- One Nation first recording sessions : 14th of June - 22th of June
### This album follows the last handwritten tracklist purposed by 2Pac in June, which lists all the songs recorded between the 14th and the 22nd of June). We just took off the last added song that was recorded weeks before and sounds totally different, and we replaced it by the eponymous song which was recorded firstly and was included in all the other tracklists available, but was there scrapped. ###
Listen to that album in YouTube. You can also listen to the Bomb1st members attempt to give a final mixdown to the project here.
Tracklist :
5. Set It Off feat. Jewell
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1. Early June 96. Just a list of planned featurings. Boot Camp Clik are even not noted yet. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony is already planned. Greg Nice's partner Smooth is still planned. "I Got My Mind Made Up" was a Dogg Pound song with 2Pac added in later. This time, 2Pac wants to really record with the group.
2. Second week of June ? This time, 2Pac probably knows that there won't be Nice & Smooth but just Greg Nice, and that Buckshot, Tek and Steele will also come for sure. Outkast, Scarface and E-40 entered the featuring list. "Check it Out" refers to "Worldwide Dime Piecez" (cf. Greg Nice's verse), so the song is probably not recorded yet (Snoop would be credited). Maybe they haven't recorded anything yet or just "One Nation" and "Basket Case Freestyle" over "Set It Off" instrumental, and a verse for "Worldwide Dime Pieces".
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3. Circa the 16th of June. Songs could be still not recorded, or maybe just "One Nation" and "Basket Case Freestyle" over the "Set It Off" beat. Funny to notice that 2Pac thought about inviting Grand Puba of Brand Nubian : he recorded the "Drunken Freestyle" with him and Treach in 92 (cf. Ghetto Gospel).
4. Circa the 17th of June. This time, the first songs are probably recorded. Boot Camp Clik are not here yet but Capital LS and Asu are. Noble recorded with the Outlawz for the first time in "Tattoo Tearz". Could "Trump Tight" be still just an instrumental yet ? (because it still has the title of the original Kurupt featuring Syke & Kadafi song, cf. Thug Pound)
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5. Circa the 17th of June. Boot Camp Clik is arrived and they recorded a first song together. Noble gave his verse for "Secretz of War".
6. Circa the 18th of June. Numskull of the Luniz came and recorded "Jawz Tite".
7. Circa the 21th of June (?). They probably recorded "Set It Off" and "Fright Night" with the Furious Five, but not "We Rock the Hip Hop", maybe neither "Never Call U Bitch Again Boot Camp Clik Version". There are still 10 tracks.
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8. Circa the 21th of June. 2Pac includes "Never Call U Bitch Again" so they probably recorded the Boot Camp Clik version. "Thug Love" completes the tracklisting but Bone Thugs-N-Harmony are not credited in the featured artists so the song is probably not recorded yet but just planned (the song was also included in the Outlawz LP, so it could mean that the song was not planned to be with the Cleveland group at that time but maybe just a 2Pac/Outlawz song. So 2Pac finally recorded the song a few days later when he met them. 6 Ft (Deep) is credited but for which song ? It could possibly for "Tattoo Tearz" but it could also be for the unrecorded "Thug Love" (not appearing in the next tracklist)...
9. Circa the 22th of June. This time, we have all the twelve songs recorded during these 7 days, with the addition of "We Rock The Hip Hop" and Kurupt entering as the third name of the credits. But "One Nation" is scrapped and replaced by "Untouchablez", a track recorded earlier with Snoop and Bad Ass (Just 2Pac finishing the tracklist decided to scrap the song, wrote "Jawz Tite" instead and had to find another song to complete the album). That song will also be listed in Outlawz LP, probably later in July.
(unfortunately a bootleg with low sound quality and wrong tracks).
DETAILED TRACKLIST
- 1996/06/17. Also called "Thug Nigga". "Trump Tight" was also a title given because it re-uses the music of an earlier song by Big Syke, Kurupt & Kadafi (also known as "Dump on
Site") recorded in Dec.'95 Jan. '96 for Thug Pound album (which was maybe itself an old Daz beat from 94 Murder Was The Case sessions).
- 1996/06/17. Also sometimes titled "Bitches". This is probably the very last song to feature Snoop and Tupac together. Capital LS released an unofficial EP with the song in 1996, titled "Bitches".
- Samples :
- The Honey Drippers - "Impeach The President" (drums partially)
- Marvin Sease - "Candy Licker" (vocals interpolation)
- GZA & Wu-Tang Clan - "Duel on the Iron Mic" (vocals interpolation : "where money don't grow on trees")
- 1996/06/18. At this time, Tek & Steele couldn't use their original group name "Smif N Wessun".
- Samples :
- Gil Scott Heron - "We Almost Lost Detroit" (melody)
- Marvin Gaye - "Falling In Love Again" (horns interpolation)
- Bob Marley - "Zimbabwe" (vocals interpolation : "every man got a right to decide his own destiny")
- 1996/06/18. Remixed in the unofficial Dillinger & Makaveli EP (1998, DPG) with Daz as the only guest. 2Pac also thought to include it in the Ghetto Starz album in the late summer, but it is possible that there is another unleaked version or mix of the track. Like in "Secretz of War" and "Untouchable", there is a problem with Kadafi verse, the leaked mix is cut in the middle of it. (which is complete in the remix of his posthumous compilation Son Rise Vol. 1).
