2Pac - Tupac Resurrection - 2003 - Amaru
The soundtrack to the officially sanctioned 2Pac documentary does a rather good job of compiling both album tracks, rarities and unreleased material to serve as a nice survey of 2Pac's many facets. The glaring omissions are understandable. None of Pac's Death Row era work appears here. Instead we get a sampling from his first three studio albums, his work with Thug Life, and a smattering of rarities and outtakes. Eminem is brought in to produce and remix some outtakes - and mostly these are successes. The track "Runnin' (Dying To Live)" is actually a remixed version of the heavily bootlegged "Stop The Gunfight," and it feels fully formed here. What's especially nice is that no major singles are featured. Nope, this isn't a greatest hits by any means. Instead any album cuts are deeper, with the possible exceptions of "Holler If Ya Hear Me" and "Bury Me A G," both of which were minor hits. Even better is the focus on pre-fame Pac. The aforementioned "Runnin'" is the infamous Biggie duet, but we're also treated to "Panther Power," one of Pac's earliest recorded tracks that has been bootlegged heavily, along with "Same Song," his debut with Digital Underground that is a solid classic. What makes this album great is the reminder of just how varied Pac's work was and within such a short period of time. From his early political work that was obviously insprired by the likes of Public Enemy, through his time spent working with Digital Underground, through his rise to fame, work with Thug Life and eventual incarceration, this album basically serves as a primer to anyone who was only exposed to Pac upon his signing with Death Row. And though there's certainly a worry that hiring Eminem to work on this album would somehow make those tracks feel out of place, Em does a surprisingly good job of being respectful with the source material. Certainly "Runnin'" sounds fair better than the original "Stop The Gun Fight" track for instance. The inclusion of a 50 Cent duet was perhaps a bad call, but thankfully it was relegated to the closing track. All in all, this remains one of the more successful 2Pac albums to materialize since his death.