- January - April '96 : second Death Row solo album sessions, almost entirely produced by Johnny J !!!
- It's Me Against The World, part 2 ! After the release of the gangsta Bay Area oriented rap party of All Eyez On Me, and following the departure of his stepbrother Mopreme and the deadlock of the supergroup projects Thug Life Volume II / Thug Pound, 2Pac wanted his new solo project to have very few featured artists, to be more introspective, political and positive about women, an album about the true Tupac, his panther origin, his blues & soul background...
- What happened ? The 19th of April, 2Pac was announcing his forthcoming album to Sway... Is it because key tracks couldn't make the final tracklist (sample issues, tracks sold to Hammer and Syke, Big Syke signing in another label) ? Is it because 2Pac was taken by his demons of dissing and chose to make the mafioso Outlawz album instead ? Is it because 2Pac wanted to invest his efforts into Gridlock'd soundtrack project ?
- Until The End of Time Amaru posthumous compilation could be considered as the closest attempt to respect that project (with 12 tracks from it - many others in Better Dayz).
- Sources : handwritten tracklists
"And my mission is to be more than just a rap musician"
2Pac, "Unconditional Love".
### There are no known material sequence for the project... We chose to follow the "New Shit" tracklist, which gathers most of these sessions, just before it began to turn into an Outlawz LP with the addition of "Made Niggaz" and the disappearance of "Unconditional Love" in mid April. The demo disc follows the first "All New Heat" tracklist. ###
Euthanasia Supreme : Me Against The World pt. 2 - LISTEN
- Producer - Johnny J, except tracks #10 by DJ Quik #12 by Hurt-M-Badd, bonus #18 by Mike Mosley
- * "Everything They Owe" might have been recorded as an introduction. It illustrates very well the photoset (with the donkey) 2Pac had with Dave LaChapelle on the first days of April (date of recording of the song).
- Bonus Track #15 : we don't know when the song was given/sold to Syke, but it was a very important part of the album so it is impossible to imagine the album without it.
- Bonus Track #16 : could be an early version of "Troublesome" or "Made Niggaz".
- Bonus Track #17 : "Hit 'Em Up (Final Mix)" version of the song was more likely aimed for Outlawz LP (cf. Immortalz). At the time of that, the song may not have the "Make Money" singing added (probably the 19th of April).
- Bonus Track #18 :
Bonus Disc : All New Heat (Demo Collection) - LISTEN
17. Lil Homies (First Take) feat. Danny Boy & Nanci Fletcher
- Producer - Johnny J, except for "Wordz 2 My First Born" by DJ Quik and "Ghetto Star (First Take)" by Go-Twice
"Rough Mix" refers to the early mix of the song, quite similar to the final mixdown, usually a bit longer.
Michael O'Neill photoset (Jan. 96, the 14th)
Taken during the recordings of the Thug Pound project, however it depicts Tupac alone, sometimes with Suge and Snoop, with many elements reminding of All Eyez of Me (leather breastplate, the Death Row chain, the watch...). One month before the official release of the album, maybe at a time they were considered as another possibility for the covers of it.
One week later, 2Pac was recording first songs for his new solo, so this photoset is more or less appropriate for it, even if the mood and grimace of Tupac do not well announce the kind of contain it will have.
ME AGAINST THE WORLD, PART 2
At the opposite of the dark, intimate mood of Me Against The World (talking to his mother, God, thinking about his death...), All Eyez on Me was provocative, partying, full of featurings, directly adressed to the mediatic world, to the fans, to the girls... In the beginning of 96, right after having published All Eyez on Me and having recorded many tracks for a Thug Life Volume 2 album with the Outlaw Immortalz, and some other for the Thug Pound project, 2Pac started to record new songs for his next solo album. 2Pac announced the kind of album he wanted in his interview with Sway the 19th of April 1996 (for the KMEL Westside Radio Program) :
"I
just did a remix to "What's Your Phone Number" with all new lyrics. We
took that MC Lyte beat from her new song she has out, "Keep On Movin'
Up." It's so freaky you won't believe it. I got a whole new album out...
waiting for the sound track. It's clean... all positive... all in the
vein of songs like "Keep
Your Head Up" and "Brenda's Got A Baby"... It's that type of stuff. I
just put out a hardcore double album... and next I'm gonna put out an
introspective album... It'll be like a Me Against The World pt 2. That's what I think my fans are looking for. I'm gonna
show that I appreciate your support."
Interview with Sway (part known as "Final Projects"), the 19th of April '96
But "Me Against The World pt. 2" could not be the final title, it was just for describing the context : there was probably no title chosen at the time of the interview. 2Pac was still searching for the right title (so it was made a bit before 2Pac penned 100% Black Gold tracklist). And we will see why we can consider "Euthanasia" as the final title that project could have received...
Euthanasia was the prison project... All Eyez On Me is a kind of intermediary compilation...
In 1995, 2Pac was in prison, already conceiving a new concept album to follow the release of Me Against The World (the 14th of March), throwing down drafts of tracklist for an album number IV. It received various titles : "Hard 2 Kill", "Blackfire", "Only Time Will Tell", "Scared Man Can't Win". Like one can see, the topics were more about feelings of death, fear, revenge, black pride, time going by... Being in prison for a certain time, 2Pac decided to firstly release a lost tracks compilation which became the intermediate album project number IV. And the new concept album became number V with titles composed around "Euthanasia" (more than 20 tracklists)...
Thanks to Death Row, 2Pac was freed earlier than expected and started to record a new album in order publish it quickly instead of his lost tracks compilation. The project went by the titles of "When I Get Free" (a title used for the compilation project initially subtitled "1992-1996 Lost Trax"), "Life Goes On" (again the topic of death and time), "Euthanasia" and finally "All Eyez On Me".
For reasons of efficiency, 2Pac
re-recorded some ole tracks like "When I Get Free", "Wonder Why They
Call U Bytch", recorded kind of follow-up to old tracks like "Holla At Me",
"No More Pain" ("Holler If Ya Hear Me" "Pain"), replaced other people's
verses in already existing songs ("California Love", "Can't C Me", "Got
My Mind Made Up"), and moreover he invited a lot of friends - notably
the Bay Area, Dramacydal and Thug Life - to record with him a kind of
partying album and to promote further projects (like Thug Life Volume II).
