Disco de 2Pac: “R U Still Down? (Remember Me) [PA]”

Descripción (en inglés) :

R U STILL DOWN? (REMEMBER ME) contains rare and previously unreleased songs from Tupac's personal vault. Personnel includes: Tupac Shakur, Val Young, Y.N.V., Richie Rich, Big Syke, Spice 1, Eric Williams, Dramacydal, Dave The Black Angel, Cool Russell, Maxee (vocals); Soulshock, Karlin (various instruments); Ricky Rouse (guitar, keyboards, bass); Darrell Crooks (guitar); Mike Mosley (keyboards, drum programming); Brycyn Evans (keyboards); Tommy "D" Daugherty, Michael Denton (programming); Crystall (background vocals). Producers include: Tony Pizarro, QDIII, Soulshock, Warren G., Karlin. Engineers include: Bob Morse, Tommy Daugherty, Tim Nitz, Manny Marroquin, Michael Calderon. Includes liner notes by Afeni Shakur. R U STILL DOWN? (REMEMBER ME) contains rare and previously unreleased songs from Tupac's personal vault. Personnel includes: Tupac Shakur, Val Young, Y.N.V., Richie Rich, Big Syke, Spice 1, Eric Williams, Dramacydal, Dave The Black Angel, Cool Russell, Maxee (vocals); Soulshock, Karlin (various instruments); Ricky Rouse (guitar, keyboards, bass); Darrell Crooks (guitar); Mike Mosley (keyboards, drum programming); Brycyn Evans (keyboards); Tommy "D" Daugherty, Michael Denton (programming); Crystall (background vocals). Producers include: Tony Pizarro, QDIII, Soulshock, Warren G., Karlin. Engineers include: Bob Morse, Tommy Daugherty, Tim Nitz, Manny Marroquin, Michael Calderon. Includes liner notes by Afeni Shakur. Even after Tupac Shakur was tragically gunned down in Las Vegas, his legacy continued to live on through his music. In addition to the 2pac albums we all love and have become familiar with, there are posthumous testaments to his talent like R U STILL DOWN, which contains songs that were unreleased at the time of his death. Having left a large body of work behind, 2Pac continues to voice his opinion and is still among the most powerful rappers, even after his untimely passing. The first release on his own Amaru Records, R U STILL DOWN? [REMEMBER ME] was overseen by 2Pac's mother, Afeni Shakur. This album features a younger, more inexperienced 2Pac, and it airs his views on life from a time before he became involved in the controversial east coast/west coast rivalry. His lyrics ironically foreshadow his death in songs like "Open Fire" and "Thug Style." Yet another look at the slain rapper, R U STILL DOWN? [REMEMBER ME] gives fans more of 2Pac to remember him by. Even after Tupac Shakur was tragically gunned down in Las Vegas, his legacy continued to live on through his music. In addition to the 2pac albums we all love and have become familiar with, there are posthumous testaments to his talent like R U STILL DOWN, which contains songs that were unreleased at the time of his death. Having left a large body of work behind, 2Pac continues to voice his opinion and is still among the most powerful rappers, even after his untimely passing. The first release on his own Amaru Records, R U STILL DOWN? [REMEMBER ME] was overseen by 2Pac's mother, Afeni Shakur. This album features a younger, more inexperienced 2Pac, and it airs his views on life from a time before he became involved in the controversial east coast/west coast rivalry. His lyrics ironically foreshadow his death in songs like "Open Fire" and "Thug Style." Yet another look at the slain rapper, R U STILL DOWN? [REMEMBER ME] gives fans more of 2Pac to remember him by.

These are 26 cut recordings from Tupac's earlier days taken from the years of 91' through to 94'. A long listen, but at the end you end up realising what a great loss of talent the world of hip hop suffered when the thug rapper was tragically gunned down back in 1996.

Although these are songs that didn't make it to his earlier albums, this did not doubt my opinions of their quality - it was good material, although not consistent enough. This is more of a black and white album with no shades of gray, the good songs are great, the bad songs are terrible. 'R U Still Down?' does have its hot spots with tracks such as the unforgettable 'Do For Love', the religious 'I Wonder If Heaven Gotta Ghetto' and the haunting and very mysterious 'Only Fear Of Death'. Lyrically, at this stage of his life especially, Tupac's views are more political and intellectual for the majority of the album since he had not quite reached his Death Row days just yet.

The two disc set, in a way, tells a story of a man who was on the verge of something here, yet never got the time to fulfil it as you can tell some verses are incomplete and hesitant. Do not think this lessens the albums quality, as about 80% of it is worth while. Although one of my favourite Tupac albums, 'R U Still Down?' in short is a sad and depressing story of a man who knew his end was to come far too soon.

Tupac Shakur's "R U Still Down? (Remember Me)" came out in 1997, one year after his passing. Production could of been better on this album, but lyrics and 26 tracks definetly make it an album for the collection if your a pac fan. Nice tracks on disc one include the title track "R U still Down?", "Hellrazor" a powerfull track with sick beats as an angry Pac lays down memorable lyrics. "I wonder if Heaven Got a Ghetto" is an upbeat track where Pac talks about growing up, making money, and thug life. "Nothing to Lose" is another ill track, Pac verses "Walk a mile in my shoes and you would be crazy too". "Im getting money", [and other songs] close off disc one well. Disc 2 comes next, third track "Hold on Be Strong", is an upbeat track sort of like "Keep Ya Head Up". "Do for Love" feat. Eric Williams (of blackstreet) is a deep and memorable track about love. "16 on Death Row" is a powerfull harcore track. "When I get free II" and "Only fear of Death" are both nice tracks and close off the album well. "R U still Down" is really an album dedicated to thug life, and Pac comes across powerfully, hes less poetic and less philosophical on this album then previous and later releases, this album is gangster rap at its best. What makes some of the later post-death albums (Untill the end of Time, Better Dayz) better in my opinion is they cover the time period (1994-1996) right before his death, while this album covers music from 1991-1994 period, when he was still progressing as an artist. "R U still Down" may not be for everyone, but if you love Pac like I do, you will appreciate this album.

When I got this album, it blew me away. I was so amazed at how many good songs were on both of these cd that I had never even heard of. Redemption is a very mysterious and strong opening into the cd and leads perfectly into Open Fire, one of the best songs on the album. I cannot pick which cd from this album is better because they are both evened out very nicely. Hellrazor, Open Fire, Nothing To Lose, F**k All Y'all, Definition Of A Thug N**ga, I'm Losin It, Nothin But Love, and Only Fear Of Death were my favorite songs from the album, but I usually just play each cd from beginning to end because all of the songs are very good. Compared to his other albums, it is in the middle. It is probably not as good as All Eyez On Me and Me Against The World, but is probably better than 2Pacalypse Now and Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. Any rap fan will be able to appreciate the music on this album, so go out, buy this album, and give it a spin. You will be loving it in no time.