- December 93 - March 94 : new mixes for Mr. Middle Finger and Easy Mo Bee sessions and new recordings, to replace songs rejected by Interscope.
- Planned to be released in summer 94. Delayed because of justice cases ? Rumor about a dispute regarding the mix of the album ? New musical direction when Pizarro started to work with 2Pac in March ?
- Supposedly directed by Interscope engineers Duane Nettlesbey & Norman Whitfield Jr., also known as Vibe Tribe.
- The
title of this album was later given to the project of a compilation of
leftover tracks 2Pac was planning to release whilst in prison in 95
(Pre-Death Row compilation, cf. Exodus), what later turned into the first posthumous compilation album released by Amaru.
- main source : demo tape commonly known as the "Manu Tape"
###
The tracklist follows the "Manu" tape, which was very probably the copy
of an existing demo tape if not a promo tape given to some medias circa
March of 94. We completed the tracklist with some expected songs,
according to the handwritten papers. ###
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 (what we know as the "Cradle2TheGrave" Demo Tape, 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 also drop "Wonda Why They Call U Bitch" or to re-record
a softer version - due to the rape case. During the process of finalizing the album, 2Pac notably recorded "R U
Still Down", what gave a new title to his album as much as a new
artistic direction.
It has been said that Interscope rejected the Out On Bail Demo (because of lyrics ? the echoes of them upon the justice cases ? the difficulty of clearing the samples ?). Some elements suggest that Interscope could have given Norman Whitfield Jr. and Duane Nettlesbey - known as Vibe Tribe in the Keep Ya Head Up and Papa'z Song singles - the responsibility of remixing / transforming the rough Demo into a more reasonable album. If Out on Bail was the rough version of the album, R U Still Down would be a proper final mix. This is what was called the Interscope Project.
Follow-up to Strictly 4 : "Are U Still Down, due this summer".
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, the retail one was produced later in July). At that
time, 2Pac could be already thinking to change some tracks comparing to the "Manu" Demo
tape he purposed to Interscope, maybe 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 these changes could have only occurred after something special made 2Pac change his mind about the album. Anyway, 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 a guy named Manu could have over-recorded 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. Out on Bail and Exodus), produced by Stretch & Duane Nettlesbey.
Dispute around the mix of the album ?
All these mixes could have been made between December of 93 and February of 94. In April, 2Pac incorporated new songs 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, there's a rumor about an argument with Shock G upon the mixing of the album... But does he have any responsibility here ? More likely there was a thing with the mix of "R U Still Down", not the song but the whole album itself (so not with Shock G). Maybe sample clearance issues ("Hard on Nigga"), maybe 2Pac was not satisfied ("Nothing To Lose", "Thugz Get Lonely Too"), maybe Interscope decided to delay the album waiting for the justice cases to be over...
Anyway, the album will change its name circa 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/April) and then gave him the responsibility of mixing his album that will become Stay True.
.jpg)
1. Circa mid. Jan. 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, here
between inverted commas... what could indicate that the song was freshly
recorded, or about to be recorded, or in
an earlier state, or why not still in a kind of introduction form
(the
long song and its mood don't fit very well for the beginning of an album
- but this track position is confirmed in further tracklists...). "Hellrazor" (new verse 1), "Death Around The Corner" lyrics turn around exact same topics, words and expressions and were probably recorded just before. Totally new song "Can't Turn Back" is said to be from January...
Let's
notice that "Bury Me A G" is probably again in its solo version
(even if the featuring is only noted for the new song "Can't Turn Back"). The
group version was in his solo album since the moment the Thug Life Original project was scrapped in early October.
With the new Volume 1 group/compilation taking shape, 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.
All the other songs could also be in their Duane Nettlesbey new mix. This tracklist contains all the songs of the "Manu" tape, except "Hard on a Nigga" which will be recorded maybe just a few days later.
2. Late Jan. - early Feb. '94 (~). Untitled Interscope Project ("Manu" tape).
The two following tracklists were written around the same time than this "Manu Tape"
was copied. The tape includes "Hard on a Nigga" but probably
not "Can't Turn Back".
Difficult also to imagine "Runnin" either in the first erased side of the tape but the track order was probably not the final one...
Considering
that "Temptations", "Death Around The Corner" and "Thugz Get Lonely
Too" are in the next tracklists, we assume they are very probably in the A-side erased part of the
tape. If you count tracks and tape duration, there is still space for one or two songs, one and an intro, or a long one (but there would be only 13 tracks). We tend to think that it could be "Runnin" and maybe "Nothing To Lose". Or, like some other tapes ("Get Around" for Troublesome 21, maybe also "Wonda Why" for Out On Bail on Cradle Tape), one of them could have been taken off from the tape but was supposed to be in the final release...