If All Eyez On Me keeps some elements from the first ideas for his solo album like "Life Goes On", "Heartz of Men", "Only God Can Judge Me"... But is widely a recycling and partying album. A compilation. So the planned album number IV.
Also, some of the concept tracks appear in the original drafts before All Eyez on Me, will be finally recorded after during these sessions : "Until The End Of Time", "Everything They Owe", "Hard 2 Kill" (we have lyrics), "Ballad of the Caged Bird" ("Dead Soulja"), "Secretz of War" (re-recorded for the album), "Hold Ya Head" ("Baby Don't Cry"), "Too Late", "Mama'z Just A Little Girl"... This album V is the resumption of the original ideas 2Pac conceived in prison for a new album.
Why "Euthanasia Supreme" is the perfect title ?
And not "All New Heat", "Gridlock'd Solo", "New Shit", "100% Black Gold" ? Firstly because the known written tracklist titles are undeniably ugly ! and because they are obviously ephemeral. "new heat" evokes a sort of wind of renew and the heat of the riots, the ghetto rebellion... "new shit" could say that what the ghetto people is doing, rap music, is shit for the white supremacist culture, but is by antiphrasis good shit for black people, like good weed / good stuff. "100% black gold" evokes the gold rush and for a new fever for a gold from a very high quality and also the re-attribution of positive connotations to the color black initiated for instance by Malcolm X or James Brown. But with "100%" it also sounds like an advertisement for food... None of them hold the comparison to a complex concept like "euthanasia"...
"Euthanasia" is a word from ancient Greek eu=good, thanatos=death. Initially, it depicts a spiritual thought about the meaning of life and death. It is the achievement of a lifetime, the conclusion of a good life by a peaceful death. In a modern sense, it is a suicide to put an end to an unbearable pain... In a metaphoric sense, 2Pac had no critical illness but went through difficult circumstances : poverty, his mother's drug problems, police brutality, his responsibility in the death a young boy (Qa'id), hate of medias, death of friends, betrayal of others, gunshot wounds, prison... The black people he represents has that kind of life. If you can't obtain a good life, can you get a good death at least ? Moreover, it is the logic outcome of the thought he expressed in "My only fear of death (is reincarnation)" in the end of 93, consecutively to the suicide of Thug Life's friend Mental Illness (the sentence itself is a quote from Mental). 2Pac doesn't want a second life after death, he wants everything being stopped. Peace at last. In a philosophical way, the death is a good medicine to a life of struggle and suffering.
Euthanasia + Love Supreme = Euthanasia Supreme ?
"Euthanasia" has been used ten to twenty times before and during the recordings of All Eyez on Me, so that it was initially known as the title of the All Eyez On Me (Euphanasia Demo Tape) circa November 95. It was normal that after All Eyez On Me being released, the concept came back. It was given in late April for the first Outlawz LP tracklist to include songs taken from his solo project. 7 songs will end up in it : Hit em Up, Made Niggaz, Troublesome, Never Call U Bitch Again, Secretz of War, Fuckin Wit the Wrong Nigga, Who Do U Believe In (cf. Immortalz). So, at the end of his second Death Row solo album short lived project, he was thinking again to "Euthanasia" as a good title. But the title manifestly didn't fit for the Outlawz project (more about mafia, gang war...).
This title is clearly the evolution of a concept Tupac wanted to develop for a long time : "My Only Fear of Death (is reincarnation)", Amerikkka
eats its Young, KKKrucified... which evolves for his next planned album after Me Against The World
to Amerikaz Euthanasia, Ethernal Euthanasia, Euthanasia Syndrom, Silent
Euthanasia, Secretz of Euthanasia, Supreme Euthanasia, Euthanasia
Supreme and Euthanasia... So it makes a strong link
with Me Against The World.
Lastly, "Euthanasia Supreme" obviously is a wonderful dedicatory nod to "Love Supreme", the famous album of John Coltrane. Album which Coltrane said to have recorded after a spiritual awakening in 1965, and in order to give back love to the people around. Exactly the kind of things 2Pac says in his interview with Sway... Therefore, this wink to a jazz classic perfectly fits the instrumentation vibe of this album orchestrated by Johnny J, and to its intimate mood.
Not many tracks,
very few guests. Like the titles of the album can
indicate, most of the tracks have soul feeling, singing chorus or even a
touch of Jazz. The lyrics also show some kind of blues touch. Most of
the
tracks here have been produced by Johnny J. The only exception to this
sound direction is clearly "Hit
em Up". And this was probably the "snake in the grass" for such a
project...
David LaChappelle's "Becoming clean" - A very surprising photo set
This
set of pictures by David LaChapelle can make laugh at first sight, like
with this donkey, and maybe even more with the bath pictures... There is a
video footage of the days they made this shooting (cf. YT video).
But, these pictures with the donkey in the fields of course remind of the slavery times, the very harsh and unacceptable condition of black people in the past. If things and decor have changed a lot since these times, if some of them like 2Pac have become superstars, there is still remaining a very unfair condition for most black men and women in America. The fight to improve the condition of the black community is of course the original goal of the Black Panther party, whose 2Pac is the descendant, by his mother and his father in law. Thinking about his rap name - not his civil first name but a second baptism after the name of a famous Inca revolutionary...
So this picture draws a parallel with the old times, the image of the origin of American black people, a parallel between the struggle for ending the slavery and the more recent struggle for a decent life for black people. Very funny touch on this picture, Tupac's bandana does not seem to be out of place at all for a slave laborer...
From a poor extraction, 2Pac became an iconic superstar. Pictures naked with gold in the bathtub depict that period of success, but this led him to many troubles... So after the "All Eyez on Me" album, very gangster oriented, he thought to come back to a different side of him, to get rid of that scandalous image of him. That's the idea behind the bath pictures.
