One back cover).
01. Intro / ????????
- Nothing says if there was an intro. It possibly could be "Hopeless" but it was maybe more intended to be in Thug Life Volume One at that time, maybe as "Thugz Theme". It couldn't be any of Pizarro's Stay True mixtape interludes because they are speeches extracted from songs over new beat, except maybe "Bitchin" which turned into "Death Around The Corner" intro, but it doesn't really fit as an album intro. It could be "Hold On" interlude with the same outro than the released song, which was not included in the mixtape. There is an interlude that mixes "R U Still Down" beat but nothing says if it is an original thing or a fanmade.
- 1993/10 - 1994/01 (~) (alt mixdown). Released in Me Against The World in a very close mix. Probably included in the sequence of the album but erased in the leaked Manu Tape version... Tony Pizarro gave a remix to the song but 2Pac seems to have always preferred the original Easy Mo Bee version.
- Samples :
- Bootsy's Rubber Band - "What's a Phone Bill ?" (melody troncated)
- Zapp - "Computer Love" (bassline/chorus interpolation)
- Avalanche - "Overnight Session" (drums)
- Sly & The Family Stone "Sing a Simple Song" (drums)
- Detroit Emeralds - "You're Getting A Little Too Smart" (drumline partially)
- Redman & Erick Sermon - "Watch Yo Nuggets" (vocals)
- 1993/10-12 (?) - 1994/01 (~) (alt mixdown). Remixed in R U Still Down (1997, Amaru). Probably included in Manu Tape erased part. According to the recently leaked snippet (by Banned of Bomb1st forum ?), this R U Still Down version is another unheard mix, which could have more or less the same beat than Mr. Middle Finger / Cradle2TheGrave versions, but starting by the scratched & background chorus before Pac's first verse. The Pizarro REEL DAT has a "draft mix 3" that has no elements added. It could be very close to this R U Still Down Original version too.
- Samples :
- Mica Paris - "I Wanna Hold on to You" (drumline/melody)
- Ice Cube - "Summer Vacation" (vocals)
- Ice Cube - "Us" (vocals)
- The D.O.C. & N.W.A. - "The Grand Finale" (vocals)
- Dr. Dre - "Chronic Intro" (sampling Gylan Kain of the (Original) Last Poets - "The Shalimar") (vocals)
-
1993/08 - 1993/12 (?) (new mix ?). Awfully remixed in Loyal 2 The Game (2004). Included in Pre-Death Row compilation (cf. F.T.W.). This version has the same vocals than the incomplete mix that can be heard in Cradle2TheGrave tape which sounds exactly like Mr. Middle Finger
snippet. This mix could be the very first take, but it also could have been made for a b-side / radio version (it is a very short mix), or maybe for Original R U Still Down Project, or even later for Thug Life album after 2Pac took off the song from his solo album in May (cf. Stay True). What could explain why it was the chosen mix for the Pre-Death Row compilation album.
- Sample :
- Prince - "If I Was Your Girlfriend (Sign 'O' The Times Tour, 1987)" (melody, vocals)
- 2Pac - "Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z." (vocals interpolation)
- Morris Day & The Time - "Gigolos Get Lonely Too" (vocals)
- 1993/03 - 10 (~) (new lyrics). Released in Me Against The World without the outro short verse and with the interlude "Bitchin'" as an introduction. An original first version of the song (said also with the interlude) was recorded for Thug Life original album circa March of 93 and had alternate lyrics more violent against police, so 2Pac re-recorded the song in the end of 93 after Mr. Middle Finger sessions was scrapped in mid October.
- Samples :
- Kool & The Gang - "Winter Sadness" (bassline / melody)
- Eric B. & Rakim - "I Ain't No Joke" (drums modified)
- The Untouchables (Movie, 1987) (vocals)
- King of New York (Movie, 1990) (vocals)
- American Me (Movie, 1992) (vocals)
- 1993/09 - 1994/01 (~) (alternate mixdown & new lyrics). Fairly remixed in R U Still Down (1997).
Included in the Interscope "Manu" Demo Tape and in pre-Death Row
compilation (cf. F.T.W.). The song would be a re-recorded or remixed version of an unleaked song titled "Dear
Lord" recorded in mid 93 for Mr Middle Finger.
- Samples :
- Eddie Kendricks – "Intimate Friends" (melody)
- Mountain - "Long Red (Live at Woodstock)" (drumline)
- The Five Stairsteps – "Don’t Change Your Love" (drumline)
- Scarface (Movie, 1983) (vocals)
- American Me (Movie, 1992) (vocals)
- 1993/07 - 1994/01 (~) (alternate mixdown and less singing). Included in the Interscope "Manu" Demo Tape. The Me Against The World took back the original arrangement by Brian G but with this light version of the backing singing.
- Samples :
- The Blackbyrds - "All I Ask" (melody)
- 1993/11 - 1994/01 (~) (edit no intro). Remixed in Loyal To The Game (2004). 2Pac
played it live at the MTV Source awards on the 25th of April 1994 (cf. Stay True). The
song was in late 1993 the planned title of his solo album (cf. Out on Bail) before 2Pac recorded "R U Still Down" and gave advanced mixes to his songs. The song disappeared shortly from the solo album tracklists between March and April. Maybe the song has been written after the 1st of Nov. 1993
altercation with the police, 2Pac having spent a short jail time. Rappin' Is Fundamental was Easy Mo
Bee's group, with AB Money & J.R.. They had a good Hip-Hop/R'n'B
album in 91, The Doo-Hop Legacy. LG is the brother of Easy Mo Bee (mainly known for his remix work for Nas "One Nation", Big L "Put It On", and for production work for Sister Souljah, Gza, Double XX Posse, Shaquille O'Neil, Kool Moe Dee, MC Serch and of course Big Daddy Kane).
