ïÂÚÏp Better Dayz

Date: Fri, 31 Jan 2003 05:52:50 +0300
Newsgroups: fido7.su.music.rap
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 _*/Don't wanna picture this cold world through sober eyes!/*_
=== check dis out! === Better Dayz Ahead? (by Funkmaster Smooth)
Better Dayz has arrived!!!!!!! (Or has it?) I, like many Tupac fans have been
waiting over a year to get the new album, and finally I have a copy playing in
my stereo right now as I write this article. So, what were my overall thoughts
of the album?
One word comes to mind when I think about Better Dayz, and that word is?
disappointing!
There's been so much hype about his latest album (like there always is) but
once again Afeni & Suge have failed to deliver the goods. Don't get me wrong
it's 2Pac, I love 'Pac and I always will, I'll always support and buy whatever
has his name
written on it and is endorsed by his mother or Suge. But like many of 'Pac's
hardcore fans, I'm pretty disappointed by this album.
I can picture 'Pac in heaven cringing listening to this so-called album with
his name on it. These individual raps were completed but not tied to specific
tracks, so Afeni & Suge conjured up duets that have no real context or
interaction between the
artists. Similarly, some of 2pac's posthumous solo albums are poorly organized,
cliche-driven outtakes that do little justice to his impressive song writing
talents - and which he may never have intended for release.
2Pac's been dead for more than six years now, and in that time his estate has
released an enormous amount of questionable posthumous material--with much more
to come in 2003, by the way (the liner notes list documentary soundtracks,
another
unreleased double album, DVDs, books etc) I don't know what's going on over at
the estate, but I could do a better job producing a 2Pac album and I have no
production experience what so ever.
It's listed as an album with 26 unreleased songs (27 if you include the hidden
outro on disc 2) But take a closer look at the track list and you'll notice a
few things. 3 Of the songs have been released on compilations/soundtracks a few
years ago.
There's an intro and an outro plus 2 remixes. As well as that, at least 10 of
the remaining 20 songs have been doing the rounds in the bootlegs, which were
available since `97. So much for the 27 unreleased songs listed, you're lucky
if you haven't
heard 10 of these tracks before.
But how do the songs fair? Is the question most people want to know. Well let's
take a closer look at each song to see it's faults and qualities.
"I'm reporting live from Sunset Boulevard, Where many excited fans have
gathered with candles. Awaiting the much anticipated release, of Tupac Shakur's
latest album, Better Dayz. This is yet another post-humorous release by Tupac,
Which, raises the
question Where are these songs coming from? It's interesting how, the message
in these songs is still relevant today. Even in his death, he's touching people
with his lyrics"
That's just a little snippet of the intro. It features yet another alive theory
which was endorsed by the estate. It seems to me that the estate is using the
alive theories to sell its albums. In saying that, besides that line the intro
was done
fairly well. 8/10
"California's where I'm at RIDEN...Pass by While niggaz wonder why I got shot
but didn't die. Let em' see who's next to try, Did I cry, hell nah...Nigga not
a tear shed for all my homies in the pen many peers dead, Nigga, Still Ballin"
Still Ballin displays 1 of 'Pacs best trademarks, his remarkable raw energy.
The original version of this song features Kurupt, but he was taken out and
replaced by Trick Daddy, who Tupac never recorded with (in the 3rd verse the
word kurupt is
edited out for trick) The bouncy beat done by Frank Nitty Pimental should make
this song become an anthem in many clubs all over the world, Besides Trick
Daddy's performance. The overall song didn't really have any flaws. 8/10
"Pay attention here's a word to those that robbed me, I'll murder you, Then I,
run a train on Mobb Deep. Don't fuck with me, Nigga you barely living. Don't
you got sickle cell See me and have seizure on stage, You ain't feeling well,
Hell How many
niggas want to be involved? See I was only talking to Biggie, But I'll kill all
of ya'll. Then ball!"