“Tupac was great, he was very sensitive and is truly a good person. I
wrote to his mum when he died and she sent me flowers and gave me his
last song, Ghetto Gospel. When we did the shoot, he had just come out of
prison and every shot has a reason, it’s never random, so this was the
idea of the photo shoot, him becoming clean. He had given this interview
when he was still in prison and he really opened up and was so honest. I
had read it and thought it was so truthful so for the work I did with
him, there was this idea of washing away and rebirth. And we did another shoot where he posed as a slave on a
cotton field. They traced rapping and rhyming to “call and repeat”
during slavery time in sugar cane and cotton fields to pass the time.
It’s on the Hotel LaChapelle book. Tupac came to the shoot 2 hours
early, which was very unusual for a rapper. So I wasn’t ready for the
shoot and he didn’t care. He reminded me of my black friends whom I went
to art schools with, he was so cool, open-minded and chill. He wasn’t
judgemental. Then later on, I found out that he had gone to an art
school. He left behind a big bag of socks and underwear because he had
just come out from prison and never picked it up. He died shortly after.
I still wear his socks sometimes (laughs).”
– David LaChapelle
"becoming clean", by Dave LaChapelle (1st and 2nd of April)
These half naked pictures are also often described as a kind of gay oriented thing... It has more likely to be regarded as a kind of Madonna provocative thing. Tupac was an actor and had love for being in a role, he has nothing against nudity (let's remember the pictures/videos of him in leopard slip backing the Digitial Underground). He was also proud of his black body, and enjoyed to dress in the most fanciful way. David LaChapelle was known for his capture of nudity, and his orientation was probably not a secret at that time. But as Danny Boy declared in a recent interview, Tupac would have nothing against him being gay (when he dissed Dr. Dre as being gay, it sounds very clumsy nowadays but it is because he was lying about himself and about things he was doing when he was in Death Row, not because he was gay or not).
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After
having washed himself, it is like 2Pac was a new himself, a true
himself, a changed man... Like Jesus said, the man has to come to a rebirth to become fully a man, to be welcome at the side of God... To be ready for the achievement of life : a good death.
(LaChapelle set) 2Pac is here depicted as black Jesus,
three months before the beginning of Killuminati recordings
almost the same position than the bath picture...
like if 2Pac had changed from a shining pop star
to a prophet close to the God...
ME AGAINST THE WORLD Pt. 2 Timeline
1. Circa the 8th of March '96. "All New Heat" (brackets c. mid April).
Every tracks listed were recorded between late January and the 10th of March ("Thug In Me", recorded the 11th of April, is not here). Some elements could indicate that "Thugz Mansion (Full Version)", "Breathin feat. Kadafi, Edi & GBM", and maybe "My Closest Road Dawg (2 Syke verses)" were not recorded at the time of the list... Maybe some other tracks like "First Born" (the 5th or the 8th of March) and "Ride on Our Enemies" (the 7th) could be still to record... But this tracklist is more likely from the 8th of March.
2Pac returned later on it to think about what he will do with each song, maybe in the second half of April (at the time of "100% Black Gold" tracklist - where he scratched Nutt-So featuring, or even later when he totally dropped the project...).
This is a time where there could be an hesitation upon a new name for Dramacydal or Dramacydal+Syke group : Lil' Homies (in the eponymous song and also in "Hit Em Up") or Outlawz (clearly in "Secretz of War 2 (New recording no Kurupt)" and "Made Niggaz") and before Syke signed outside of Death Row (I think he could be part of the group until "Good Life").
- "Unconditional Love (sell 2 Hammer)" - the song was only taken off from his solo project in the last tracklist we have, mid April. So it confirms that 2Pac recorded the song for himself and then decided to sell it to Hammer 2 months later - so after Gridlock'd tracklist. It was IN NO WAY a reference track.
- "Wordz 2 My First Born w/ Nutt-So" became a Soundtrack song maybe when 2Pac chose the solo mix for his "100% Black Gold" solo album (Nutt-So's name biffed - maybe to have less features). - or it is when 2Pac thought to have his solo album as a Gridlock'd part...
- "Until The End of Time (sell 2 Syke)", probably when Syke initially planned to record his album on Death Row. Maybe the time Syke recorded his parts for "My Closest Road Dawg"... before the 25th of March...
- "Friend Like Me (B-Side)". The song appears in all following tracklists so for this brackets addition could be after 2Pac scratched the whole solo album...
- "Closest Road Dog w/ Syke (Compilation)". Not his solo album ? Which compilation ? Is 2Pac speaking about the Gridlock'd Rap part ? Possibly, so after he had left, he would be like other external artists in the compilation.
- "Thug Mansion w/ Lil Homies (Lil Homies)" - The Outlawz were probably called Lil' Homies in Feb. - mid April or it eventually became the first title of Outlawz LP in April... Is there a mistake with "Breathin" ? Or maybe 2Pac thought to give the song to them (with new beat and a new chorus : "Heaven or Hell" and "Heaven Got A Ghetto" in first Outlawz 1st LP tracklists.
- "Who Do U Believe (Soundtrack)". The track will be in all following tracklists, then aimed for Gridlock'd soundtrack in late April. Not in first Outlawz album tracklists, only added to it in May... Big Pimpin is not credited here but he can be considered as a chorus voice so it does not confirm anything (6 Feet is credited but not Eboni Foster, Nanci Fletcher, Danny Boy nor Nate Dogg...!!). He could have been added specifically for the soundtrack...
- "Breathin (B-Side)". For which single ? The tracklist does not mention any featured artists, neither the Gangsta Bytch Mentality nor the Outlawz/Lil Homies... It it possible that 2Pac inverted with Thug Mansion ? But he hadn't to correct the credits when he added things in brackets. So could be for a Gridlock'd single or for an Outlawz then titled Lil Homiez album single...
- "Ride on Our Enemies" - probably already dropped, no need any details.
- "When Thugz Cry" - very important track, would he have given it also to the soundtrack ? Was there a sample issue with that song ?
- "Changed Man w/ Syke". Nate Dogg not credited ? - The song could have been also given to Gridlock'd soundtrack...
