The BEST greatest hit in Hip-Hop history

2Pac. When I look at that word, a million meanings come to my head. Prophet, messenger, saint, homeboy, poet, teacher, a thug, the gifted, Black Prince etc. I don't know what it was in 2Pac but he touched so many hearts with his words. Yes, there were VERY talented MCs such as Chuck-D, Rakim and KRS-One but somehow, 2Pac just connected with everyone. There's no such rap fan who hasn't heard of 2Pac, he's loved worldwide. Many people view him as a rapper, I viewed him as a teacher. His songs were the lessons and the listeners were the students. He taught me that the world is a ghetto on My Block, love isn't perfect on Do for Love, never to take sh*t from anyone on Hit 'Em Up and to keep the faith on Only God Can Judge Me. Whatever song it was, you could learn a great deal from it.

2Pac had been rapping since he was a teenager and would soon become a dancer for Digital Underground, later laying down rhymes for them such as Same Song. Releasing his controversial 2Pacalypse Now in '91, 2Pac received very bad reviews and attacked the critics with his '93 booming hit, Strictly 4 my N.I.G.G.A.Z. Establishing his new group, Thug Life, he recorded with them released Thug Life, vol. 1 (Thug Life means The Hate U Give Lil' Infants F*ck Everyone), which was a very dark and yet, another controversial album. In '95, when he was imprisoned, 2Pac released his greatest album, Me Against the World, which would come to be known as one of Rap's emotional tracks. A thug in his full form, he released the well-known Dear Mama, a letter to Afeni from the belly to the beast. All Eyez on Me, Rap's first double-disc album and 2Pac's first Death Row classic, was released in '96 and featured hits such as How Do U Want It and California Love. However, the hate 2Pac gathered and unleashed on past friend, The Notorious B.I.G., he was shot in a drive-boy shootout and died 7 days after he was shot. Planning on leaving Death Row and adopting the new alias, Makaveli, 7 Day Theory was to be his "resurrection" but instead became his first posthumous album (and his best). Afeni Shakur managed to get hold of 2Pac's unreleased hits and re-produce them, releasing them. But none of them compared to the likes of 2Pac's albums when he was alive.

Greatest Hits completes the legacy of 2Pac. It collects the greatest moments of 2Pac's career and features 5 unreleased hits, mainly his most popular and best unreleased hits. From the influential Keep Ya Head Up to the challenging and touching Changes, you can best be sure that 2Pac never sold out.

Track Listing:

CD1:
1. Keep Ya Head Up (5)
2. 2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted (5)
3. Temptations (4 1/2)
4. God Bless the Dead (5)
5. Hail Mary (5)
6. Me Against the World (5)
7. How Do U Want It (5)
8. So Many Tears (5)
9. Unconditional Love (5)
10. Trapped (5)
11. Life Goes On (5)
12. Hit 'Em Up (5)

CD2:
1. Troublesome '96 (5)
2. Brenda's Got a Baby (5)
3. I Ain't Mad at Cha (5)
4. I Get Around (5)
5. Changes (5)
6. California Love (original mix) (5)
7. Picture Me Rollin' (4 1/2)
8. How Long Will They Mourn Me? (5)
9. Toss it Up (4 1/2)
10. Dear Mama (5)
11. All Bout U (4)
12. To Live & Die in L.A. (5)
13. Heartz of Men (5)

CD1 is a very strong CD, containing some of 2Pac's most influential works. Starting with my favorite track from 2Pac, Keep Ya Head Up. He urges the women to keep their heads up and stand strong and orders the men to treat them better.

2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted, produced by Daz Dillinger, is one of the hardest beats by Daz. 2Pac and Snoop Dogg throw shots at the police and the government, basically unleashing their rage and thoughts about them. A true classic.

Temptations is from Me Against the World. To be honest, I don't enjoy this track much though its still superior over some tracks being released today. The video to this is one of the funniest, which features Ice-T and Coolio (Ice-T constantly pashes with a picture of a girl in a magazine).

God Bless the Dead is eerie. This is one of the songs that got people believing 2Pac was alive. Strangely enough, it was dedicated to The Notorious B.I.G., who died AFTER 2Pac was shot. Featuring one of 2Pac's truest homeboys, Stretch, the two rap about death and dedicating it to Biggie. A very strange track indeed.

Hail Mary, borrowing samples from UGK's Pocket Full of Stones, is one of 2Pac's posthumous releases from 7 Day Theory. The uncanny church bells are peculiar with 2Pac and the OUTLAWZ rhyming over it. Not the best song by 2Pac but a definite classic.

Me Against the World is one of the tracks I truly enjoy. It is very influential and talks about 2Pac's struggles with the law and government. It has a lively beat that touches the heart. One of 2Pac's finest.

How Do U Want It was an alright track, I never really got hooked into it. He changes subjects in this rhyme, rhyming about hooking up with girls first then speaking of the government again in a negative way, throwing shots at C. Deloris Tucker, who tried to get 2Pac's music banned. Its a club banger but not one of my favorites from 2Pac, therefore it should have been left off.

So Many Tears is a somber track and one of my favorites from 2Pac. His lyrical talent in this is far beyond good. Sampling Stevie Wonder's This Girl, he turns the track upside down and makes it a dark but a thinkable tune. Here, he searches for the meaning of life.

