Disco de 2Pac: “Nu Mixx Klazzics Vol. 2 (Evolution: Duets and Remi”

If you look at my previous reviews, you know that I don't write reviews for music CD's but I'm going to make an exception here because I am a rap/hip hop fan since the late 80's & I think this CD, not including his Greatest Hits & Resurrection [which is basically another Greatest Hits album], is the best overall Pac album to drop since Makaveli. Usually Pac's albums these days are nothing more than his vocals thrown into beats by "flavor of the month" producers mixed with whoever is on the popular artist on the charts are at the time & it just doesn't come off well most of the time...like B.I.G.'s albums since he died. And despite Death Row's reputation these days regarding the material they've been releasing (another topic for another time), they released a quality project here that shouldn't go unseen.

This album for the most part either had the beat slighty adjusted from the original (My Rear View, Lost Souls) & had new vocals added that fit right in to make the quality rank right up there with the original (both versions of Picture Me Rollin', Got My Mind Made Up) or in some cases, better than the original (Keep Goin' which used Pac's vocals from the DPG 2002 album & What'z Ya Phone Number...sorry Pac loyalist but I never liked the original). Two noteworthy tracks for me were the Keep Goin' track where that was the best I've heard of Fatal in a long time & the Gangsta Party Remix which definately gave the song a more rough & hard feeling than the smooth version the original had (don't get me wrong, I love the original too). The only thing wrong with this project I would say is the Hail Mary rock remix which I'll admit makes the song seem more hardcore than the original but it just seems so out of place like how the "Snoop Bounce" rock remix was on Snoop's Greatest Hits compared to the other tracks on here. There are some average tracks (Initiated) & not every single one is a blowaway song but I don't there there is honestly a horrible track or a boring filler on here.

Overall, Death Row didn't do to this project like they did with a majority of the first Nu-Mixx album where I was like "why did they ruin a classic song!?!" & instead provided a nice quality album that I recommend to any Pac fan OVER the last couple years of 2pac material that has been released like Pac's Life, Loyal To The Game, and the first Nu-Mixx album.

Side Note: The bonus tracks from Best Buy edition (always buy your Koch albums from Best Buy to get bonus tracks) is the same "Lost Souls Remix" except Daz Dillinger & M1 replace the Outlawz & another remix of "Initiated" with the vocals the same but a different beat.

When the first volume of the Nu Mixx series was released, I was pretty dissappointed. The beats were garbage and didn't do much to upgrade the originals. This may be part of the reason I was pleasantly surprised when I heard the 2nd volume. Although this project is no classic, it's far better than "Pac's Life". As a mastering engineer, I'm reviewing this album from a sonic quality level as well as from an overall level.

Pros:

*The beats are BANGIN on most of the tracks.

*The master quality of the remixes "How Do U Want It," "Initiated" and "Keep Goin" are actually better than the originals, due to the producer using the original vocal tracks!

*The FIRE guest appearances resemble a cast that 2Pac would collaborate with (or did collaborate with previously)

Cons:

*A few of the hooks are too complex or just not catchy.

*They didn't utilize the ORIGINAL vocal tracks on some of the mixes such as "Staring Through My Rearview" and "Got My Mind Made Up." This is probably because they didn't have access.

*They actually used a "computer generated filtered acappella" for the Hail Mary remix! They put it on some rock music to hide the fact that the vocals were not studio quality, as if we wouldn't notice! That's ABSURD for a studio release.

Overall I would recommend this to 2Pac fans for sure. Although not on the level of "Still I Rise" or "Better Days," it's one of the better of the last few posthumus releases.

Forget the ill-fated Nu-Mixx Klassix Volume 1! Volume 2: Evolution is the real deal. Several of the remixes here, particularly "Whatz Ya Phone #," are actually better than the original productions (from "All Eyez on Me," "Gang Related," "Above the Rim," and "Makaveli"). An unexpected and pleasant surprise from Koch Records.

afeni once again continuwes to remix her son's classic songs by updating previous and unreleaesed material again I will not buy this crap I refuse to buy anything released by 2pac that was remixed and corrupted after his untimely demise quit whitewashing pac's music afeni.