%202.jpg)
3. Circa early Feb. 94 (~). Untitled.
2Pac just stopped writing after having changed his mind about "Where Do We Go From Here". But there was one more track so probably "Bury Me A G" or "Out On Bail" (for sure because in next sequence), "Nothing To Lose" (if the snippet leaked by Banned labeled as "R U Still Down final mixdown" is a mix claimed by Duane Nettlesbey) or eventually "Can't Turn Back" (but probably a one time inclusion).
.png)
3. Circa late Jan. - mid Feb. 94. R U Still Down
This tracklist is very close to the untitled/unfinished one and very close to the "Manu" Tape except that it has only 12 tracks... Maybe 2Pac limited his album because he has to drop "Nothing 2 Lose" (sample issue about the Chronic/Last Poets intro ? Duane Nettlesbey remix not good ?)...The tracklist #5 suggests (all lyrics written by T. Shakur) that 2Pac wanted a fully solo album without any guests, whereas Thug Life was a collective project. So 2Pac was probably already hesitating to switch "Runnin" in Thug Life Vol. 1.
.jpg)
5. End of March 94. R U Still Down.
"High
Til I Die" was probably freshly recorded (19th of March - so the album was already announced to the press). "Hold On Be Strong" and "Fuck The World" also entered the list whereas "Runnin" (given to Volume 1, and so Brown Man made a new hook for it around that time, cf. Honor Among Thugz), "Hard on a Nigga" (for
good, sample issue ?), "Bury Me A G" (group version given to Volume 1) "Nothing To Lose" (new mix unsatisfying ?), and "Out On Bail" (what ? why ?) have disappeared. 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 was already the known Shock G prod.
"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", but Duane Nettlesbey claimed it). It could
be seen as a re-creation 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.
.jpg)
6. 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. The tracklist is reduced to 10 tracks like maybe the Volume 1 at the same time... It could be around the time Nas published his 10 tracks classic Illmatic (19th of April).
"R U Still Down" is back in its first
position. At that time, the song could be in its "Raise Em Up" Pizarro
remix version but we don't think so. That alternate version was probably only
aimed for a B-side of the planned eponymous first single of the album
(like we can see written down in the planned singles & videos page).
.JPG)
7. May of 94 (~). Me Against The World.
There we are, the project has changed of title. "Stay True" and "Pain Remix" entered the tracklist (but recorded earlier circa March for Thug Life album, maybe for an East Side 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 disappear for a long time until Me Against The World (cf. Fuck The World), it has been said there could be a dispute between 2Pac and Shock G but "R U Still Down" was still remaining.
"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 Intro (Dear Father of the Underground) / Shock G ????????
- 1994/01-03 (?). Nothing says if there was an intro to this album. It could possibly be "Hopeless (new mix)" 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 from August. There is this long interlude (1'27) which mixes "R U Still Down" beat
with kind of Soulja sampled voice speaking, but nothing says if it is
an original thing or a fanmade. The first tracklists with the title "R U
Still Down" between commas in first position could indicate that the
track was initially just an introduction before becoming a full song
(but it is not sure at all, the song was set many times in first
position).
- 1993/10 - 1994/01 (~) (alt mixdown ?). Released in Me Against The World in a very close mix. A second of the song indicates that it was included in the erased part of the leaked Manu Tape... The leaked snippet (Banned of Bomb1st) shows that the mix is very similar to the "Cradle2The Grave" tape version and to the retail version. Tony Pizarro gave a remix to the song later in May 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)
- 1994/01 (?) (alt mixdown). Remixed in R U Still Down
(1997, Amaru). Probably included in Manu Tape erased part. A snippet of it was leaked by Banned of Bomb1st Forum with the label "R U Still Down final mix", what probably design this album (we know that for his 95 compilation, 2Pac selected the Pizarro short mix, cf. Pre-Death Row compilation). This version sounds to have more or less the same beat than Mr. Middle Finger / Out On Bail
versions, but starts by the background scratched chorus before
Pac's first verse. So this mix avoid the sample of "The Chronic intro" by Dr. Dre / Gylan Kain of the Original Last Poets
"Like we always do about this time", what was maybe a problem to
be cleared (if we remember the rumor Dr. Dre could have rejected "Pain" from Above The Rim soundtrack because he was dating Natasha Walker who was singing with 2Pac in it).
