WELCOME - 2PAC UNRELEASED DISCOGRAPHY

This blog is dedicated to Tupac Shakur's unreleased material : leftover tracks, first takes, alternate mixes ("OG", "demo"...), presented in a whole re-organized discography (regularly updated) following Tupac's ORIGINAL PROJECTS. We tried to rebuild these projects considering the handwritten papers, existing material sequences (promo, demo tapes...), with the help of Bomb1st Forum members - but with the exclusion of the album released versions.

Why ? The answer is down the page.

Special thanks to Bomb1st members : Banned, Filla, Dominator, DJ Moey, Yellow, ThaRow, Adam Venedam, RedBlue, 2Real29, bjay, Dada7, PacMusic and many others I forget... Peace go with you !

List of the unreleased projects :

Early sessions

• 1986-1990 - MC New York (The Early Years) (with East Side Crew, Two From the Crew, Born Busy, One Nation Emcees) 
• 1990 - Dayz of a Criminal EP (with the Jungle Po$$e)
  - also titled "The Underground Railroad EP"
• 1988-1991 - The Lost Tapes (with Strictly Dope & Force One Network) - RELEASED in 2000
  - also partially released as "1 in 21" or "The Remixes, A Tupac Shakur Story" in 1997, and same tracklist really officially "Beginnings : The Lost Tapes" in 2007

2Pacalypse Now times

• 1991 - Tales of a 90's N.I.G.G.A. EP (leftover tracks from 2Pacalypse Now)
  - also titled "Straight From The Underground EP" / "The Underground Railroad EP" / "EP Extra Cuts"
• 1992 - 2Pacalypse II (Demo - short lived project - Troublesome leftover tracks)
  - also titled New Album / Post-2Pacalypse Now / 2Pacalypse II : Revenge of The Rebel / The Blueprint 4 The Second Album
  
• 1992 - Troublesome 21 (shelved album - half of it will be remade in Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.)
• 1992 - State of Emergency (Wycked & The Mouse album featuring 2Pac, Stretch...)
  - Mopreme aka Wycked supposedly had an earlier unreleased album or EP or more likely a single titled "I'm Too Big 4 The Small Shit"
  
• 1992 - Ghetto Gospel (The Kidz/Mysta sessions)
  - also titled "Ain't Nothing Cute about these kids", "Bedtime Stories", "The Underground Railroad", "Ghetto Gospel / 4Colored Girlz Only", "Exodus" or "32 Bottles 2 Ghetto Heaven" soundtrack by Nuthin Gold/Streetz/Havenotz and Tha G'z/Mystah & the Bitch'z
• 1992 - Fragile (Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. leftover tracks) 
  - also titled Strugglin / Point The Finga / Representin' / "Christmas Bootleg EP" ; "Fragile" being the "Black Cotton" sample, and appearing in the 2Pac handwritten files but maybe more likely for a "Fragile" soundtrack with a selection of classic Soul/Rhythm & Blues/Rock songs.
  

Strictly 4 My N... times

• 1993 - Thug Life Demo Tape ("Demo Tape" / Warren G & Johnny J early sessions)
  - also titled "My Mother Fuckin Money Maker" soundtrack
• 1993 - Thug Life Original (Ready to be released shelved album)
  - early subtitled "Do U Luv The Thug Life ?"
• 1993 - Thug Life Original 2 : Mr. Middle Finger (Demo)
  - also titled "Nothing To Lose" for clean versions
• 1993 - Out on Bail ("Cradle2theGrave Tape" / "Easy Mo Bee" sessions)
  - also titled "4 The Thug In U" / "Street Fame" / "Mr. Middlefinga", "Here Cum The Pain", "Troublesome", announced as "Out On Bail" in the Papa'z Song single.
  

Thug Life times 

• 1994 - Thug Life : Honor Among Thugz ("Makaveli6" / Volume One Promo / Thug Life Volume One sessions)
  - early titled "Volume 1 : Honor Among Thugz" soundtrack and then simply "Thug Life Volume 1".
• 1994 - R U Still Down '94 (Interscope Project) ("Manu Tape" / Duane Nettlesbey sessions)
  - simply titled "R U Still Down", mistakenly announced as "Are U Still Down" in early April, shortly retitled "Me Against The World". 
• 1994 - Thug Life : Exodus (Volume One Promo / Pre-Death Row Compilation / Thug Music lost tracks)
  - early titled "Exodus. EP Tracks & B-Sides" then "B-Sides", "Album IV", "When I Get Free : 1992-1996 Lost Trax", "R U Still Down"
  
• 1994 - Stay True ("Stay True" mixtape / Tony Pizarro sessions)
• 1994 - Young Thugz EP (with Dramacydal) (scratched project) 
  

Me Against The World times 

• 1994-1995 - F.T.W. ! (Fuck The World) ("F.T.W." tape / Me Against The World leftover tracks)
  - also titled "Crucified" / "KKKrucified" / "Me Vs. The World" / "Outlaw" / "2Pac III : Hardcore version, Fuck Tha World" / "Hard 2 Kill"
  
• 1994-1995 - Dramacyde (with Dramacydal) (shelved album)
  - also titled "The Album", "The Pleasurez of $in"
  
• 1995 - R U Still Down (Pre-Death Row Compilation tape)
  - new album with old songs waiting for new mixes
  
