- Sept. 1996 - November 1997 : achievement of the Outlawz album on Death Row after the death of 2Pac.
- The group liene-up is mainly reduced to four members : only a few songs were recorded before Kadafi got killed in November and Hussein left to pursue a solo career... The album evolved from "The Hunger" and "Ghetto Starz" during 2Pac's last months, to "Retribution" without any 2Pac features.
- Amaru Entertainment got the rights of 2Pac's material and very likely asked Outlawz to remove any of his vocal from their album. In return, the Outlawz were involved in the production and new recordings for the posthumous 2Pac compilations, including of course Still I Rise in 1999.
- What happened ? Without any 2Pac vocals, Death Row probably thought the Outlawz album was not strong enough to be released, and it went shelved.
- Released as a mixtape in 2006 as : DJ Fatal presents... Outlawz - Retribution (The Lost Album, Ten Years Later) (Outlawz Records / One Nation Entertainment)
- Sources : DAT, Demo Tape, DJ Fatal mixtape
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mosaic of pictures : new picture for Kastro, Noble and Edi (1997 - 2006 ?) others from "Hit Em Up" video and in summer of 96 (cover of Still I Rise album) |
See Discogs page - Listen to it in Deezer, iTunes, myzuka
- Intro *
- Komatose feat. Storm
- Thug Nation
- Soulja's Story pt. 2
- What Goes Around, Comes Around (Karma)
- Retribution
- Still Mournin' (Life Goes On Stay Strong)
- Bless My Soul feat. Bad Azz & Prince Ital Joe
- Novakane
- Under Pressure pt. 2 feat. Storm
- Pass The Heat (Money On My Mind) feat. Wack Duece & Hussein
- Angel
- Hold On
- Stay Awake (Did You Pray Today)
- Family Pictures feat. Kadafi
- In God's Eyes
- The Hunger feat. Wack Duece
- Mr. Makaveli feat. Kadafi & Hussein
- Outro
Leftover Tracks
Intro & Outro
Producers – Darryl Harper, Daz Dillinger, Hurt-M-Badd, Johnny J, QD3 (9)
Chorus – Jewell (8, 12, 13, 17) Val Young (6)
- Track 3 "Thug Nation" was supposed to be included in the 2Pac/Outlawz album Ghetto Starz (cf. tracklist War Gamez / Ghetto Starz) but was recorded later in 1997.
Outlawz at its fullest. But...
K-Dog aka Kastro
Big Malc aka Edi
Young Hollywood aka Kadafi
Mutah aka Napoleon
Fatal Hussein
Young Noble
Storm
From Thoro Headz (K-Dog & Big Malc, Young Ho) to Young Thugz (with Mutah), to Dramacydal (without Young Ho) to Outlaw Immortalz (with Fatal, Storm & Thug Life) to Lil' Homiez (without Mopreme), to Outlawz (with Young Noble).
Outlawz are NOT Outlaw Immortalz, so there are no Thug Life members : no Mopreme, no Big Syke (who was preparing his solo album at the same period). Only Nutt-So, Street Thugs leader, announced in Ghetto Starz tracklist as a member of the group, and maybe Gonzoe, could have been added to the lineup of the group at a time.
The group recorded a hand of songs just after the death of 2Pac, "Still Mournin'", "Stay Awake", "Under Pressure", "Novakane", "Komatose", "Mr Makaveli" and "Family Pictures" when Death Row more or less shelved Johnny J's Outlawz Troublesome/Secretz of War album (because Johnny J left the label on a discord with Suge Knight). But after Pac's death, the project then called "Ghetto Starz" changed a lot and became "Retribution". But Death Row, like many other projects, never released it... And it could not be due to a lack of quality and selling potential.
The Outlawz here will never be at this level again. Fatal & Kadafi are still here to give strong Rap delivery. And most of the producing team is the same than on 2Pac's Makaveli album. At that time, it could have been easy to make of this album a huge commercial success (with maybe 2-3 Pac featurings added). That could have changed the destiny of the group.
TIMELINE
10th of November - death of Yafeu Akiyele Fula
This album in its way to be finished, the death of their mentor, the publishing of Makaveli album... May all these events have make the pressure grow up between Outlawz members and their environment ?
So
Yaki has been shot dead. Shot in the hallway of a friend's appartment
building... The killer is Rashad Beale, a cousin of Napoleon... Jealousy
? Money, drug, gang affair ? Was Yaki turning to be a 2Pac-a-like
paranoic ?
Anyway, after that awful event, the group more or less
disbanded for a couple of years. And Death Row instead of releasing
this album, will capitalize on the death of 2Pac only.
Late 97. Outlawz LP. DAT PO775568, PO775569, PO775572
- In The Morning (Still Mournin')
- Karma (What Goes Around)
- Yesterday - not included in Retaliation
- In Godz Eyes
- Runnin on E
- Komatose
- Bless My Soul
- Retribution
- Soldier Story '97
- Hold On
- Who Do You Believe In ?