The diss song When We Ride On Our Enemies, which sees Pac taking shots at The
Fugees, Mobb Deep, Da Brat & The Notorious BIG was a fan favorite on the
bootleg albums. But this version is awful compared to it. The beat done by
Briss is atrocious; I
could produce a better beat then this. Besides the beat the song is alright
7/10
"I changed plans but I'm still the same old ridah (You fucking with a changed
man) Slanging new dope to the world but the people still buy it up (Nigga you
fucking with a changed man) All my real thug niggas go and get your hands up
now, your gonna
flip your hands up (Fucking with a changed man) Changed man, you dealing with a
changed man"
Changed Man is another interesting song; I'd like to hear it with a different
beat. Jazze Pha's is very bouncy; it goes well with Pac's voice but struggles
with the chorus. The chorus is one of the best on the album and will get stuck
in your head,
the more times you listen to it. Pac is supported nicely by Jazze Pha, T.I &
Johnta? Austin. 8.5/10
"Now I can make it happen , My rappin' is similar to muthafuckers, When they
scrappin' Blast and watch em' back up, Notorious biggie killer, Affiliation
with death row Niggaz get their caps pealed back. Fool this the west coast!"
Pac's legendary producer Johnny J, makes his debut on the venomous bad boy
killer song Fuck Em All, and he doesn't let Pac & Tha Lawz down one bit. His
loud guitar rifts compliment Pac & Tha Outlawz attacking lyrics. Tha Outlawz
show how big they
would've been if Pac was still around, as they give a faultless performance in
there verses. Although who ever said (That's right bitch, Fuck em' all) in the
chorus should never do chorus's again. Overall 8.5/10
"Watch my 'lil homies , Lose there childhood to guns, Nobody cries no more
Cause we all die for fun. So why you ask me if I want peace. If you cant grant
it Niggas fighting across the whole planet, So we can never be peace"
This is by far the worst beat on the album and must be up there for worst beat
of the year, what was Frank Nitty Pimentel & Luis thinking when they put this
awful Arabic beat to Pac's, Kastro's & Edi's thought provoking lyrics? The
production of
this song ruined it. 6/10
"When you find out your pregnant, No money, no home And even though you all
alone, You've got to do this on your own So baby go on, I wish you luck And if
you need me, call Just come to me and let me feed you all I can understand The
way it feels
when you fighting the world Facing all this drama When mama's just A little
girl"
After 6 fairly average tracks, we come to one of the best of the entire album.
Mama's Just A Little Girl. There's nothing wrong with this track, it's perfect,
absolutely flawless. Pac's lyrics are amazing (as usual) and show that he's not
a
heartless thug like the media thought he was. His topic choice is an excellent
one and needed to be addressed. Kimmy Hill & Ellis Taylor did a fantastic job
on the chorus. I would have liked to have seen the producer, KP, given another
track or 2 on
this album, because he has a lot of talent with what he's shown on Mama's Just
A Little Girl. Best track on disc 1, if not the entire album, 10/10
"I wasn't mad until these tricks shot me, It's time to sanitize my posse, Look
how paranoid these niggas got me, Cellular calls are being traced, Since send
surveillance silently, Momma chill, Thug livin pay the bills, And die
violently"
What is it with Briss's production? He's given another bad performance on
Street Fame after his disappointed work on When We Ride On Our Enemies. Pac's
hardcore vocals are drowned out by the loud, annoying piano. Briss only
produced 2 tracks on this
album (thank god) I think he'll have trouble finding work after his awful
performances. One of the highlights of this track is seeing Pac take a shot at
Lil Kim. 7/10
"I started out dumb, Sprung off a hood rat Listening to the radio, Wishing that
I could rap But nothing changed. I was stuck in the game Cause everybody in the
industry was fucking me man. Listen I've got a scheme Break away do my own
thing Drop
some conversation Sit back and let the phone ring, Niggas they wanna see me
rise '97 watch me cut these motherfuckers down to size"