- "Never Call U B... Again" - no Danny Boy. The song was added in early May to the Outlawz 1st album sequence.
2. Mid March. "2Pac" on side of "Gridlock Rap Soundtrack".
Something is not perfectly clear here. Is there only one soundtrack
double album project (a soul soundtrack and a rap soundtrack with a solo
part and a guest part) ? or 2Pac wrote down all his projects on the same sheet : two
related to the soundtrack and his solo album ?
"Troublesome 96/97" appears here, probably not recorded yet (the hesitation made us think it could be the first appearance of the concept). Interesting to notice that 2Pac was considering to invite Wu-Tang (no surprise), Goodie Mob (both last names will be planned guests in One Nation tracklists), Busta Rhymes (finally biffed because of his friendship with Biggie), The G(h)et(t)o Boys (what he will do in August with "Smile") and (Lady of) Rage. He recorded with the last one the first version of "Rock On (Big Bad Lady)" the 7th of March (were they reconciled after a possible dispute in November around "Got My Mind Made Up" or "Blunt Time", or anecdotal thing Rage told recently ?). A Nate Dogg feature could be "Never Leave Me Alone" or "Me & My Homies", or even "Teardrops & Closed Caskets".
In the soundtrack, we may notice 2Pac's usual singing partners : Jewell, Michel'le, Danny Boy, 6 Feet Deep. Nate Dogg is scrapped and put to the rap soundtrack part. It would lack Tyrone Wrice aka Hurt-M-Badd, Nanci Fletcher and why not Stacey Smallie - even if she was probably there only in 95 (Val Young not yet . 2Pac considers to have a song from Jo(h)n B. He will finally record "Are You Still Down" over Tongue Kissing instrumental at the end of April. What a strange thing to think that 2Pac had much love for Alanis Morrissette ! It has been said they planned to open a restaurant together with Suge Knight ! OK they give the same energy in their singing.
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3. Circa first days of April. Untitled (Me Against The World pt. 2 ?).
Here there is still "Thugz Mansion" (the full solo song is then recorded for sure). "Fuckin With The Wrong Nigga" (25th of March) and "Thug N Me" (11th) are also added. "Troublesome 96" is probably still a concept title 2Pac is planning to record (it has this "96" subtitle).
2Pac has included new versions of "Hit Em Up" and "Secretz of War", two Outlawz featurings... They kind of replace the diss song "When We Ride on Enemies" (which was fitting more to a solo project... but maybe less to the mood of the album than "Secretz of War" which was originally in the prison drafts for the Euthanasia album - but what about "Hit Em Up" ?...). Maybe it means the Thug Life Volume 2 album with "Secretz of War (Kurupt Version)" is definitely dropped, maybe because of a kind of discord between 2Pac and the Dogg Pound. Maybe 2Pac starting to give dissing lines everywhere to everybody helped to grow troubles between them. Maybe there was a thing around the leaving of Dr. Dre from Death Row...
I would say that this tracklist has been written down right after the recordings of "Fuckin Wit The Wrong Nigga" (the 25th) and "Hit Em Up" (the 29th), maybe after "Everything They Owe" (the 2nd of April) which could be the listed intro...
4. Between the 8th and the 15th of April. "New Shit".
Mostly the same tracks, with only the addition of "Changed Man" (which was biffed n the previous tracklist) and the mysterious "Fuckin With The Wrong Nigga part 2"... What could it be ? We sometimes think it is "Tongue Kissing" because these words appear at the end of two verses but it is still strange... Probably it was still just a concept title at that time. This time, "Troublesome" has its title fixed without "96" so it is probably recorded.
The tracklist does not include some songs that could be recorded at that time : "Good Life" (Lil Homiez album ?), "Happy Home" (Gridlock'd Soul side), "Everything They Owe" (Intro ?). However, it is for sure the strongest tracklist we have for this solo project with most of the key tracks, with only one Outlawz featuring, one Syke/Nate Dogg, one Nutt-So, one Kadafi... From the other tracklists, it lacks "Me and My closest Road Dawg" (finally recorded as a Syke song), "Breathin" (recorded with Outalwz and Gangsta Bitch Mentality, so more likely for a compilation/group project), "Ride on our Enemies" (here replaced by "Hit Em Up").
The most regrettable absence is "Until The End of Time" which was probably sold to Syke in mid April... (does he have recorded a version of the song in Death Row ? for T.N.T. records ?).
This tracklist (maybe the previous one) could correspond to the time 2Pac
announced Me Against The World pt. 2 in an interview with Sway (after that he would have given the planned title, "Black Gold" or "Euthanasia").
5. Circa mid April. "100% Black Gold".
"Made Niggaz" would have been recorded around the 15-16th of April (it could be later in fact, circa end of April - or just the "Criminal Timez" version - awaiting for Outlawz ?). The name of Nutt-So is biffed from "Wordz 2 My First Born" features (so 2Pac finally wanted the solo version and keep the Nutt-So version for the soundtrack like it is noted in All New Heat tracklist). Maybe 2Pac chose to have less featurings (Outlawz being him extended...) ; "Unconditional Love" and "Thug Mansion" are off (sold and maybe rejected due to a sample issue ? given to Hammer and Outlawz ?). No more "Changed Man". This time Syke is totally removed.
We are probably very close to the end of that solo project... but probably before the recording of "Tongue Kissin'" (the 15th of April) still appearing here as its original concept title.
This tracklist fits much less to the description of the album 2Pac gave to Sway. The inclusion of "Made Niggaz" and the drop of "Unconditional Love" and "Thugz Mansion" are definitely a bad thing for the cohesion of the project... It is also possible 2Pac had some sample issues with "Thug In Me" (what could explain the K-Ci & Jojo version - even if it was maybe more a B-Side), "Thugz Mansion" and with "When Thugz Cry" (the "Fragile" Sting sample is said to have been a problem - that's why it was replayed in Makaveli sessions).
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6. Circa the 24th of April. "Euthanasia".
