1996 - Thug Life : Volume 2 (with Outlaw Immortalz)

  • Oct. 95 - Jan. 96 : Outlaw Immortalz supergroup album sessions.
  • Thug Life Volume 2 !!! The real ! Dramacydal replacing Double Jeopardy ; Dogg Pound and Death Row engineers replacing the Live Squad...
  • After his first Death Row recordings for a solo album, and notably after "When We Ride", 2Pac started to record tracks for a new project to promote his friends and to give a follow up to Thug Life : Volume One.
  • Sources : handwritten tracklists ; Makaveli 2 bootleg
 
Pictures from late 95 by Chi-Modu
The Outlaw Immortalz : (up) Mopreme, Hussein, Kastro, Big Syke, Edi
(down) 2Pac, Napoleon, Kadafi

### WORK IN PROGRESS. No known material sequences for this project, only two handwritten drafts. We chose to not exactly follow these tracklists because some songs have been recorded for it after they were written down, and also because there was too many songs for a single disc album... Disc One is mainly inspired by the first tracklist minus unrecorded songs and first three songs following more likely the second tracklist. The Disc Two tries to organize the other collected songs with lastly recorded ones. We had to take aside some songs for When I Get Free ("Secretz of War") or for Thug Pound ("First 2 Bomb", "World Wide M.O.B. Figgaz"...). ###

LISTEN to that album HERE

Disc One :
1. Soon As I Get Home
2. Teardrops and Closed Caskets feat. Nate Dogg
3. Hit 'Em Up (Original Version) feat. Storm & Prince Ital Joe
4. Fair Exchange feat. Hurt-M-Badd
5. Komradz feat. Storm
6. 6 or 12 - incomplete
7. There U Go feat. Nanci Fletcher & Mr. Malik
8. Where U Been feat. Danny Boy - incomplete/mix error/fixed
9. Immortal
10. Fade Me feat. Precious
11. Penitentiary Bound feat. Prince Ital Joe - incomplete
12. Still I Rise
13. Play Your Cards Right (Female Version) feat. Michel'le 

Disc Two :
1. What's Next feat. Prince Ital Joe & Natasha Walker
2. Still Ballin' feat. Kurupt
3. Fuck 'Em All
4. Don't Stop The Music feat. Nanci Fletcher
5. 2 My Unborn Child feat. Natasha Walker
6. M.O.B. (Money Over Bitches) feat. Puff Johnson
7. 4 My Niggaz (He Vs. She) feat. Storm
8. If They Love Their Kidz
9. Letter 2 The President
10. Never Be Peace feat. Storm, Marvaless & Danny Boy
11. Play Your Cards Right (Male Version) feat. Hurt M Badd
12. Grab The Mic
 
 

Thug Life Volume 2 was a real project. It was probably more or less finished circa January of 96, ready to be the second album of 2Pac's contract with Death Row. I think the Chi-Modu photoshoot pictures have been taken for that specific album cover and booklet.

 
 

A follow-up to Thug Life Volume One !

Out of jail, Pac started to think about giving a follow-up to the first volume of Thug Life. But part of the original line-up of the group has disappeared (Rated R was in jail for murder... Macadoshis ?). The concept of "Outlaw Immortalz" as a supergroup gathering the rest of Thug Life, Dramacydal and Fatal N Felony firstly appeared in the track "When We Ride" in which Pac started to give nicknames to his partners after famous (or infamous) dictators.

 
So while 2Pac was recording tracks for his solo album All Eyez on Me, he was also recording specific tracks for the group album. Old Thug Life friends like Natasha Walker from Y?N-Vee, Prince Ial Joe (who was on the first song called "Thug Life" and Nate Dogg (in the TL's hit "How Long Will They Mourn Me") added their part to find back the taste of the first Thug Life. But 2Pac also needed to replace Stretch/Live Squad as producer/guest that was an important part of the identity of the first volume. Dogg Pound Gangsta (Dogg Pound, Daz as a producer, Kurupt as a rapper) became the new touch, the Death Row signature. Danny Boy was announced in the known tracklists but he's finally rare. The real new unpredictable point is the appearance of Storm, the female rapper, maybe not as a full time member of the group, but as a regular partner (like Tupac tried to do with Yanni and Dee Tha Maad Bitch in Thug Life Volume 1).
 