This version without intro was included in the Interscope "Manu" Demo
Tape (circa Feb. of 94), in Stay True Mixtape, and then in the Pre-Death Row compilation (cf. F.T.W.).
- Samples :
- The Meters – "Oh, Calcutta !" (bassline, melody)
- Freddie Foxxx - "Rev. Glock (D.I.T.C. Version)" (vocals : "got a nice fat glock that he stole from the police")
- 1993/07-09 (?) - 1994/01 (~) (new mixdown). Solo version of the Thug Life song released in Thug Life : Volume 1 (1994, Interscope). Both versions have been said recorded at the same period, probably for a single/b-side (but the solo version could be prior to this because it appears in early tracklists). Solo was firstly intended to be in Mr. Middle Finger album (circa Sept. of 93). Then it is listed as a full Thug Life group song around october-december in Street Fame/Out on Bail tracklists, it then re-appeared as a solo track in early tracklists of R U Still Down. Included in the Interscope "Manu Tape", so 2Pac probably remixed the solo version in early 94 for his solo album but finally decided to include the group version in Thug Life Volume 1. That's why the song disappeared from Stay True tracklists.
- Samples :
- The Isley Brothers - "For The Love of You" (melody)
- The Meters - "Groovy Lady" (drumline)
- 1993/10 - 1994/01 (~) (alternate mixdown). Released in R U Still Down (1997,
Interscope). Slightly different mix than the Cradle2TheGrave Tape rough version of the song. It has less effects in the background. The hook has the famous scratched line of Mental Illness of the Evil Mind Gangstas : "My only fear of death is coming back
reincarnated" (cf. All Hell Breakin' Loose), which could be a strong influence to the Me Against The World tendency to speak about death (even if Original Thug Life album was already speaking about giving honor to fallen comrades ("Pour Out A Lil Liquor", "How Long").
- Samples :
- Gabor Szabo - "Breezin" (melody)
- Detroit Emeralds - "You're Getting A Little Too Smart" (drums)
- ---not sure---Lafayette Afro Rock Band - "Hihache" (drums ?)
- Mental Illness & Evil Mind Gangstas - "Livin' In The Edge" (vocals)
- Thug Life - "Shit Don't Stop (Rough Mix)" (unleaked) (vocals)
- 1994/01 (~). Included in Interscope Manu Tape and then in Pre-Death Row unreleased compilation. The song could be previously planned in concept titles like "All I Got Is Niggaz/Nothing Like Niggaz" in Mr. Middle Finger / Out On Bail tracklists. The recording of the song gave 2Pac a new idea for the title of his solo album, in replacement of "Out on Bail" (which was not a good idea with the two trials running...). It was the first time 2Pac recorded with Shock G since Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.. The Pizarro remix, released in R U Still Down (1997, Amaru), with a new 3rd verse in replacement of the 1st, appears in March-April papers as "Raise Em Up Remix".
- Samples :
- --?---Michael Jackson - "Remember The Time"
- 1993/10 - 1994/01 (~) (short mix & intro speech). Remixed in Me Against The World (1995). This advanced mix has a clean sound, shorter than the
rough mix included in Cradle 2 The Grave Demo Tape, with 2Pac saying a
few words as an intro ("Master Tee, drop a song for my mama"). In Pizarro's retail version, the famous scratched
chorus are replaced by a singing
hook by Reggie Green and Sweet Franklin. Included in the Interscope Manu Tape.
- Samples :
- Joe Sample - "In All My Wildest Dreams" (melody)
- Ice Cube & Yo-Yo - "It's A Man's World" (vocals : "It wouldn't be a damn thing, without a woman)
- Richard Pryor - "Jesse" (taken from Are You Serious ? album) (vocals : "What you say about my mama, hey ?")
- 1994/02 (~). Re-recorded and remixed in August of 94 by Daz with a new Pac verse and Snoop Dogg's backing vocals for Death Row's Murder Was The Case soundtrack (October of 1994, Death Row), but it will be taken off and then intended to be released in F.T.W. and finally released in its remixed version as "Life's So Hard" in Gang Related OST (1997,
Death Row). Included in the Untitled Interscope 94's Demo "Manu" tape, but it was not in the early tracklists of the album. So it has probably been recorded after "R U Still Down" ; the original known date of 93/12 could be for the original Led Zeppelin freestyle and maybe for the "Wonda Why They Call U B-I-T-C-H" Led Zeppelin version (probably aimed for Out On Bail or for Thug Life Volume One sessions).
- samples :
- Led Zeppelin - "Ten Years Gone" ;
- Funkadelic - "Good Old Music"
- 1993/11 - 1994/01 (~) (new mix). Released in Thug Life : Volume 1 (1994) with another intro made with the "Souljah" pitched voice. In comparison of the original rough mix included in Out on Bail, it seems 2Pac recorded a new take of the song with a new intro, with a more quiet voice that can fit with the rest of the R U Still Down mood.
- Samples :
- Bootsy's Rubber Band - "What's a Phone Bill ?" (melody, vocals)
BONUS :
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