In this Outlawz LP tracklist, we can see "Can Be Touched", "Last Nigga Left" (recorded the 24th of April) but not "Don't Cry" (the 29th) neither any other songs recorded later ("Through My Rearview", "Don't Go 2 Sleep"...).
"Hold Ya Head", "Thug Love" are of course just concept titles. There are many concept titles here (and 2Pac completes the project with some old Thug Life 2 tracks : "Enemies With Me" (recorded ?), "What"z Next", "There U Go" - there could be a Johnny J remix without Syke made in late April right before he left the label...). The previous Outlawz tracklists with 12 and 7 tracks were also
full of concept unrecorded (except "Soon As I Get Home" in both, "U Can
Be Touched" and "Last Onez Left" in second one). They have no titles.
So this tracklist is the first draft of the Outlawz project after 2Pac has transferred his solo album tracks (here 3 songs "Hit Em Up", "Made Niggaz" and "Troublesome" + "Secretz of War" which also appeared in one tracklist of it). He will add 2 other tracks from his solo album in the next Outlawz "This Game of Thug" tracklist : "Never Call U Bitch", "Wrong Nigga". And one more ("Who Do U Believe In") in untitled one.
The title "Euthanasia" will not be written down in next untitled tracklists. And 2Pac will finally chose "The Hunger" in June (or July) and then "Immortalz" in July (like noted in some Killuminati tracklists down page.
So the beloved title didn't fit with the Outlawz album project... Euthanasia could rather be the title of the solo album right before 2Pac scratched it...
What happened ? Why did 2Pac decide to scrap the whole project ?
In the All New Heat tracklist added notes, you can see how the full project seems to have been destroyed : "Unconditional Love" sold to MC Hammer, "Until The End of Time" sold to Syke, "My Closest Road Dog" intended to a compilation (finally given to Syke), "Wordz 2" and "Who Do U Believe In" to a soundtrack (probably Gridlock'd), "Breathin" and "Friend Like Me" to b-sides... We know that "Tongue Kissin'" beat was used for the song the 15th of April has been also sold/given to Jon B (circa the 24th of April ? or later, probably not because it implied Johnny J agreement)...
Of course, Syke decided to sign in for another label, making his songs finally disappear from Pac's projects (like said in "Fuckin' Wit' The Wrong Nigga" recorded the 25th of March but the intro was maybe added later) but he still recorded "Good Life" with Pac the 31st of March... Maybe in the beginning that was not a problem for Tupac but Suge eventually explained he didn't want to pay for him...
Probably 2Pac and Johnny J also had troubles with the samples of "Thugz Mansion", "Thug In Me" and "When Thugz Cry". And Johnny J was still complaining about his royalties (what could also Syke and Mopreme have done before him). Johnny J was probably very pissed when he saw how 2Pac dropped their project, it could also have decided him to leave the label...
This project will never see the light, only "Hit 'em Up" will be released as a b-side of How Do U Want It single in June but as a part of Outlawz project. Everything is like if this album project has totally vanished. Like if 2Pac decided to scrap that intimate part of himself... maybe because the feud with Notorious B.I.G., Bad Boys, Mobb Deep and others... became more violent to release a "Love Supreme" sound alike project.
DETAILED TRACKLIST
(Special thanks to Bomb1st members Filla and Dominator for samples credits)
DISC ONE : EUTHANASIA SUPREME
- 1996/04/02. Remixed in Until The End of Time (2001).
The concept already appeared in his first drafts in prison for a new IV-V album (cf. When I Get Free). It re-uses the music of Johnny J's song "It's a Wonderful Day" from his solo album I Gotta Be Me
(1994, Shade Tree). There are 3 leaked mixes : one long with a mix error, one whose duration is 2'55 and one short mix of 2'35 (probably the final mix). The topic of the song clearly illustrates the photoset with David LaChapelle (1st and 2nd of April) with the donkey. Political
and historical lyrics about slavery, but an alternative title could be
"Nightmare" like depicted in the song. Tupac is like a nightmare to the white supremacists, so that song could be seen as an introduction to "Troublesome" - song that was initially subtitled "Bishop's Theme" (after his Juice movie character), depicting a young black male turning crazy. There is a date of
recording for a song titled like that the 11th of January but it would
be a different recording because it really fits this era (that REEL date
could correspond to another song like "Homeboyz" or "First 2 Bomb").
- Samples :
- Bill Withers – "Make Love To Your Mind" (melody)
-
1996/04/08. Released in an alternate mix in Greatest Hits (1998). But this early version doesn't have the "lalala" chorus. And it also doesn't have
the "Criminal Timez Verse" playing backwards during the first verse of
the song. Is it the first or the second version of the song ? The empty
chorus sounds like many songs of February-April unfinished Pac solo but the
cleaned mix and the shorter version indicate that it could eventually be an
advanced mix of the song (but still unfinished ?). Another point is that 2Pac did not give the "96" title which appears in early tracklists - when the song is probably not recorded yet - but not in the two last.
- Samples :
03. Never Had A Friend Like Me (Rough Mix) / Johnny J
- 1996/02/04. Released in Gridlock'd OST (1997). A bit longer than the retail mix.
- Samples :
- Quincy Jones - "The Secret Garden" (rhodes, bassline interpolation)
- 1996/02/01. Remixed in Until The End of Time (2001). This version doesn't have the speach dissing Nas at the end. The
voice take is also different from the Makaveli version (in the third verse
he says "triggery" instead of "misery"). This is second time 2Pac tries to
use this Sting sample (after "Black Cotton"). He will re-record the song in July for Makaveli
album (cf. Makaveli sessions).
- Samples :
- Prince - "When Doves Cry" (concept)
- Sting - "Fragile" (melody)
- 1996/03/25. Released in Until The End of Time (2001) without major changes. 2Pac says something to Big Syke about his recent signature to another label in the introduction of this take of the song ("Yo, Syke, do I need clearance from your record company to use your name or shit?"). It means the 25th of March could be the exact date Syke signed on another label (T.N.T. Records, the label of 2Pac for his first two albums). The song will reappear in Outlawz Immortalz LP tracklists.