 
 
 handwritten draft tracklist of the project 
 

1. Mid December of 95. Title "Outlaw Immortalz". 

Probably just after the recording session with QD3 in the 10-13 of December. "Letter 2 The Prez" is strangely not included. "Don't U Niggaz have Kidz" (produced by QDIII) and "On Top of The World" (Moe-Z mix, original is produced by Mopreme) are not recorded yet (maybe 2Pac will record Letter 2 The President" and Moe Z will remix "Where Will I Be". It includes some songs that were left over during All Eyez on Me process : "Outlaw Immortalz", "Fade Me", "Secretz of War", "Fair Exchange" and "Blunt Tyme". Could it mean that this "Blunt Time" features also Outlaw Immortalz members on side of Lady of Rage ? Anyway, it indicates that 2Pac really took this project seriously by giving it another Dre production, whereas he still could have added it to All Eyez on Me (final mix was not over).


copy of a known second tracklist

2. Mid of January of '96. "Outlaw Immortalz : Thug Life Volume II". 

Probably just after the recordings of "Grab The Mic" and "He Vs. She" circa 12-13 of January, before the This Life I Lead/Dumpin sessions the 18th of January with the Dogg Pound. It does not have "Blunt Tyme" anymore... Coult it mean that the song was not really recorded (it could be just an instrumental or a version with just Lady of Rage and Dre awaiting for guests...). "Fade Me" does not credit Storm so her verse could have been added later in January as she recorded new songs with 2Pac but not that much later because she disappeared after that month until June One Nation sessions (unless it was recorded circa May for Outlawz first album). It does neither include "Still I Rise", nor "Late Night", nor "Initiated".

None of these tracklists are satisfying. The track order doesn't looks good. I decided to not include "Secretz of War" here, but more likely in When I Get Free compilation, because it was a really early track (with Fatal N Felony feature) and because the song was in every early Euthanasia/Me Against The World/When I Get Free tracklists (and because we have only one mix of this "Rules" version). And I made a double CD tracklist because there were also a lot of unused tracks / alternate mixes. The difficult part is to make a difference with the Thug Pound (Thug Life + Dogg Pound) album project.

 

An expected project vanished

In January of 96, Mopreme argued with Suge Knight (is it about money for his work, like Syke and Johnny J later, or is there a Blood & Crips issue ?). It is said Mo was drunk and Suge's men beat him up or forced him to strip outside in the snow and he after that left the label and the group. Mopreme was not in many songs of the project but as Tupac's stepbrother and original Thug Life member, he was important and it probably made Tupac change his plans after his departure. Maybe some tracks could be given to Thug Pound project. Then 2Pac started to record his second solo album (cf. All New Heat & 100% Black Gold). He still uses the concept of "Outlaw Immortalz" in February ("Changed Man", "If There's a Cure") but it disappeared after. When Syke signed elsewhere for his solo album (around april of 96) the initial project was definitely buried and the group turned into the shorten Outlawz (no more members of Thug Life), some songs being remade for that new project ("Hit Em Up" of course, but "Secretz of War", "Thru My Rearview" (and maybe  "There U Go"). "Soon As I Get Home" and "What'z Next", "Fade Me" also appear in early tracklists of that album. Some songs, which have alternate mixes could have been made for a Lil Homies intermediary project Syke+Outlawz in February-March.

 
 
The Outllaw Immortalz are :
- 2Pac => Makaveli (16th century italian philosopher)
Thug Life :
- Big Syke => Mussolini (Benito Mussolini, Italia),
- Mopreme => Komani (Ruhollah Khomeini, Iran)
Dramacydal+Fatal N Felony :
- Big Malc => Edi (Idi Amin Dada, Uganda)
- K-Dogg => Kastro (Fidel Castro, Cuba)
- Mutah => Napoleon (Napoléon Bonaparte, France)
- Young Hollywood (Felony) => Kadafi (Mouammar Kadhafi, Lybia)
- Fatal => Hussein (Saddam Hussein, Iraq)
 