Whatcha Gonna Do starts off with yet another alive theory (I thought the estate
was against alive theories?) I have to commend Edi on his brilliant work he did
on the beat, it shows that Edi can produce just as good as he raps Kastro &
Young Noble
give a decent performance, but the real highlight of this track is Pac (as
usual) 8.5/10
"You just scared to give this penitentiary dick a try, Caught your eye, when I
walked by I said hi, But you were so shy, I can't lie, Damn near stuttered when
you walked by You want me to lick it and even worse, Got your heart set on me
going first
And that ain't no fair exchange"
Everybody loves Pac getting sexual in his songs, and he doesn't disappoint with
his raunchy performance in Fair Xchange. No matter how raunchy Pac gets,
there's never a beat, which goes with it. But Jazze Pha's beat is superb to say
the least. The
chorus completes the song to make it one of the better ones on disc 1. Overall
9/10
"I'm barely standin And plus my secondhand say it's midnight Some Alize and
Cristal guaranteed to get right Like misdemeanors is a small thang With DJ Quik
in this bitch, I let my balls hang Runnin through the street lights Cause we
like, young
nigga Get your mobb on show em what a G like Around the corner it's like Vegas,
or better yet like Reno Niggaz poppin, welcome to our casino Cause you and me
know Hundred percent like a c-note Looking for a bitch that's half-black and
Filipino And
when I meet her I'ma offer her some indo Tounge-kissin on the window of a pearl
white limo"
We've all heard the track Late Night before, so I'm not going to say much about
it, except that it's excellent. Quik's production skills are legendary and his
songs are always bangers! Fatal & Kadafi support Pac nicely. 9/10
"Just holla my name and witness game official, Niggas is so shamed they stand
stiff like scared bitches, While I remain inside a paradox called my block
Though gun shots is promised to me when will I stop? I hit the weed and hope to
god I can fly
high Witness my enemies die when I ride by They shouldn't have tried me"
The bootleg version of Ghetto Star is just better than this version. But in
saying that, this is an excellent version. Go Twice did a good job on the beat
with help from Edi. I didn't really like Nuttso; he just didn't go with the
beat that well.
And Pac, what can I say about Pac that I haven't said before? Pac is a god!
8.5/10
"No man alive has ever witnessed struggles I've survived, Praying hard for
better days Promised to hold on, Me and my dogs don't have a choice but to roll
on We finally found a spot to kick it Where we could drink liquor And no one
bickers over
trick shit A spot where we could smoke in peace And even though we Gs We still
visualize places That we could roll a piece And in my minds eye I see this
place the players go and pass it Got a spot for us all So we can ball At Thugs
Mansion"
I've got a big problem with the acoustic version of Thugz Mansion, because it
features Nas. Pac dissed Nas big time, yet Afeni & Suge allowed Nas to be mixed
into this song, which I don't agree with. If you're an enemy you should stay an
enemy,
instead of acting like you were boys with Pac. This acoustic version does
however work; Michael Herring's guitar skills help it succeed. Nas puts down a
good verse, like he usually does. But I still don't agree with him being on the
track, but Thugz
Mansion Acoustic is still excellent. 9/10
Overall, Disc 1 scored an 8.2 out of 10, which doesn't seem that bad. The
production of When We Ride On Our Enemies, Street Fame & Never Be Peace needs
to be addressed. Afeni should stop hiring no name producers, she could have
hired The Neptune's
or Track Masters to do a couple of tracks. Or she could have let Pac's best
producers Johnny J & QDIII produce the album. Disc 1 of Better Dayz is very
similar to Disc 2 of Until The End Of Time, in that they both have potential,
but due to some
lackluster producing they didn't live up to it.
=== check dis out! === Peace! Hold on, be strong! [-=#Jackie Chan#=-] [-=#RAP#=-] [-=#Formula-1#=-] [-=#Euthanasia#=-] np: Makaveli & Daz Dillinger "Makaveli & Dillinger"(2003) - First 2 Bomb