-
1996/02/01. Released in Greatest Hits (1998). Slightly shorter than the rough mix. The song was part of 2Pac's new solo project on 4 of the 5 available tracklists from February to mid April, so it clearly means that the song was in NO WAY a reference track for MC Hammer but a solo track very appreciated by 2Pac. Like written down in "All New Heat" tracklist, the song was probably sold to him in mid April (the time of the "100% Black Gold" tracklist, after the recording of "Made Niggaz"), more than two months after having been recorded. It is clear that after he sold the song, the album totally fell down. It was the first stone of it, the first record. What really happened ? Was it a generous gift to a friend ? Did Suge asked 2Pac to sell the song to Hammer ? Was 2Pac in search for money in the perspective of the justice troubles yet to come ? After that selling, it seems like he and Hammer didn't work together again...
- Samples :
- Bell & James - "Just Can't Get Enough (Of Your Love)" (melody)
-
1996/02/21. Remixed in Better Dayz (2002, Amaru). The title could be an allusion to the movie Carlito's Way (Brian de
Palma, 1993), where the character played by Al Pacino claimed to the court at the beginning of
the movie that he is a "changed man", that the penitentiary has changed
him... Nobody even his lawyer believed him but it is true, the ex-gangster wants to change his way of living, prepares everything to do good from now on, but he is caught up by a mistake from his past and dies violently... Topic of the song also fits to the David LaChapelle photoset with the pics of 2Pac washing his dirty side... It seems 2Pac had much love for the Nate Dogg singing since "How Long Will You Mourn Me", wanting to have one of his chorus in each of his projects ("Skandalous" and "All About U" in All Eyez On Me, "Teardrops and Closed Caskets" in Thug Life Volume II, maybe "Me & My Homies" in Thug Pound)
- Sample :
- Raydio - "Hot Stuff" (melody, bassline)
- 1996/03/11. There is a second version with a new music and K-Ci & Jojo at the chorus known under the title "Thug N Me Thug N U", which will be fairly remixed in Until The End of Time (2001). Maybe they couldn't clear the sample for that song so that's why they try to record a new version with K-Ci & Jojo over a new beat, but it couldn't fit that project anymore. Another reason for that album to be scratched... There are various mixes of the song : a long 5'23 (the rough mix) and one short 5'14 mix with many effects on the voices.
- Samples :
- Michael Jackson - "Liberian Girl" (melody)
- Young & Company - "I Like What You're Doin' To Me" (vocals interpolation)
- 1996/02/26. Remixed in Better Dayz (2002). The concept already appeared in his first drafts in prison for a new IV-V album (cf. When I Get Free). This version doesn't have a chorus. There is also a "Death Row Remix" (is it legit ? is it from the time 2Pac was alive ?) with a very famous sample and Danny Boy at the chorus.
- Samples :
- Sade - "Jezebel" (melody interpolation)
10. Wordz To My First Born feat. Nutt-So / DJ Quik
- 1996/03/07-08. Released in Nutt-So's Betrayal (1996, Nutty's Playhouse). Remixed in Until The End of Time (2001).
Nothing is sure about the chronological order of this song's versions.
Usually, the longest mix is an early mix (shorten by the final mix),
here "Things R Changing version" is the shortest (what is logical because it does not have Nutt-So's verse), but it sounds like a first take. The second shortest is the incomplete mix with Nutt-So added but without the chorus nor the sax... In the late "100% Black Gold" tracklist, 2Pac scratched Nutt-So's name so he decided at that specific time to give the featuring version to the soundtrack and to have the original solo version for his solo album (probably to have less featurings after the inclusion of two Outlawz songs...). We chose to keep the Nutt-So version in this album because it is the more finalized mix, and it was intended for this album most of the time - in 100% Black Gold tracklist the album is already turning into Outlawz LP...
- Samples :
- Maze – "Ain’t It Strange" (melody interpolation)
- Sly & The Family Stone - "Everyday People" (vocals interpolation)
- Al Jarreau – "So Good" (sax interpolation)
11. Thugz Mansion / Johnny J
- 1996/02/19. Remixed in Better Dayz. Like the first take of the song, this version
doesn't have a chorus. It seems that 2Pac changed his mind and decided
to record a solo version (written w/ Lil'Homies in "All New Heat" tracklist). It is usually said the sample was impossible to clear. That could be another reason for dropping the project...
- Samples :
- Bill Weathers - "Lean on Me" (melody interpolation)
12. Tongue Kissin' (Set It Free) / Johnny J
- 1996/04/15. The music has been later given to Jon B for "Are You Still Down" (maybe in May or July), song released in his album Cool Relax (1997). 2Pac is saying "fuckin' wit the wrong nigga" at the end of his second and third verses, so it is often thought to be the planned second part which appears in last tracklists (at the time it wasn't recorded yet). Last song recorded for the album ? It could say something about the time 2Pac scratched the project...
13. Never Call U Bitch Again (No Chorus) / Johnny J
- 1996/01/31 - 02/26 (?) (new beat). Remixed in Better Dayz
(2002). This version doesn't have a chorus exactly like "Mama's Just a Little
Girl", "Troublesome 96", "Thugz Mansion", "Wordz 2 My First Born". It emphasizes the idea of a more musical album with less guest, less singing... The original 01/31 date is very probably the date of the version with the exact same
music and Danny Boy chorus than "Never Be Peace" recorded one day
earlier.
- Samples :
- Switch - "There Will Never Be" (melody, bassline)
14. Who Do U Believe In (Let's Pray) feat. Kadafi, Nanci Fletcher & Big Pimpin' / Johnny J
- 1996/01 - 03-04 (?) (Pimpin' added). Released in Better Dayz (2002, Amaru) with the same "Let Uz Pray" intro but with a mix similar to the other Big Pimpin' one (included in Outlawz 1st LP) : no breaks, no final fall down and with 2Pac's hook playing during Big Pimpin's poetry (what suggest than this mix could be the last). But the pray intro and the break during Kadafi's verse were already in the first take, and there are elements of demo in the beginning of this mix that tend to an intermediate state.