Close partners :
old partners already in Thug Life vol. 1 sessions : 
- Johnny J
- Natasha Walker of Y?N-Vee
- Prince Ital Joe
- Nate Dogg
new :
- Storm aka Mabavek (????)
- Hurt-M-Badd
- Danny Boy aka Baby Face (american bank robber)
- Daz & Kutupt aka Dillinger & Young Gotti (John Dillinger & John Gotti Jr.)
- Snoop Dogg aka Corleone (boss of the Sicilian mafia)

 

DETAILED TRACKLIST

(Special thanks to Bomb1st members Filla and Dominator for samples credits)

DISC ONE

01. Soon As I Get Home feat. Kadafi / QD3
  • 1995/12/10. Released in its original form in Pac's Life (2006, Amaru). The song will reappear in early Outlawz 1st LP tracklists (cf. Immortalz). It is the very first 2Pac's song produced by QD3. Quincy Jones III is the son of the famous jazz/rhythm & blues trumpeter and producer of the same name. He started to produce in late 80's for Special K, his father's hip-hop album Back On The Block, Tairrie B of Bardeux/Ruthless, before releasing his Soundlab album in 91 with artists Justin Warfield, Poet Society, Jazzy D, 213 and Kenyatta (maybe not one of the credited voices of "Lord Knows" in Me Against The World). Then he produced for Justin Warfield solo album, for Da Lench Mob on Menace II Society and Panther soundtracks, Queen Latifah, Ice Cube, Yo-Yo, LL Cool J, Naughty By Nature, Too $hort, Mexakinz, Coolio, for Don Jagwarr's album Faded where 2Pac was also featured and even for Prince "Letitgo remix"...
  • Samples :
02. Tear Drops & Closed Caskets feat. Outlawz & Nate Dogg / QD3
  • 1995/12/11. Fairly remixed in Still I Rise (1999, Interscope). The earlier known date of recording (22th of February) could be for a second mix of the song (for the early side projects, cf. Lil' Homies).
  • Samples :
03. Hit 'Em Up (Original Version) feat. Napoleon, Edi, Hussein, Kadafi, Storm & Prince Ital Joe / 2Pac & Johnny J
  • 1995/10/31. It doesn't appear in All Eyez on Me tracklists so it could be understood like the beginning of Thug Life 2 project. In early bootlegs, you could find the title "Hit 'Em Up 2" but it is the real original first version of the song. You can hear a piece of the Storm's verse not yet erased in the Demo version of the second version (cf. 100% Black Gold).
  • Samples :

04. Komradz feat. Storm, Edi, Napoleon, Kadafi & Big Syke / 2Pac & Johnny J

  • 1995/11/28. Storm is speaking in the beginning.
  • Samples : 