• 1995 - Hard 2 Kill (concept album)
  - prison concept album, whose most ideas have resulted during All Eyez on Me sessions and much more then during Me Against The World 2 sessions
  

All Eyez On Me times

• 1995 - Hollywood N.J. (by Fatal N Felony)
  - only concept album ? some freestyles have been recorded over All Eyez on Me instrumentals, like Fresh Like Celery and Late Night
  
• 1995 - When I Get Free (1992-1996 Lost Tracks) (AEOM leftover tracks)
• 1995 - All Eyez on Me (Demo) (Euthanasia Tape / AEOM early mixes)
  - also titled "When I Get Free" / "IV - Life Goes On" / "Euthanasia I & II"
  
• 1995-1996 - Thug Life Volume 2 (with Outlaw Immortalz) (shelved project)
• 1995-1996 - Thug Pound (with Dogg Pound) (unfinished project)

Me Against The World pt. 2 times

• 1996 - Euthanasia Surpreme (Me Against The World pt. 2)
  - also titled All New Heat / New Shit / Gridlock'd Solo Part / 100% Black Gold
• 1996 - Lil' Homies (Soundtrack early project / Gridlock'd Rap Part Compilation) 
• 1996 - Gridlock'd Original Soul Sessions (Soundtrack project)
• 1996 - Immortalz (with Outlawz) (Outlawz 1st LP sessions)
  - also titled Euthanasia / Outlawz with 2Pac Loved By Few, Hated By Many, Feared By All / The Hunger
  

Makaveli times

• 1996 - One Nation : Volume 1 (June sessions with BCC, Greg Nice, Asu...)
  - also titled One Nation Volume I / Volume One "7 Dayz"
  
• 1996 - Makaveli, Killuminati (Makaveli leftover tracks)
  - originally a full diss album
  
• 1996 - Makaveli, The 3 Day Theory (Demo) (Makaveli album late July sequence)
  - also titled in 3 dayz
  
• 1996 - One Nation Part 2 (August sessions with Scarface, Kokane, Spice 1, Nutt-So...)
  - simply titled One Nation
  
• 1996 - Ghetto Starz (Outlawz LP2 sessions)
  - also titled Young Noble & The New Nastee Niggaz / The Rulez of The Game
  

Homemade Compilations of released tracks :

• 1990-1997 - The Featurings (2Pac as a guest Collection)
  
• 1990-1998 - The Rarities (Radio Versions, Greatest Hits & Soundtracks Collection)
• 1997-2002 - Best of Amaru's work (Posthumous Collection)

Why ?

1. The original and unreleased recordings have a really important place in 2Pac's career. First, they are really worth listening, in spite of the lack of a final sound cleaning (the "final mixdown"). This even gives a different taste of his musical universe, a raw taste. A lot of tracks he recorded during his lifetime have been shelved (more than half of what he recorded !) not in reason of their quality but often because labels do not dare to publish them (for instance the Thug Life period), because events (L.A. riots, justice cases, '94 shooting), because 2Pac changed his artistic view after some events (demo tape leaked, Death Row signature...), because he put them aside for another project never completed, because he couldn't clear the sample (like for "Late Night") and most of all because 2Pac, called a workaholic by lot of people, recorded so many songs that he and his labels had to choose, to select.

2. There are many gems among all these original and unreleased and they can tell you an alternative but faithful story of Tupac. To get the full effect of all these unreleased tracks, the point is to listen them in the right context... The problem in the discography of 2Pac’s unreleased materials is easy to get : there are so many unrealeased materials that it’s difficult to organize them in a coherent way, in order to listen them in their best context. For instance, when you listen to a 1991′s song like "Hymn of the 90′s Nigga" among Death Row’s tracks like "Late Night" or "Secretz of War", it would appear as a really weak song in comparison. It would get a full effect among stuff from the same period like "Tearz of a Clown", "Revenge of a Lunatic", "No Part of Dis", "Fade Away"...

 

3. Amaru's posthumous compilations are not well build (from the good R U Still Down to the weak Eminem strange objects). They are kind of greatest leftovers compilation and not albums. Many modern remixes to avoid paying the original samples and new guests who want to have their name on side of Tupac... and replacing original friends of Tupac or Tupac's own verses... Tupac's original voice altered to sound older... Songs from very different era and projects put aside..

 

4. Bootlegs titled "Makaveli 1, 2, 3... 12" have been leaked circa 1997-2000. They contain many of 2Pac's unreleased material in its original form. But they are also juxtaposition of random tracks. The sound quality is very different from one track to another. Nothing to do with an original album. And the quality of these early leaks are mostly very low in comparison of what is now available.

 

Then there is a huge amount of fan-made bootlegs, unofficial tapes of unreleased OG and demo floating on Internet, or fake original mixtapes (like the so-called "Makaveli, The way he wanted it" or "Thug Life - Out On Bail Demo"), but they are all juxtaposition of random tracks, nothing to do with real albums.

 

The bootlegs and tracklists we've formed tend to look and sound like albums.

How ? 

Different things can help with that. First, the lyrics of course can give precious indications about the period and the project the song was recorded for. The flow, the kind of mood, the used vocabulary... tend to indicate a specific era. The kind of sound, the mix state, can as well indicate which session the record is from. And, we can be helped of course by the information 2Pac's producers and 2Pac himself let in interviews, and above all in the handwritten papers he left (especially the track lists). At the end, we confronted our hypothesis of reconstruction to other 2Pac fans in Bomb 1st Forum.