- Samples :
- Jamiroquai - "Manifest Destiny" (melody)
- Walter Beasley - "Tenderness" (cymbals)
- 1996/02/19. Remixed for Until The End of Time (2001). The concept already appeared in his first drafts in prison for a new IV-V album (cf. When I Get Free). Slightly shorter than the other mix we have. Probably already sold to Syke at the time of New Shit tracklist, the song could be included as a hidden track, especially after Syke had left Death Row.
- Samples :
- Stevie Wonder - "Love's In Need of Love Today" (melody, vocals interpolation)
16. Criminal Timez (Made Niggaz Original) / Johnny J - SNIPPET
- 1996/04/15-16
(?). This lost verse can be heard playing backwards during
the first verse of "Troublesome '96" version with the "lalala" chorus,
like if "Troublesome" had been recorded over it. There is a
handwritten lyrics paper of this verse. It ends by "...it's hard 2
survive in these criminal times as Made Niggaz", so it could be an early
version of "Made Niggaz", like for "Thugz Mansion", "Breathin" or "My
Closest Road Dawg", solo take before awaited guests come and record
their verses...
- Samples :
17. Hit Em Up (2nd Version, First Take) feat. Hussein, Kadafi & Edi / Johnny J
- 1996/03/29-31 (no "take money"). Published as a b-side of How Do U Want It (12'') the 4th of June 1996, and then in Greatest Hits (1998,
Death Row), cf. Rarities.
In this first take, at the end of Fatal and Edi verses, you can respectively hear the beginning of Edi and Storm old verses from
the first version of the song, recorded in October 95 for Thug Life Volume 2.
It also has the famous Jay-Z & Lil'Kim diss unedited lyric at the
end. But it didn't have the woman singing "Take Money" (Junior
M.A.F.I.A. "Gettin Money" interpolation). Why did 2Pac add this song to
his solo album ? This is clearly a false note to the specific mood of
introspection and jazz that he originally wanted for his album... Like
the tide, 2Pac comes back and forth from a peace & love mood to a
very aggressive fighting spirit... We can see the song being reworked in
a studio footage when 2Pac was recording "Good Life". We can hear this
demo of the song with the beginning of Edi's old verse at a time, but
not the one of Storm a bit later...
- Samples :
- Dennis Edwards - "Don't Look Any Further" (bassline, melody, drumline, concept)
- Junior M.A.F.I.A. - "Player's Anthem" (concept)
- Junior M.A.F.I.A. - "Getting Money (Remix)" (concept,
vocal interpolation) - MC Lyte & Audio Two - "10% Dis" (vocals interpolation : "beat biter, dope style taker")
18. Good Life (Rough Mix) feat. Big Syke & Edi / Mike Mosley
- 1996/03/31. Released in Until The End of Time
(2001, Amaru). Is that version with many instrumental effects a really audacious mix ? More probably a work in
progress, first take when Ricky Rouse was freestyling with his bass, before the final mix. It is played in a studio footage video with also images of "Hit Em Up (Demo)" recording in the background of Mike Mosley, E-40, Rick Rock and Ojetunde interviews... what could make think "Million Dollar Spot" and "Niggaz Done Changed" could be from around the same date...
19. Happy Home (Rough Mix) feat. Michel'le (chorus) / Johnny J
- 1996/04/02. It is said to be dedicated to his sister Sekyiwa Shakur, but
it is also known to be about his love, commitment and family projects
with Keisha Morris, with which he got married while in jail and divorced right after being freed... If so, it could be seen also as a remain of the original prison project concept album.
- Samples :
- Grover Washington Jr. & Bill Withers – "Just the Two of Us" (drums, melody interpolation)
DISC TWO : BONUS DISC - THE DEMO
- 1996/02/01. Released in Greatest Hits (1998). The song has been SOLD to MC Hammer (circa mid April 96, so more than two months after he recorded it) who made his version for his album Too Tight. So it is NOT a reference record for him (like "Too Tight") but a true 2Pac song. 2Pac deliberately dismembered his solo album in the second half of April.
- Samples :
- Bell & James - "Just Can't Get Enough (Of Your Love)" (melody)
- 1996/03/05. Remixed in Until The End of Time (2001). In 100% Black Gold
tracklist, while other
guests are written, Nutt-So feature is scratched. It indicates 2Pac decided in the last times of that project that he will give the Nutt-So's song to the soundtrack (Gridlock'd ? but to the Rap side or to the Soul side - maybe that's why he erased the sax to put there the singing chorus). This solo version could have been specifically made for
this sequence (a second version of the song :
shorter, with full music elements and chorus). But more probably 2Pac recorded
both versions around the same days (the 5th and the 8th of March) for a single. The song was often mislabeled as
"Things Are Changing" because of the chorus, that reminds of "Changes", topic which was also in Dave LaChapelle photoset shower pics. Singers are still unconfirmed but it could be Warryn Campbell and Dionne Knighton, who were regularly working with DJ Quick.
- Samples :
- Maze – "Ain’t It Strange" (melody interpolation, vocals interpolation)
- Sly & The Family Stone - "Everyday People" (vocals interpolation)
- 1996/02/19. Remixed for Until The End of Time (2001). The longest mix is probably the earliest. In the All New Heat tracklist, the song is written sold to Big Syke, and it appears in an uncomplete tracklist for his album with also "Me & My Closest Road Dawg".
- Samples :
- Stevie Wonder - "Love's In Need of Love Today" (melody, vocals interpolation)
- 1996/02/02. Fairly remixed in Until The End of Time
(2001) with
the same sample. "Soulja" was the name 2Pac gave to the pitched voice he used to depict his dark
minded avatar, wearing his most aggressive thought (used in his first
two albums and heavily used in the Thug Life original album lost sessions, so it
could also have been recorded as a final touch to Thug Life Volume 2 project). This is the very late appearance of this avatar. Funny to notice that the concept of the song appears in prison Euthanasia tracklists but as "Ballad of the Caged Bird".