05. Fair Exchange (Synthé Version) feat. Hurt M Badd (B-Rezell) & Capucine Jackson (chorus) / 2Pac & Johnny J

  • 1995/11/13 - 11/20 (new mix). Remixed in Better Dayz (2002, Amaru). Said to have been recorded late at night after "Thug Passion" and eventually "Late Night" (with Fatal & Felony), it has been said that Tupac was tired and that both him & Johnny J didn't like the song. However Johnny J gave a second mix and the song appears in All Eyes on Me tracklists (cf. When I Get Free), and also in Thug Life Volume 2 tracklist, so topic and lyrics were kind of important for Tupac.
  • Samples : 
06. There U Go feat. Big Syke, Kastro, Kadafi, Edi, Mr. Malik (Illegal) & Nanci Fletcher / 2Pac & Johnny J
  • 1995/10/24-30 (Lil' Malik added ?). Remixed in Better Dayz (2002, Amaru). Mr. Malik (of the group Illegal) is featured in the albums of Snoop Dogg (93), Warren G (94) and Dogg Pound (95). So why not with 2Pac ? His part is said to have been added a few days after the other but the mixes without him could be fanmade. There is an unfinished mix with Nanci Fletcher singing during each verse, and a more advanced mix without but with an uncomplete Malik's ending. The song will reappear in Outlawz 1st LP tracklists, cf. Immortalz, eventually in a Johnny J remix version without Syke and with a new chorus.  
  • Samples :
    • Keith Sweat - "(There You Go) Tellin' Me No Again" 
07. 6 or 12 (by Kastro, Hussein, Big Syke, Edi & Kadafi) / Mike Mosley & Rick Rock
  •  1995/11/28. Recorded the same day than "Komradz" (produced by Johnny J) and "Tradin' War Stories" (also produced by Mosley & Rock). This song seems to be incomplete. Maybe 2Pac was on it, maybe he never recorded his verse, maybe Mopreme for a whole Thug Life 2 thing, maybe another Outlaw member like Storm who was in both other songs...
08. Where U Been feat. Big Syke, Hussein, Napoleon, Edi & Danny Boy / Big Syke & Johnny J - REMAKE
  •  1995/11/06. All leaked mixes are corrupted mixes with error in middle of Syke's verse or without 2Pac's verse.
  • Samples :
09. Immortal feat. Kadafi, Hussein, Edi & Big Syke / Sam Sneed
  • 1995/10/26 - 1996/01/03 (final mix ?). Gonzoe of Kausion said that there is another version with him (probably recorded in January, like his other features with Thug Pound).
  • Samples : 
10. Fade Me feat. Kastro, Napolean & Precious (chorus) / 2Pac & Johnny J
  • 1995/11/16 - ? (new mix). Appears firstly in All Eyez on Me tracklists (cf. When I Get Free). There is a still unleaked version with Storm (probably the final mix of the song or maybe a later version for Outlawz 1st LP). The chorus is not from Jewell nor Nanci Fletcher nor Storm herself (they denied), but from a less known girl named Precious (maybe this girl).
  • Samples :
    • D'Angelo - "Lady" (melody, bassline)
    • George Clinton - "Atomic Dog" (sound effect)
11. Penitentiary Bound (by Napoleon, Kastro, Edi, Mopreme & Prince Ital Joe) / Johnny J & 2Pac
  • 1995/11/14. This song re-uses an old Johnny J beat used in a Mel-Low song called "Return of the Player" released in 1993 in the eponymous album. This short song is clearly incomplete. Maybe 2Pac was on it, or more likely Big Syke for a whole Thug Life 2 thing.
  • Samples :

BONUS TRACKS :

12. Ambitionz az a Fighta (Mike Tyson Dedication) / Daz

  • 1995/12/14. Tyson really loved "Ambitionz az a Ridah" and used to listen to it before a fight or during training. 2Pac recorded this alternate version strictly for him.
  • Samples :

13. Play Your Cards Right (Female Version) feat. Big Syke, Mopreme, Edi, Kadafi & Michel'le / Johnny J

  • 1996/01/10. Last track recorded with Mopreme. Remixed in Pac's Life (2006, Amaru). This version with Michel'le could be the first take of the song or more likely an unfinished radio version.
  • Samples :
. Fade Me (Storm Version) feat. Kastro, Napoleon, Storm & Precious / 2Pac & Johnny J - SNIPPET
  • 1995/11/16 - 1996/01 (?) (Storm added). The song appears firstly in All Eyez on Me tracklists (cf. When I Get Free), then in Outlaw Immortalz and later in May in Outlawz LP tracklist. So the song was probably loved by 2Pac. This snippet of Storm verse let think that out of Storm verse, the mix could be identical to the leaked one included in Thug Life Volume II.
  • Samples :
    • D'Angelo - "Lady" (melody, bassline)
    • George Clinton - "Atomic Dog" (sound effect)
. Thug Life (Moe-Z Remix) by Moe-Z (?) / Moe-Z Remixed - SNIPPET
  • 1995 (?). Moe-Z gives a verse over the beat he gave 2Pac in late 94 for the Young Thugz song "Thug Life" (cf. Young Thugz EP), finally unreleased. Is it a real remix from 95 or a later mix from Moe-Z ?