- Samples :
- Ralph Vargas & Carlos Bess - "Funky Drummer Vol. 1 CB#5" (drums partially)
- 1996/06/19. The song was falsely titled "One Nation" because of the interpolation of Sly & The Family Stone "One Nation under a groove" in the chorus. The song gathers all the guests 2Pac invited for the project.
- Samples :
- ESG - "U.F.O." (melody)
- 1996/04 (~) - 06/19-22 (~) (new mix, Noble added). Remixed in Still I Rise (1999, Interscope). This version has totally different verses than the "Rules" 95 version recorded with Kurupt for When I Get Free / All Eyes on Me album. A second version has probably been recorded earlier around April for 2Pac new solo or for Troublesome : The Secretz of War Outlawz LP. In this third version, Young Noble added his verse, Kastro adlibs and 2Pac an outro, the mix is renewed ; but the verse from Kadafi vocals are partially patched in the leaked mixes, waiting for a final mixdown.
- Samples :
- Willie Hutch - "Brothers Gonna Work It Out" (melody)
- 1996/01 - 06/19. Remixed in Better Dayz compilation (Amaru, 2002). Included
in the tracklists of One Nation. The first version has been recorded the 31st of January over beat and chorus of "Never Be Peace", then 2Pac reworked the song in February. in a more accoustic feeling for his new solo 100% Black Gold. 2Pac was probably working on the mix of the song then planned for Outlawz LP Troublesome, The Secretz of War - probably with the help of Death Row musician team - when Cocoa Brovaz gave a freestyle.
- Samples :
- Switch - "There Will Never Be" (melody, bassline)
- 1996/06/22. Final song of the sessions.
- Samples :
- Bill Cosby - "Martin's Funeral" (
- 1996/06/17 (?). Remixed in Still I Rise (1999, Interscope). The
first take has been recorded over an easy to recognize Coolio's "Gangsta's
Paradise" sample. "Kurupt dropped the beat" : Kurupt may have produced that beat earlier in March (the known date for the REEL : 30th of March). Then he (or Edi) reworked it for One Nation album. The song received a final mix in July/August (maybe by Edi) before being scrapped (cf. One Nation pt. 2) maybe to be put in Outlawz LP Ghetto Starz. Sixx Feet is credited as a featured artist in the tracklist where "Thug Love" appears, but some people say it is Cody Chestnutt (who is credited as producer for "Deliberation" in Gridlock'd soundtrack, I have some doubt but why not).
- Sample :
- Stevie Wonder - "Pastime Paradise" (bassline interpolation)
- Roy Ayers - "Everybody Loves The Sunshine" (vocals interpolation : "my life my life my life, in the sunshine")
- Brethren - "Outside Love" (drumline)
- New Jack City (movie, 1991) (quote interpolation : "rock-a-bye baby")
- 1996/06/21. The Outlawz re-use the exact same beat as "Whatcha Gonna Do" recorded nine days earlier as a duet by 2Pac and Storm. 2Pac was probably not there at that time and not satisfied of the song and gave the beat to his friends. Could he have refused when it was for receiving the very famous old school group the Furious Five ?
- Samples :
- Nu Shooz - "I Can't Wait" (melody, bassline interpolation)
- 1996/06/17. Remixed in Better Dayz (2002).
- Samples :
- Bob Marley - "Easy Skanking" (vocals interpolation)
- 1996/06/14. This is the first song recorded for the project, Greg Nice probably arrived in L.A. before the others. You can guess with the end of each verse that the real title of the song is "One Nation", track appearing in every tracklists until being scrapped. "U Don't Have 2 Worry" being from July (like other QD3 produced songs and other diss songs against Nas and the Firm), this is the very first verse given by Young Noble. He's presenting himself : "Young Noble I'm Calm and Casual [but] Bomb like Arabs do", portrait conformed to the Outlawz line-up ! (kind of like applying to be recruited in the terrorist enterprise...). He also mentions "I'm NASTY NEW", what will be a planned title for his album project : Young Noble & Tha Nastee New Niggaz (credits in a Makaveli 3 Day Theory tracklist), what probably turned into the new Outlawz album Ghetto Starz...
- Samples :
- Gloria Lynne - "Speaking Of Happiness" (U-Turn Soundtrack) (bassline)
- 1996/06/16. It is a short freestyle followed by an interview taken from the One Nation sessions (totally unmixed takes straight from the studio during One Nation June recordings).
- 1996/04 - 07/3 (?). Released in Greatest Hits (1998, Death Row) but in a previous mix. It still includes the lost "Criminal Times" verse playing in the background of the first verse (could be a first version of "Made Niggaz" or "Troublesome", cf. 100% Black Gold). Included in the One Nation sessions tape, it could indicate that this mix has been re-worked around that time. But maybe 2Pac worked upon it when he came back from his trip to Italy...
- Samples :
- 1996/07/04 (?). This song is a sort of remake of "Untouchable" that had been recorded the 10th of June, a few days before the One Nation sessions started. It has the same beginning "After the fire comes the rain, after the pleasure there's pain" verse before it turned into freestyle... It has probably been recorded in the beginning of July, after the live at the House of Blues (the 4th of July) to which he refers at the end of the song (so maybe right after when he went back - directly in studio). It is unusual to re-record an almost finished song as a freestyle... This freestyle is contemporaneous of "War Gamez" (same second verse, old supposed recording date : 96/07/03)... So maybe 2Pac had that verse in mind when he recorded that freestyle, or inversely.
- Samples :
- Everything But The Girl - "Single" (melody)
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