2Pac — Better Dayz

This is the seventh posthumous product released under 2Pac's name, the fourth to be a double album, if you didn't have enough. Behind the project is a collaboration between Amaru Entertainment, Tha Row Records, successor to Suge Knight's Death Row, and Interscope. 27 tracks in total, the entire project is a remix of cuts recorded during his time at Death Row, with exceptions.

Most of the original production is handled by Johnny "J". Other beats are created by 7 Aurelius, Daz Dillinger, DJ Quik, Go-Twice, Easy Mo Bee, Darry "Big D" Harper and Hurt M Badd, while remixes are by Nitty, BRISS, Jazze Pha, Kip "KP" Wilson, EDI Mean, A "Pitboss" Johnson, Aulsondro "Emcee NICE" Hamilton, Claudio Cueni, 7 Aurelius and Tony Johnson. Guests include Trick Daddy, TI, Johnta' Austin, Outlawz (EDI Mean, Kastro, Young Noble, Yaki Kadafi, Big Syke), Kimmy Hill, Jazze Pha, DJ Quik, Nutt-So, Nas, J. Phoenix, Anthony Hamilton, Tyrese, Mr. Biggs, Cocoa Brovaz, Buckshot, Mya, and Muszamil.

The whole package can be summed up as an attempt to sell 2Pac as a modern artist by piling his rapping over contemporary beats, updated in the trend of the early 2000s. Beautiful, in theory. Over twenty years later, it sounds pretty stupid and exhausting. The remixes by Nitty, BRISS, Jazze Pha, KP, EDI Mean, and the rest of the guys sound stale, minimal, weak, boring. The Outlawz members occupy most of the guest slots, with predictable results if you've listened to 2Pac's previous albums, not necessarily just his posthumous ones.

The double album is composed of unreleased recordings from the period 1994-1996, combined with original or complete songs ("Fuck 'Em All", "Late Night", "Ghetto Star", "Better Dayz", "Who Do U Believe In?", "They Don't Give a Fuck About Us"), tracks taken from compilations, "Military Minds" from "One Nation" — collaborative album between Tupac and Boot Camp Clik, never officially released — and "My Block (Remix)", the only song present in this effort that was recorded by the author while he was under contract with Interscope, and that perhaps not by chance is among the strongest pieces in the two CDs, opening the second in an appropriate way. Isolated pearls on the album are the two versions of "Thugz Mansion", a rare collaboration between 2Pac and Nas of which the acoustic version is re-proposed in Escobar's album "God's Son", in addition to the title track.

"Better Dayz", the fourth pick on the second CD, is one of the few tracks that hasn't been touched by a scandalous remix and that keeps the original rhythm, created by Johnny "J": magnificent bass line, perfect midtempo dry drum, plucked guitar, hypnotic synthesized keyboards, beautiful rhythm. After a short spoken hook, 2Pac delivers with a slow, regular, velvety, fantastic rapping style, following the current of the rhythm, accompanied by the heavenly voice of Ronald Isley singing in the background. Three verses in what is a positive track from the emcee. Classic, which is another event in one of his posthumous albums.

Released by Amaru, Tha Row and Interscope, the project doesn't maintain the sales numbers established in the past years, showing the execs that the market is changing and that his name is cooling down with each passing year, fewer and fewer people care about 2Pac and his unreleased music. But there are still some: 366,000 physical copies are sold in the first week, which is enough to place it at number five in the pop charts, first among hip-hop releases. It's one of the best-selling albums of the year in Canada (2002) and the US (2003), obtaining triple platinum in both countries. With less than a fifth of the tracks being good compared to the offer, recommending its purchase is perhaps excessive. In any case, fans of the artist could find themselves faced with several excellent moments. 6/10.