DISC TWO :

01. What's Next feat. Mopreme, Big Syke, Prince Ital Joe & Natasha Walker (chorus) / Johnny J
  • 1995/11/16. Remixed in Pac's Life (2006, Amaru). Maximum line-up of the old Thug Life formation : Prince Ital Joe from the first song of the project & Natasha Walker from YN?-Vee were already in the first Thug Life Demo in 1993. It still lacks Macadoshis, Rated R (then condemned for murder), and of course Stretch.
  • Samples :
02. Still Ballin' feat. Kurupt / Johnny J
03. Fuck 'Em All feat. Kadafi & Edi / 2Pac & Johnny J
  • 1995/12/12. Fairly remixed in Better Dayz (2002, Amaru). It seems to be an echo of "Fuck All Y'All" but all the world as an enemy has been replaced by a concrete enemy, "them" : Biggie and the Bad Boy crew (Me Against Them). The song re-uses the sample and many elements from "Gangsta P Funk" by Radio & Roc Chill, produced by Jerrel Mosley, Roc Chill and... Moe Z (credited as a co-producer and for the bass). Radio's album Recognize Da Real (Interscope, 1994) was mainly produced by Moe Z., and Radio is the ragga voice in "Runnin'" released in One Million Strong.
  • Sample : 
04. Don't Stop The Music feat. Edi, Hussein & Nanci Fletcher / Johnny J
  • 1995/11/22. Remixed in Pac's Life (2006, Amaru). The song is dissing Delores Tucker because of her advice upon rap music and violent influence ; Tupac will also diss her in "Why U Turn On Me", but more because what she said upon him specifically.
  • Samples :
05. Letter To My Unborn feat. Natasha Walker  / Johnny J
06. M.O.B. (Money Over Bitches) (No Chorus) feat. Hussein, Mopreme, Big Syke & Edi / Kurt Kobane
  • 1995/10/28 - ? (chorus edited out). It has been said the song was supposed to be on AEOM, but the mix wasn't ready on time, even that the song was replaced by "When We Ride", what is probably untrue... The song has been recorded early and never appeared in any tracklists. In this song, 2Pac plays with the famous name of the gang (MOB : Member of Blood), giving it a new meaning. In fact, lyrics can clearly be seen as an apology of gangsta life. So we could think at the difference with the original conception of "Thug Life" as a code of honor in order to appease the gang war... Now 2Pac have made a choice, entered the war... There is another version with a female chorus, probably by Puff Johnson (who recorded a chorus for "U Can Call" and "I'd Rather Be Ya Nigga" around the same day).
07. He Vs. She (4 My Niggaz) feat. Storm / Johnny J & 2Pac
  • 1996/01/13. Sort of allegiance to the new 2Pac's Thug Life concept : "My enemies your enemies" ; "Fuck Bad Boy"...
  • Samples : 
    • George Benson - "Breezin'" (melody)
08. If They Love Their Kidz feat. Napoleon & Kastro / Johnny J
09. Letter To The President feat. Edi, Kastro & Big Syke / QD3
  • 1995/12/11. Remixed in Still I Rise (1999, Amaru). Like for "Teardrops and Closed Caskets", the common known date of 96/02/22 seems to be an error or the date of an advanced mix of the song.
10. Never Be Peace feat. Storm, Marvalass & Danny Boy (chorus) / Johnny J
  • 1996/01/30. Remixed in Better Dayz (2002, Amaru). The beat will be re-used one day later for "Never Call U Bitch Again". Danny Boy chorus will be also kept.
  • Samples :
11. Play Your Cards Right (Male Version) feat. Big Syke, Mopreme, Edi, Kadafi & Hurt M Badd / Johnny J
  • 1996/01/10. Remixed in Pac's Life (2006, Amaru). Last song recorded by Mopreme and Pac together. Hurt M Badd and 6 Feet Deep with additional vocals made another chorus for the this mix of the song.
  • Samples :
12. I Grab The Mic (Thru My Rear View pt. 1) / Johnny J
13. Still I Rise feat. Hussein, Kadafi & Big Syke (chorus) / Johnny J
  • 1995/10 - ? (final mix). Remixed in  Still I Rise (1999, Interscope). After having been dropped from All Eyez on Me, the song was kind of forgotten, why does it not appear in Thug Life Volume II project...?









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