- 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)
-
1993/07 - 12 (~) (new mix, new vocals). Awfully remixed in Loyal To The Game (2004, Amaru)
with a Nate Dogg chorus instead of the Prince sampled voice, with a Pac's pitched voice to make it more mature. Supposed to be published in R U Still Down (1997) in
an edited version with Tech9ne instead of the Pac's third
verse. This long version with speaking intro and outro - the first
leaked in early Makaveli bootlegs - could be the very first version
recorded for Mr. Middle Finger, version he was singing in live (saying "best friends at your WIFE's house trying to mack her" and not "Woman" like in other version in Pre-Death Row compilation). At the same time, the
outro saying "so you remember that next time you sweatin'
me when I'm on the road, baby, thugs get lonely too, we ain't gotta go
through all this bullshittin' ass problems" could be understood as
referring to what happened to him in late 93 following the Thugz 4 Life tour, around the rape
case and other public troubles... The vocal take sounds less spontaneous, more quiet (closer to "Can't Turn Back, for instance"). So it is more probably a new version recorded by 2Pac over a new clean mix of the beat, this time strictly following the original lyrics. The new intro could be like a reply to the front cover of Vibe magazine in Feb. 94...
- Samples :
- 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)
- 1993/04 - 12 (~) (new lyrics). Released in Me Against The World in a short edit and with the interlude "Bitchin'" as an introduction. A first version of the song (said also with the "Bitchin" interlude) was recorded for Thug Life original album circa March of 93 but with totally different lyrics violent
against police. 2Pac intended to include the song in the end of 93 in his Street Fame / Out On Bail album in October, probably dropped it because of its too violent content, finally re-recorded it for his new project R U Still Down. The lyrics are obviously close to those of "R U Still Down" and "Hellrazor" new first verse.
- 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)
- 1993/07 (?) - 12 (~) (alternate mixdown & new first verse ?). 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 could be a re-recorded version of the unleaked "Dear
Lord", recorded in mid 93 for Mr Middle Finger. We have handwritten lyrics for that song which are similar except for the first verse which is totally different.
- 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 - 1994/01 (~) (alternate mixdown with less singing). Included in the Interscope "Manu" Demo Tape. The Me Against The World took back the original arrangement of Brian G (cf. Out On Bail) but with this light version of the backing singing.
- Samples :
- The Blackbyrds - "All I Ask" (melody)
- 1993 - 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. The song is said to have been written after the opening of the case (about the exchange of fire with the police from the All Saint's day). 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")
- 1993/07-08 (?) - 1994/01 (~) (new mixdown). Solo version of the Thug Life song released in Thug Life : Volume 1 (1994, Interscope). Both versions could have been 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 July 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 Duane probably remixed the solo version in early 94 for the 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 with 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"). 2Pac will reuse this line later during his Death
Row days, especially for a song also titled "My Only Fear of Death (Reincarnation)"
(cf. One Nation pt. 2).
- 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 : "My only fear of death is coming back reincarnated")
- 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" from 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
maybe 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 a May sheet as "Raise Em Up Remix" but was probably made for a B-side to that song which was planned as a single.
- Samples :
- --??---Michael Jackson - "Remember The Time"
- 1993/10 - 1994/01 (~) (short mix & intro speech). Included in the Interscope Manu Tape. 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 will be replaced by a singing
hook by Reggie Green and Sweet Franklin. DJ Assassin said Ice Cube /
Priority refused to clear the sample... what could be the reason for the
retail version to be chosen for the album.
- 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 ?")
- 1993/12 or 1994/01 (~). 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 (because of Dr. Dre ?) and then intended to be released in F.T.W./Me Against The World and finally released 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 1st tracklist 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).
- 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 "Soulja" 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 :
15. Papa'z Song (Dabastard's Original Mix) feat. The Wycked (aka Mopreme) / Big D REMIXED By Stretch & Duane Nettlesbey- 1993/09-12 (?). Released in Papa'z Song (12'') (1994). Duane said Stretch bring him the idea and he produced the thing. Considering the low quality of it - especially compared to the Vibe Tribe Remix, we firstly thought it was an earlier version of the song even maybe before the Striclty 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. version (like the "New York Stretch mix" in the Holla If Ya Hear Me single which was the demo of the released version), or even a reference track for the Kidz album (cf. 2Pacalypse II). This mix has no singing chorus by Poppi, only scratches and 2Pac speaking some words during the hook ("your daddy's home now"). It reminds of some raw songs from that time like "16 on Death Row", "Still Don't Give A Fuck", "Revenge of a Soulja", "Troublesome"... Duane said they tried the same remix with "Keep Ya Head Up" but it never leaked.
- Samples :
- Norman Connors - "You Are My Starship" (bassline)
- Skull Snaps - "It's A New Day" (drumline)
- Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)" (vocals interpolation : "my biological didn't bother, yeah")
- 1994/02/23. Duane was asked to remix the song for the forthcoming live at the Appolo.
No comments:
Post a Comment