- Thug Nation
- Angel
These three DAT could be from the first half of 97. Tupac featurings were probably removed in order to give them to the posthumous compilations after Afeni Shakur got the rights of her son's material. It's a pity because even if they are not the most bombing 2Pac songs, they could have allow enough exposure for the Outlawz album - instead of songs lost in chaotic tote carry-all double albums on the hype of All Eyez On Me - 2Pac didn't think to publish again a double album.
On the other hand, the album is only made of post-Tupac recordings, so it would have made some rupture of harmony.
Circa mid 97. Demo Tape (?) / Promo tape (?).
- Komatose with Storm
- Thug Nation
- Soulja's Story pt. 2
- What Goes Around, Comes Around
- Retribution
- Still Mournin' - (aka Life Goes On Stay Strong)
- Bless My Soul feat. Bad Azz & Prince Ital Joe
- Novakane
- Under Pressure pt. 2 feat. Storm
- Pass The Heat feat. Wack Duece - (aka Money On My Mind)
- Angel
- Hold On
- Stay Awake - (aka Did You Pray Today)
- Family Pictures
- In God's Eyes
- The Hunger feat. Wack Duece
- Mr. Makaveli
The tape tracklist is exactly similar to the DJ Fatal released mixtape, except it does not have intro, outro and interludes from various hosts.
DETAILED TRACKLIST
(Special thanks to Bomb1st members Filla and Dominator for samples credits)
- 2006. Not in the original album.
- 1996/09/26.
- 1996/08 (reference track ?) - 1997/05/16.
- Story. The song was supposed to be included in Ghetto Starz album, but nothing was presumably recorded by the group at that time.
- 1997/05/18.
- Story. This song pays respect to 2Pac's song from 2Pacalypse Now where he was rapping with his Soulja pitched voice violent avatar. Here it is presumably Young Noble who is rapping with a pitched voice.
- 1997/11/01.
- 1997/05/11.
- Story. The concept appears in one of the first Ghetto Starz early tracklist. Outlawz wanted to give form to what 2Pac concepts for them.
- 1996/09/14.
- Story. The song was apparently recorded the day after the death of Tupac (but he has been dying in hospital for six days), what gives that specific sad mood and explains that the song was the first listed in first DAT of their album project.
- 1997/01/20 (?) - 07/20-23 (?).
- Story. Guests and topic make a strong link with Makaveli album. Nothing sure about the date of recording.
- 1996/09/20 - 12/11 (new mix).
- Story. The song was initially intended for Gridlock'd Original but was finally leftover.
- 1996/09/19.
- Story. This song is a follow-up to the Thug Life : Volume One song from the same name, like if Outlawz wanted to make many nods to 2Pac's work.
- 1997/05/18.
- Story. Wack Deuce is a rapper from Compton. Hussein who was preparing his first solo album In The Line of Fire came back to L.A. to meet up the group six months after leaving. He recorded that hell good hook with a whole new style.
- 1997/05/09.
- 1997/05/09.
- 1996/09/16.
- Samples :
- 2006 addition : Malcolm X - speech
- 1996/09/28.
1996/07/22- 1997/07/24 (new vocals ?).- Story. The first date is the same date than "The Good Die Young" (cf. Ghetto Starz), but it was very probably recorded in 97. The beat is possibly from that early date.
- Samples :
- 2006 addition : Malcolm X - speech
- 1997/05/11.
- Story. This song is inspired by a short lived concept of title for Outlawz Immortalz LP.
- 1996/10/01 (?).
- Story. Last song recorded with Kadafi and Hussein before they leave the group and went to New Jersey where Kadafi got killed...
- 2006. Not in the original album.
- 1997/11/01.
- Story. Included in first DATs of the album. Recorded the same day than "What Goes Around, Comes Around".
1996/08/15-31 (?)OR 1997/05 (?).- Story. The song was supposed to be recorded in the second half of August (for sure not recorded at the time of the tracklists we have). 2Pac, Kadafi and Hussein were supposed to record the song but not Kastro... he is in the snippet with a voice sounding a bit more 1997ish. That could mean that the song was not recorded at the time of the tracklists but later in 1997 like "Thug Nation", "The Hunger"...
- 1997 (?). No known date of recording. The song was included in the bootleg Revenge iz Sweet by Dramacydal (tracks recorded in 94-95 before Death Row for a Dramacydal album). But of course this is a later track with Young Noble, Kastro, Napoleon and Edi. With the Asu featuring and the kind of strange sound, it sounds kind a like One Nation. But it is more probably from after Pac's death (Edi saying "Makaveli lives on"). So a Retribution leftover track (or an Asu song).
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