Unconditional Love is one of my favorite 2Pac unreleased hits. However, it is very much different to other 2Pac tracks, having more of a R&B feel. He continues to show more love.

Trapped is one of 2Pac's earliest hits and an heavy hit. He takes shots once again at the police and storytells a story of life with violence, something you don't get from 2Pac usually. The bass is very heavy in this and has very bad sound quality, especially on 2Pacalypse Now, where it was released.

Life Goes On is a touching song, where he searches more for the meaning of life. He gives it up for his dead homies and explains how he wants his death and funeral to happen. "All I got is stinkin' memories" is a very true statement.

Hit 'Em Up is known as one of Rap's most notorious disses. Here, he teams up with the OUTLAWZ to take down the career of Biggie, Bad Boy Entertainment, Lil' Kim, Junior M.A.F.I.A. and Mobb Deep, most notibly, East Coast rappers. This is what made people believe 2Pac was against the East but he wasn't. The lyrics are sometimes fresh, at other times it gets old. You may recognize the beat from Eric B. and Rakim's Paid in Full.

Disc 2 is another classic CD but gets old and repetitive easily (much of what happened with All Eyez on Me). Starting with Troublesome '96, it contains some excellent lines like "N1ggaz diss me after I'm gone/'Coz they fear me in my physical form" or something like that. It borrows the beat from Whodini's #1 hit, Friends. 2Pac shows he's the wrong n1gga to f*ck wit.

Brenda's Got a Baby is 2Pac's other earlier hit and another storytelling song about how a young girl's life ended up tragic. Based on a true story, 2Pac's main message of the song is not to ruin your life and don't live fast. Whoever said 2Pac rapped about nothing or wasn't influential has just been smoking too much weed.

I Ain't Mad at Cha is a straight up hit and one of the top 4 songs from All Eyez on Me. I was real surprised to find this was produced by Daz, as I'm mainly use to his gangsta beats. He speaks of changes in his friends here. Many people have said the video for this foretold his death, a true fact.

I Get Around is 2Pac's #1 party anthem, whether you like it or not. From his controversial, Strictly 4 my N.I.G.G.A.Z., it speaks of how 2Pac gets around with his girls. Produced by Shock-G, it also features his earlier homeboys, Shock-G and Money-B of Digital Underground.

Changes is a definite classic. Borrowing the beat from Bruce Hornsby's The Way it Is (both songs have the same meaning), 2Pac speaks about racism. He shows his more inflential side here, memorizing some of his best moments. It is one of 2Pac's most popular songs.

California's anthem, California Love, is an exceptionally sweet track. For those that didn't know, this was actually going to be Dr. Dre's song but since 2Pac had an album coming out and Dre didn't, he gave the beat to him and took out his second verse. Dre's verse contains some very good rhymes and 2Pac outshines him. My problem with this is that the song is short, lyrically, but very long on a whole, which was a waste of time to be exact. He gives it up for his lost ones here.

Picture Me Rollin' was another track I didn't really like from 2Pac. It can't compete with 2Pac's more recognizable tracks and features a whole heap of guests. Since I don't listen to it very much, I can't speak about it.

How Long Will They Mourn Me is the only track from Thug Life, vol. 1, which was real disappointing. Produced by Warren G and Nate Dogg, it sounds exactly like Warren G's Super Soul Sis. I love this track, Thug Life gives it up for the late member of Thug Life who died shortly before the release of Thug Life, vol. 1, Kato. While 2Pac and the rest of Thug Life perform some good lines, it is Big Syke who is takes the mic since he was real close to Kato.

Toss it Up is a song I really didn't like by 2Pac either. It features K-Ci & JoJo and speaks about sex in his first verse. While there are some good lines here, I never really listened to it.

Dear Mama is the most touching song 2Pac had ever did. Why? Because it was a full 4 minute song dedicated to his mother, Afeni Shakur. I can't put into words just how much I love this track. 2Pac explains how his mother wasn't perfect but did her best to try and give 2Pac a better life since his biological father was never there for him. Everytime I see the video for this, I shed tears, thinking back in the days how 2Pac was legendary. This song, along with the likes of Changes and Keep Ya Head Up, is what made 2Pac a legend.

All Bout U is another track I never got feel for. It features Snoop Dogg, Dru Down and Nate Dogg. Though it isn't a very good track (but still a party banger), it does feature a memorable hook by Nate Dogg.

To Live & Die in L.A. is a great track by 2Pac from his 7 Day Theory book. Otherwise known as "California, part muthaf*ckin 2, without gay a55 Dre", the song speaks about Los Angeles.

Heartz of Men is a DJ Quik produced track and an excellent track. He raps some very good lines here but is not a well-known 2Pac track. A great way to end the Greatest Hits.


Everyone remembers where they were and what they did when news of 2Pac's death arrived. I was at home and was completely stunned and shattered when I heard the news.
While this is the best greatest hits of Hip-Hop history, it did need more of 2Pac's earlier hits, not just his Death Row hits. 2Pac is legendary and this CD explains to you why. Get it, I promise you you won't be disappointed.