- Samples :
- Curtis Mayfield, "Little Child, Running Wild" (melody)
- 1996/02/13. Remixed in Until The End of Time
(2001). The fact that the song was originally recorded with 3 verses let think that Syke was initially supposed to record only one verse. He finally took two verses (the 19th of February ?), so the song couldn't be a part of the 2Pac solo album anymore and he gave him the song.
- Samples :
- The Jones Girls – "Children Of The Night" (melody)
06. Thugz Mansion (First Take & Freestyle) / Johnny J
- 1996/02/02. Remixed for Better Dayz (2002). This is the first take of the song, with only one verse and a freestyle (maybe awaiting for Outlawz verses). In All New Heat
tracklist, it appears with "Lil Homiez" as featured artists (It could
be another nickname for the Outlaw Immortalz without Mopreme (after Thug Life Volume II project was given up) before it
turned to Outlawz when Syke left Death Row to go solo ; around the same
time, Tupac recorded the song "Lil' Homies" solo and with Outlawz). Tupac
as well wrote "Lil Homiez" on side, it could indicate that he decided
to give the song to another project of that name (B-Side for "Lil"
Homies" single ? title of a planned compilation ? or more probably
Outlawz anticipated project album that firstly will include titles
like "Heaven or Hell").
- Samples :
- Bill Weathers - "Lean on Me" (melody interpolation)
- 1996/01/22. Released in Better Dayz (2002, Amaru) with the Big Pimpin' poetry added from the second version. The song will reappear in Outlawz 1st LP tracklist.
- Samples :
- Jamiroquai - "Manifest Destiny" (melody)
- Walter Beasley - "Tenderness" (cymbals)
- 1996/01/31. Remixed in Until The End of Time (2001). The empty space like "Thugz Mansion" indicate that this song was thought as a song with guests. Is it supposed to feature Bizzy Bone like it was first leaked ? the Outlawz ? The Bizzy Bone's version is good but is a promo remix from 1997 made for his first solo album... There is a recently leaked version with verses from Kadafi, Edi and three female rappers : Sylk-E Fyne, Diamond & T-Ski. Unfotunately, this version isn't finished either and sounds not really good (the chorus only runs after 2Pac and Kadafi, the verses are just pasted on the music, there is no mix, the last verse has a wrong start...). Pac's late writing on side could indicate that the song was then destined to be a b-side (why not for an Outlawz album single or for the Soundtrack compilation).
- Samples :
- The Isley Brothers - "Summer Breeze" (melody)
- The Honey Drippers - "Impeach The President" (snare)
- 1996/03/07. Remixed in Until The End of Time (2001). Unknown voice singing in the background.
- Sample :
- Rolls Royce - "Wishing On A Star" (melody, bassline interpolation)
- 1996/02/01. Studio footage probably recorded during "When Thugz Cry" sessions.
- Samples :
- Prince - "When Doves Cry" (concept)
- Sting - "Fragile" (melody)
- 1996/02/21. Remixed in Better Dayz (2002, Amaru). Allusion to the movie Carlito's Way (Brian de Palma, 1993), where Al Pacino claimed to the court at the beginning of the movie that he is a "changed man", that the penitentiary has changed him.
- Sample :
- Raydio - "Hot Stuff" (melody, bassline)
- 1996/01/31. Remixed in Better Dayz (2002, Amaru). This version is using the exact same beat and Danny Boy's chorus than "Never Be Peace" (cf. Outlaw Immortalz : Thug Life Volume 2).
- Samples :
- Switch - "There Will Never Be" (melody, bassline)
13. Too Tight (Studio Footage) feat. Nanci Fletcher / Johnny J
- 1996/01/26. 2Pac is recording a reference track for MC Hammer.
- Samples :
- Ohio Players - "Skin Tight" (bassline, melody interpolation)
-
1996/02/21. Recorded the same day than "Changed Man", maybe it was
aimed to be a b-side to "Me Against the World pt. 2" first single. It is said to be a freestyle, and there could be
another studio version but I think that this one is the only version and
that Pac & Snoop wanted to sound here fresh and fun like in a live thing, right after Snoop was freed from all murder charges. The song could also work as a Thug Life : Volume II late recorded track because 2Pac was waiting to record a song with Snoop.
- Samples :
- Diana Ross - "Love Hangover" (melody interpolation, chorus interpolation)
- Don Jagwarr - "The Cure" (vocals inspired)
15
16. This Ain't Livin' (Rough Mix) (reference for a duet with Snoop Dogg) / Johnny J
- 1996/02/26. Remixed in Until The End of Time (2001). This song is said to have been written for Snoop Dogg (like "Too Tight" for MC Hammer...). More probably it was supposed to be a 2Pac/Snoop duet ("I Never pulled the trigger / Didn't touch that bitch" sounding like a new "2 of Amerikaz most wanted") and 2Pac wrote and tried the lyrics for his busy friend (like he made a verse for Money B in "I Get Around" demo, Snoop was then starting to work on his second Death Row album). Unfortunately, it seems Snoop never recorded his part...
- Sample :
- Latimore – "Let’s Straighten It Out" (melody)
17
18. Ghetto Star (First Take) feat. Nutt-So & Danny Boy / Go Twice - REMAKE
- 1996/03/08 (?). Published as a bonus track with an added outro in some versions of Nutt-So's The Betrayal (2000). Released in Better Dayz (2002). This first take can be heard in the background of the Danny Boy vocals of the song, with slightly alternate beat mix, chorus and vocals takes.
- Samples :
- Leon Ware - "What's Your World" (melody)
. My Closest Road Dawg (Rough Mix) feat. Big Syke / Johnny J
- 1996/02/13-19. There is a version with 3 verses from 2Pac (probably the first take before Syke recorded his verses), that was remixed in Until The End of Time
(2001). There is a rough mix with a close sounding beat and another one
a bit longer with an alternate mixdown. The song also appears in a
first draft of Syke's solo album written down by 2Pac. So maybe the song
was firstly recorded as a song for the solo album and Syke was just
supposed to take one verse, but when he recorded, it was decided that
the song would be for his album, so he took two verses.
- Samples :
- The Jones Girls – "Children Of The Night" (melody)
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